RIP Tom Petty (1950-2017)
Tom Petty is one of my biggest influences. I started searching out his cassettes when I was about 6. I remember finding “Into The Great Wide Open” not long after it had come out in the Caroline Music in Portadown, and ended up getting all of his and The Heartbreaker’s albums. Eventually I got to see them front row in Italy in 2012, and met some of his people that day. Mike Campbell gave us his wristband, and burnt his mouth on our liquorice chewing gum during “Don’t Come Around Here No More”. I ended up getting guitar picks from Tom and Scott Thurston, which I used to record in particular the second Unquiet Nights album “Postcards In Real Time”. Even more Heartbreaker-ish about that album is that Tom’s drummer Steve Ferrone is on two tracks on it. I didn’t know that would happen at the time of the Lucca gig, although I was telling Steve’s drum tech Gary from Arizona that day that Steve was also in the band of a friend of mine, which is how he ended up playing on two of our tracks. Also at that gig Mike Campbell was super nice when I chucked him an Unquiet Nights badge which rolled away towards his amp. He tracked it down and thanked me for it anyway, who else would have done that? So yeah, massive Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fan, and Tom’s departure is a tough one for me. I’ve made my personal top ten of his songs underneath.
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