Last night I was at a gig and yeh I got a bit emotional but first let me start with what happened a few weeks to put it in context. I was listening to the song ‘Wires’ by Athlete. The song is written by the lead singer, Joel who’s baby daughter was born prematurely but after awhile all was okay. You may or may not know I have had major open heart surgery three times, so when my mum and I hear this song it reminds us both what we have been through. We celebrate that even with all the complications I still have come out okay so much so people can’t tell. A line (I’ll put all the lyrics at the end!) from the song says:
“Looking at you now, you would never know”
My last operation was when I was 14 years old and at that age my imagination ran wild. Even though I knew I’d live way past this I started thinking of death a lot. At this point I decided it would be a good idea to have the song “Wires” at my funeral in celebration of my heart complications never getting the better of me.
While listening to the song by luck I found that Athlete would be doing a show in Manchester and just had to contact their management. They appreciated what it would mean to me to photograph them, so they sorted me out with a pass for the show. On my way to the show I started to wonder if it would live up to my expectations as people often say “Don’t meet your heroes”.
When I got there, there was no pit to shoot from so I was with everyone else. The venue got so packed I couldn’t move but I didn’t care. I shot the first three songs as agreed and just enjoyed the rest of the show. They performed ‘Wires’ just before their encore. As they started I realised I was hearing the song that would be at my funeral. It’s kind of hard to explain but this meant so much to me, it was absolutely perfect. As the band waved goodbye to the audience the audience cheered and chanted the lyrics to Wires for 5 minutes before the band came back on to a huge cheer.
I know people don’t like to talk about death but I just thought it needed to be said, always try and meet your heroes. Otherwise you’ll never know what they truly are like. Athlete to me are heroes not only for the song but also for being a lovely bunch of lads. I can’t thank them enough and will probably never be able to put it into words properly.
If you’d like to let me know what you think or have your own experience please comment below!
Here are the lyrics!
You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
You got tears, making tracks
I got tears, that are scared of the facts
Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I’ve seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
There’s dry blood, on your wrist
Your dry blood on my fingertip
Running, down corridoors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know
I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You’ll be alright
I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You’ll be alright
Alright
Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I’ve seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
down corridors, through automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know.