Sounds of 2007

This is a piece I did for PA's music column a couple weeks ago and thought I'd put it on here as well. It might be all about new music but I've been listening to a really old dance track I've only recently discovered all afternoon!

:: MIKA
After clocking up an autumn of live performances that could give the late Freddie Mercury a run for his money, 22-year-old Mika is set to charm his way into the hearts of the music-buying public in 2007. Debut single Grace Kelly is a brilliantly bombastic taster of his album Life In Cartoon Motion, a collection which mixes the camp theatrics of the Scissor Sisters with sad tales that inspire both joy and melancholy in equal measure.

:: THE TWANG
The Twang are five talented boys from Birmingham who have been getting the likes of NME and Radio 1's Edith Bowman extremely excited. And, despite the dodgy name, rightly so. The intricate guitar work of Stu Hartland rivals that of U2's The Edge, while the songs themselves are uplifting, cocksure, funny musings on everyday life that build on all the best ideas had by The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Clash. These boys have taken rock'n'roll and are running with it.

:: REMI NICOLE
Not yet with a proper record deal, Remi Nicole's future still seems assured as the offers to sign her continue to pour in. Her voice lies somewhere between Corinne Bailey Rae and Lady Sovereign, and, rather than sticking to a particular style like those artists, Remi can do heartfelt acoustic strumming (Fed Up), bouncy Britpop (Na Nighty) and cheeky pop (Rock'N'Roll). Lily Allen has paved the way for sassy, alternative pop stars. Remi Nicole is set to fall in behind her.

:: SHINY TOY GUNS
Dubbed `emotronica' by popjustice.com, Shiny Toy Guns' music defies categorisation as it jumps from soaring U2-style melodies to dirty funk basslines that Peaches would be envious of on their impressive debut album We Are Pilots. While The Killers concern themselves with becoming a serious rock band, Shiny Toy Guns seem ready to take on their synth-rock mantle (they even share the same producer) and entice rock fans back into the disco.

:: ENTER SHIKARI
With the more hardcore end of rock music now making waves in the mainstream charts - My Chemical Romance for example, and Lostprophets to an extent - the time seems right for Enter Shikari. The band take the hardcore singing style and guitar riffs and mix them with more melodic, soaring vocals, with the odd trance riff thrown in for good measure. It sounds a strange mix but it works, and has had labels foaming at the mouth wanting to sign them; they've decided to release their music independently instead.

:: THE VIEW
Sometimes all you need is a straightforward rock'n'roll band, and it seems Scottish four-piece The View have been created for just that purpose - to fulfil your rock'n'roll needs. They've been compared to The Libertines, with whom their sound has much in common, but The View's tunes are meatier, more honed, and just downright catchier than anything Pete Doherty or even Razorlight's Johnny Borrell could write. Their next single, the sure-fire hit Same Jeans, is out in January, followed by a UK tour.

:: JACK PENATE
Handsome of face and floppy of hair, Jack Penate looks like he's stepped from the 50s - sometimes the 1950s, sometimes the 2050s. Which kind of sums up his music as well. Taking rockabilly rhythms and mixing them with today's prevalent Britpop guitar sound, Jack crafts timeless sounding upbeat pop nuggets. His limited edition debut single Second, Minute Or Hour ended up as Jo Whiley's Single Of The Week, suggesting that the intended slow build is not going to happen for Jack.

:: JUST JACK
After his overlooked 2003 debut album The Outer Marker sunk into obscurity thanks to his record label going bust, Just Jack (real name Jack Allsopp) is back for another crack at success. This time he's got the helping hands of a major label deal, shared management with his new-found friend Elton John, and a flawless-sounding album in the shape of Overtones, out at the end of January. Like Mike Skinner with better tunes, or a wittier Stereo MCs, this talented musician's sound is actually just Jack.

:: THE FRAY
Denver four-piece The Fray have stolen that British band trick of sticking a `The' in front of the band name in the hope that they may have some success here, just like they have in their native America. Possibly. They'd probably do well with or without it, as their tunes, which are what Coldplay and David Gray might sound like if they were American, have radio-friendly written all over them. See them support The Feeling in February.

:: THE HOURS
The Hours, between them, have played with the likes of Black Grape, Elastica and Pulp, but sound nothing like any of those bands. Instead, their music, which sounds like a more energetic Keane, should appeal to the more discerning fan out there. The band's debut single Ali In The Jungle made single of the week for Radio 1 DJs Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe, and new single Back When You Were Good is more sophisticated piano-driven pop, this time backed by a Phil Spector Wall Of Sound-style production.

