"Somebody called me Sebastian"

Recently I heard the name Sebastian again, and on this occasion was transported back 40+ years to the 1970's - listening to a small radio under the bedsheets in the middle of the night so that others in the house wouldn't be disturbed, but also so that I could hear the amazing new sounds being beamed in! Coming from Radio Luxembourg or Radio Caroline perhaps? Radio Luxembourg broadcasting from mainland Europe, Radio Caroline from a ship rocking on the high seas. Beautiful songs, some maybe challenging. Songs that were getting longer! More expansive. Songs that were colourful, melodramatic. There was Traffic - 'The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys' - nearly 12 minutes long in it's original form on the self-titled album, Sparks - 'This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us', Jethro Tull - 'Locomotive Breath'. Terms like progressive rock, underground music, jazz-rock were coming in.

Then there was this really weird and wonderful one called 'Sebastian' by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. It probably helped that Radio Caroline would come through in waves, and with Radio Luxembourg possibly similarly. Eerie, in and out of poetic oddness, an odd song.

So now we have the internet. Hooray! Trawling YouTube there are two versions, among many by Steve and band, which are brilliant. First, a recording from 2011 in Oslo, Norway:

and the second, from the Isle of Wight Festival 2004:

My YouTube Channel: Barrie Gordon