It's Just a Ride

It's 20 years since I had the honour and lif-changing experience of seeing Bill Hicks live at the Dominion. I only went to see him because, a few months earlier, I'd staggered home from the pub and caught Live From the Fringe on Channel 4. Drunk as I was and eating hard-boiled eggs as I was (there was no other food in the house and I remembered Popeye Doyle ate them with salt in the French Connection - it made sense at the time), I knew I was watching Something Great and had the presence of mind to scribble his name down and put it on my noticeboard.  Fast-forward a few weeks and there was a hoarding for the Dangerous Tour. So I went and was blown away.

Then came the CDs, the DVDs and the Revelations tour - but I missed that as I was working in Wales. But I told a notoriously stingy mate to buy two tickets, go, and if he didn't like it, I'd refund him the cash. Another convert.

There's like a sub-culture of Hicks-people; people who give you the nod when you're buying a CD or someone who drops a quote into conversation - everyone who knows wants everyone else to; just spreadin' the word. Occasionally, in the midst of a political or celebrity-based candal, you'll hear: "If only Bill was still around" or "Man, we need Bill."

If you know him, you know what I mean. If you don't, get out there and buy a CD or, better still, a DVD. I'm not going to offer to refund your cash: I won't need to.

"It's just a ride" - Bill Hicks, 1961 - 1994