:: COLD WAR KIDS
On first listening to Cold War Kids you'd be forgiven for thinking they're British. The meandering melodies, gentle riffs and songs that are soundscapes rather than tunes are all reminiscent of the likes of Beta Band, Guillemots or Elbow. But, no, the four-piece are from Long Beach in Los Angeles and intend to take on their British counterparts in February when they tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Their album Robbers & Cowards arrives the same month.

:: MARK RONSON
After helping launch Lily Allen's career this year, and giving a helpful shove to those of Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams, producer extraordinaire Mark Ronson is stepping out from behind the mixing desk to front his own album. Called Version, it does what it says on the tin and is versions of famous hits, from a jazzy, funked up take on Coldplay's God Put A Smile On Your Face to a soulful hip hop take on Britney's Toxic. It's out in April.

:: KLAXONS
Leaders of the so-called `new rave' revolution, as championed by NME, the Klaxons (like all the other new rave bands) are essentially an indie rock band with angular riffs and frenetic rhythms that has thrown in the odd electronic squelchy noise as a nod to rave music. They have, though, covered rave `classic' The Bouncer, that `your name's not down' one. Shouty, energetic and completely bonkers, Klaxons are riding the zeitgeist into the hearts of the kids.

:: SAM BEETON
Not many 16 year olds have Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie, and the Travelling Wilburies in their CD collection, but singer-songwriter Sam Beeton does. He's not your average teenager - the self-confessed Luddite is the only artist here not to have a MySpace page - and those musical influences are all over this rising star's songs. His record company Sony BMG are so impressed with the music that the major label are making him a priority next year.

:: THE HOOSIERS
The Hoosiers frontman, the impressively monikered Irwin Sparkes, says that if his band were a film they'd be a cross between Anchorman and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. That might confuse you but their music won't, as it's foot-tappingly catchy pop music given a twist by Irwin's slightly happier than Robert Smith vocal style. Forthcoming single Worried About Ray is a perfect example of the band's "skiffle-pop'', as they like to call it, and it's out in the New Year.

total:spec - Betty Curse

For a while there it looked like the so-called ‘goth revival’ might have been a bit of a fad, one of the more forgettable moments of 2006. And while that may be the case when it comes to fashion, in the music world the love all things goth looks set to continue apace in 2007.

Not only did we have big-haired band The Horrors on many critics’ tips for 2007 lists, but former teen actress turned ‘goth pop princess’ Betty Curse also looks set to build on the promise she showed throughout the latter part of last year.After being named Emerging Artist Of The Month by Yahoo back in August, 19-year-old Curse (real name Megan Burns) released a couple of singles - God This Hurts and Girl With The Yellow Hair - neither of which made much of a dent in the charts. But her distinctive gothic look and similarly distinctive outlook on life got her plenty of attention, both from the press and an eclectic bunch of music fans.

“We thought we’d appeal to young girls,” says Curse in her soft Liverpudlian accent. “I love dressing up and we thought the whole dressing up and having fun aspect would appeal, plus we’re singing songs as well, rather than just moping around and trying to be sexy.

“But it’s weird because at our gigs you see boys and girls from 12 to 25 and we’ve got a few friends on MySpace who are in their 30s. There’s even this American woman who’s, like, 42 who loves our music. I just think there are so many aspects to me and my band that will appeal to a lot of people. The adults read the lyrics and get what we’re doing.”

But it’s Curse’s appeal to her younger audience that has saved her from falling at the first hurdle. When her album Here Lies Betty Curse was released on download in October it did only fairly well. It was her success on the first Schools Singles Chart (which was started back in November and saw her coming in at No 2 behind fellow teen act Lil’ Chris), however, that made her record company Island pay her a bit more attention. A proposed CD release of the album in January was scrapped and Island made it one of their priority albums for the Spring.

And so Betty Curse might be your new favourite pop star for 2007. She certainly makes an interesting one. Despite her obvious teen appeal - the gothic imagery, dark lyrics and catchy guitar pop are perfect for any ‘woe is me’ teenager - she is an interesting proposition for adults as well. Along with the assured melodies - created by Curse’s partner in crime Steve Ludwin, former frontman with Little Hell - Curse writes some witty, thoughtful and sometimes outright political lyrics.

“When I went to college I was really politically aware,” she says. “I would do art projects on what was going on in the world. And I still like to keep in touch with what’s going on. But not too much,” she adds with a grimace, “because it’s just so frustrating.”

