That was all I knew. Now, we had to go through the usual Jesus shenanigans with the entirety of the school's kids present, plus many of their parents and grandparents assembled. But all the time there was a large throne-shaped wooden chair sitting at the right-hand side of the stage, covered in kid-made paper palm leaves. And I thought 'Hang on, is that throne for Jesus, or maybe somebody MORE IMPORTANT?'

And then the head turned to me and said 'We're going to hear a bit of a track now, that I think is a very important song to our departing staff member.' So I then sat on a palm-decorated throne upon a stage, in front of a gaggle of headbanging kids and bemused-looking OAPS whilst the intro and first verse of 29x The Pain rolled out of a ghetto blaster and over the throng (The Works version, detail fans). And I thought, y'know, this feels exactly right.

So afterwards I had to talk to everyone about why this song was important to me, and explain that it's been my favourite song since I was 17 (I'm 31 now), because it's my favourite song by my favourite band and songwriter, and it's a song about other songs. And it's all about how music can enrich your life and, maybe, sometimes make that life worth living by letting you know that others feel like you too. And because it can 'make you feel like you'.
So, a strange but rather lovely experience. And I can forever claim that once, Jesus was my support act. Due, in part, to the glory of Ginger and The Wildhearts.
