The Greys

This is another of the comics we’ve produced for “Aylesbury Town Matters” – our local Town Council’s quarterly magazine.

This strip harks back to an infamous moment in Aylesbury’s history – John Otway’s 1978 homecoming gig in the Market Square (the original “Hobble on the Cobbles”). Otway had been given a £250,000 advance by his record company and the gig was filmed for national TV. This was the age of punk and John Otway was predicted to be big. He belted out his punk anthem (and top 30 hit), “Cor Baby That’s Really Free”, as well as the B-side, “Beware of the Flowers Cos I’m Sure They’re Going To Get You, Yeah”, to a rapturous audience. His uniquely acrobatic stage antics captivated everyone, and he left the stage every inch a star.

For his follow up to the iconic punk single, he decided that perhaps the punks would appreciate something a little different. He recorded a ballad with a 100 piece orchestra.

It was to be 25 years before he troubled the charts again.

Otway is a local legend. Despite years in the musical wilderness, he’s built up a following of loyal fans (including both of us) thanks to his hilarious concerts. Throughout that time he’s tried numerous plans, schemes and scams in an effort to launch himself back to pop stardom. Most of them failed miserably, and often expensively. But they did provide fodder for two autobiographies that are well worth reading if you want to learn – in painfully comedic detail – how not to become a pop star. His latest scheme? A “rockumentary” movie charting the ups and downs of his career to date, due for release next year. And in typically optimistic Otway fashion, he’s even booked a Leicester Square cinema for the premiere.

Click here to download the SVG source for this comic