Curse vents her frustration at world events most clearly on album track The Look On Tony’s Face, her own witty take on the now ubiquitous Iraq war protest song.

“When we wrote that there were loads of punk bands coming out with all these anti-Bush statements,” says Curse, “and it started getting farcical. British people were wearing ‘Fuck Bush’ t-shirts and it was like, okay, yeah he’s a dick and whatever, but do we really need any more American flags floating around?

“In saying, ‘Fuck Bush’ it seemed like we were becoming more and more Americanised by it. So that song was almost like we were taking the piss. We made up a song so ridiculous that that was our anti-war statement - Tony Blair getting ‘blown’ away by Bush. It was all innuendo and more like a Carry On kind of thing.”

It’s the war on terror and the unrelenting coverage of it that Curse feels is the reason for people’s renewed interest in mortality the darker side of life, and all things gothic. “People are looking for a way to understand it and bands are offering it now,” she says. Last year saw goth everywhere, from the on-going popularity of Japanese cartoon character Emily Strange amongst teens (which Curse’s look is slightly based on), to Marilyn Manson’s wife Dita Von Teese featuring in magazines like Vogue and Elle. Even Coronation Street had its own teenage goth characters.

But what Curse brings to the table has elicited as many raised eyebrows as it has interest. Her songs, joyful pop songs aimed predominantly at teenagers though they may be, tackle subjects such as murdering cheating boyfriends, suicide and self-harm. As such, she is perfectly set up for people to use in the argument that music has an often bad influence on teenagers.

She disagrees, of course, saying that parents should look at their own relationship with their children rather than blame the music they listen to. But quotes like, “I don't encourage self-harm, but if someone wants to damage themselves they should be allowed to” are never going to go down well. As such she’s learned to keep her opinions to herself.

“It’s a hard issue to discuss,” she says. “It’s quite a personal issue, even to me, and I’d never promote that kind of thing. It would be ridiculous for me to do that because young kids are listening to my music. If I was trying to fly the flag for it, which people say I am, that would be irresponsible. But that kind of criticism comes with the territory, and I think I’ve got a good enough argument to defend myself.”

The song that’s caused the fuss is Excuse All The Blood, which came out as Curse’s first single last year, a double A-side with Met On The Internet. The chorus goes, “Excuse all the blood, we’re just having fun”, but it’s not about self-harm, she says. Instead Curse and Ludwin were inspired by the suicide note of Dead, the singer of Norwegian black metal band Mayhem who shot himself in 1991. The note simply said, ‘Excuse all the blood. Cheers.’

“Everyone thought he had no sense of humour but his suicide note proved everyone wrong,” says Curse. “We thought it was just hilarious, to leave it until that point to let everyone know what you’re like, and have such a gruesome death. We thought it would be funny to take his suicide note and make people more aware of Mayhem. That’s all, we wanted people to listen to Mayhem,” she laughs. “And then we got all this self-harm criticism when actually it was just a funny song. It’s a weird one, because it’s like, what is it actually about? It could be about a number of things. If you think of a girl singing about blood,” she grins, “it could be anything.”

When it comes to Betty Curse songs, however, that anything usually revolves around death. This softly-spoken, coolly intelligent and modest young woman is absolutely fascinated by it. But, as she explains, she sees her interest in it as a positive thing.

“It’s so fantastical,” she says. “A lot of it is based on people’s imaginations, and it’s very mysterious. No one actually knows what death is. We’ve all got our own theories, but no one will actually know what it is until they die, and then there’s no coming back to tell people what it is. To me that’s so beautiful. There’s almost like a death envy in us because we’ve got this whole, like, I want to know what it is thing going on.

“Maybe I’m just comfortable with the fact that when I die all my questions will be answered, and so I’ve got rid of the fear. I can live my life without constantly thinking about it. Obviously I’d be upset if a member of my family or a friend died but once you realise that we’re all mortal and we’re all going to die we can just appreciate everything that is happening now, and you don’t look too far ahead because you don’t know how far you’ve got.

“That’s why I never look too far into the future with regards to what I want to do. I’m just riding it for all it’s worth. I’m not saying live fast die young. Whatever,” she laughs. “Can you be arsed? What I’m saying is go with it, don’t worry.”

In Ludwin - a former rock star who gained some notoriety in rock circles by filming himself defecating on an NME, attending industry events in full drag, and regularly injecting himself with the venom of rattlesnakes in an attempt to stay young - Curse has found her musical soulmate, one with a similar interest in the macabre and twisted. Even the way they met was a bit creepy.

