Island Hideaway 4​ - Scrambled Egg​

"You put me off my scrambled egg." Those was the first words Mo ever said to me.  ​​

​​I was a DJ on the University radio station, Shreek 963. We had a tiny audience, we reached the main halls of residence, but few, if anyone, listened there. During the day we were also pumped into the student union cafe, and people would go up a flight of stairs from the cafe to the radio station to make requests, ask what record had been playing, or, mostly when I was on air, complain about the noise.​​

​​So when the knock on the door came I knew what to expect.​​

​​It was a short, blonde, probably a first year, she still wore that look of bewilderment first years have at every new encounter.

​​"You put me off my scrambled egg," she said.​​

​​"How so?" I said. "I was only playing music." (the new Fugazees EP). ​​

​​"Music?" she pulled a face, a po-face, a face I would come to know as a Mo-face. "It made me feel physically sick."​​

​​"Look, let's do a deal. You choose the next record. Drop the complaint (I was already on a final warning) and you can return to your scrambled egg."  ​​

​​"Three records," she said. "And we have a deal."​​

​​"Okay, okay, three records. Just tell me what you want."​​

​​"Bowie."​​

​​"Okay, there must be at least one Bowie track I don't mind playing. What else?"​​

​​"Bowie. Bowie, Bowie and Bowie. It'll make up for whatever noise you've been playing."​​

​​"That's not exactly good radio, three tracks by the same artist. Think of the listeners."​​

​​"Have you been downstairs when your show is playing?"​​

​​"Okay, Bowie, Bowie, Bowie. I'll find a compilation CD and put my feet up."​​

​​She took to coming up to the studio at the start of my show and demanding her choice of records as 'compensation'. It seemed a fair deal, after all, it did guarantee me a willing listener and occasionally she would make a good suggestion. ​​

​​"No more Bowie," I said the next time she came, which led a protracted negotiation involving the new releases, current playlist and library archive. The negotiation became a regular affair, starting an hour before my show and involved playing every contender just to check. ​​

​​On the days I didn't have a show we would go to the cafe and argue about the music the other DJs were playing.​​

In other words, we became friends.​​