Hanging out at the end of an 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster gig while her boyfriend at the time went to get a setlist, Curse was approached by a woman asking if she could sing. “I just thought, fuck it,” says Curse, “and said yes. Then she called Steve over and introduced him as her boyfriend and I was like, oh here we go.”

But they weren’t after anything untoward, instead Ludwin told Curse he liked her style and wanted to set up a female-fronted rock band. Curse, despite being unsure about getting involved in something that might be manufactured, agreed to get together with Ludwin to work on some music ideas.

“I soon realised that he wasn’t interested in doing something plastic, or use me as a puppet,” she says. “He wanted me to bring what I was to it. Yes, he wanted it to be a pop act, but with a contribution from me, something more genuine than the Avril Lavigne-type stuff which was being churned out at the time.”

Music had long been an interest of Curse’s, much more so than the acting which she had dabbled with, to quite some success, as a teenager. As Megan Burns she clocked up performances in two memorable films - as a survivor in Danny Boyle’s zombie flick 28 Days Later, and as a kitchenmaid in Stephen Frears’ 1930s-set Irish drama Liam. For the latter she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival, where Hollywood legend Rod Steiger gave her some advice which would have a big impact.

“He took me aside,” says Curse, “and said to me, ‘You’ll probably get a lot of offers of work because of this, but only do something if your heart’s genuinely in it. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ll make, if you don’t love what you’re doing, you’re not going to succeed’.”

As such the only role she took after that was in 28 Days Later, just because she loved Boyle’s previous film A Life Less Ordinary. But the acting had done its job to a certain extent - improving a little on the crippling shyness Curse suffered as a child.

“My nan sent me to drama class,” says Curse. “I was so introverted. When I was about 11 I wouldn’t even go to the shops on my own, I was so shy. I hated the idea of anyone talking to me because I was embarrassed about how I spoke.”

It wasn’t always this way. Curse says that, before her parents split up when she was three, she was quite a confident child, chatting away to all the adults in the hotels where her parents worked. She moved to Liverpool with her mother after the split and found it hard to fit in at school, not least because she had a slightly southern accent, but later on because she had her own distinct style and liked bands - Bauhaus, The Cure, Nick Cave, The Birthday Party - that none of the other kids had heard of.

Her reaction? She knuckled down with her work and got the best grades she could. “I’ve always had this desire to do as best as I can to just prove other people wrong,” she says. It worked, and she went to college in Southport where she found more like-minded people.

But her school years still resonate with her and, while she’s endlessly chatty, it’s done with an endearing shyness and an unforgiving self-critical eye. Ask her how much of Megan Burns there is in Betty Curse and she’ll confess they’re mostly interchangeable.

“If I’m introduced to people as Betty Curse then it’s not Megan and I can say I’m this and that when really I’m probably dying inside,” she says. “It’s the same when I get on stage - the confidence is all an act. Everything else is genuine but because I’m acting confident in a way it makes me confident. It’s what I’ve always wanted to be but haven’t had the guts to be. So in a way I am being what I want to be. But I still haven’t got as wild as I want to,” she adds with a slight grin. “I can still feel there’s something needing to get out, but I don’t quite know what.”

As such Curse is a mask Burns wears most of the time, despite the amount of effort that must go into her hair, make-up and dress each day. There is, it seems, no situation too small or insignificant not to be seen fully attired. Ask her if she ever slobs around in trackie bottoms and a t-shirt and her look is incredulous.

“What do you think?” she says. “My flatmates laugh because even if I’m in all day I’ll come down with full make-up on and sit there in my heels. One of them came in the other day laughed because I was just lying on the couch smoking in heels and this outfit with frills and satin. He went to his room, put on some vintage pants and we just sat around and drank wine.”

You don’t get much more gothic than that, surely - Byron would be proud. But Curse has had yet more critics, this time amongst music fans, who say she is anything but goth. Her look and lyrics might say otherwise, but Ludwin’s pop melodies let her down, they say. Curse, unsurprisingly, isn’t bothered by the comments.

“Most of my favourite bands have all got their roots there,” she muses. “But then the music I make isn’t. I do take elements of it, of course, because obviously I’m going to be influenced by bands that I love. Also, though, you’ve got people who think Slipknot and Korn are goth. Really that’s just young kids in baggy pants with shitloads of eyeliner moaning about how much they hate their parents. That’s not goth.

“I see goth as more like a literary thing, more of an art than a style. I think of it more as a way of thinking and more of an aesthetic. So it’s funny when people get confused by my look and my music. They don’t really know what to do with it, rather than just taking it for what it is. They can’t pigeonhole it because it’s not pop, it’s not goth, it’s something else. It’s goth-pop!” she laughs. “It’s death-pop!”

NYE2006

I forgot to take my camera out on Sunday night. "What a shame!" my friends cried. I think they were being sarcastic. It's hard to tell these days.

Anyway. New Year's Eve, which I spent at Rebel Rebel in central London, consisted mostly of the following things...

* Fajitas. Yum.

* Warm champagne. (We couldn't wait.)

* Emma getting IDed (she's 28) by an 18-year-old barmaid. We did laugh. Though Em didn't.

* Some drinking. (Even Em.)

* Friends of mine who didn't know each other getting on well.

* A man with a fox for a scarf. What was a fox anyway. It didn't look happy. His name was Matt. The man, I mean, not the fox. Though perhaps the fox's name was Matt. We'll never know.

* Some more drinking.

* Lots of 'before the networks go down' Happy New Year texts.

* The networks going down and me being unable to send Happy New Year texts.

* Will Young hiding in a corner.

* Some dancing.

* Some more drinking.

* Me asking for Mr Brightside and getting it.

* Flirting with straight boys.

* Flirting with gay boys. (Never as much fun.)

* Jen forgetting the name of Dan from The Feeling but asking for a photo with him anyway.

* Some drunken dancing.

* Me asking for I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and not getting it.

* Some drunken moshing. Never takes off at a gay night for some reason. Poofs.

* Me accusing Justin of both paedophilia and domestic abuse. He took it in the spirit it was intended.

* A Tube journey home of which all I can remember is noise.

* McDonalds. Eurryuk.

* Jen seeing my arse when I was putting on my PJs.

* A mother of a hangover.

The year of our laud 2006

1. Overall, have you had a good year?
Yes. I've made a load of new friends, done my job well, had some great nights out, and prepared for what will be an amazing year next year.

2. What has been your biggest achievement?
Saving for and buying a round the world ticket. Getting my purple belt in kickboxing.

3. Did you take any exams, Pass?
I took two kickboxing gradings. For my orange belt I got a B and was a bit rubbish. For my purple belt I got a fucking A! Which is for ace, obviously.

4. Have you had your birthday yet?
In February. I got insanely drunk at Rebel Rebel (well, before I even got in there actually) and vaguely remember giving my female friends lapdances. They loved it. Then I went to the theatre on my actual birthday and saw Blood Brothers. It was crap.

5. Have you been on Holiday?
Much more than I should have, given that I'm going away for a year in January.

6. Where and when(list)?
I went to Brighton for Easter weekend and had lots of sex. Then I went to Kenya in September and saw lots of animals. There was no sex.

7. Have you bought anything expensive?
My round the world ticket. An iPod.

8. Have you had a job?
Of course.

9. Made any big decisions?
Deciding to leave my life, my loves and my living behind to go on a big adventure.

10. Lost a friend or loved one?
Lost him, got him back. I'm not really sure. Ask me again in... the future.

11. Met anyone amazing?
My housemates (and their friends) in Dalyell Road. A press officer at Sky One called Fabian Devlin who not only has a cool name, but told me loads about Thailand last week, and earlier in the year gave me the first series of 24 on DVD and got me hooked. All the people I met in Kenya. Famous people? Just Jack. Chris Cornell. Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje. The Tittybangbang girls. Gordon Ramsay. Julio Iglesias. Sugababes (twice). Scissor Sisters. Charlotte Church. Basement Jaxx. Alesha Dixon. James Morrison. Bruce Parry. Jorja Fox. Justin Lee Collins. Nelly Furtado. Bill Oddie. Tom Jones. Russell Brand. Jo Joyner. June Whitfield. Torvill & Dean. John Simm.

12. Made new friends?
Yeah loads from moving into Dalyell.

13. Moved house?
Twice. Once into Dalyell and then into my friend Jen's so I can save some money on rent before I go away. Moving sucks.

14. Changed college?
Not for a long time!

15. Tried something new?
Loads. Some new men, new food, new places, new countries. Ask me in a year though, I'll be able to give you a list ad infinitum.

16. Been more happy or sad?
An equal balance of both, as always.

17. Made any enemies?
Not that I know of.

18. What music will you remember from this year?
God, loads. Akala, Alesha, All Saints, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, The Automatic, Basement Jaxx, Betty Curse, Bob Sinclar (World Hold On), Bodyrox (Yeah Yeah), Captain, Chris Lake (Changes), Cicada, David Guetta Vs The Egg, Delays, Dirty South, DJ Shadow, Eagles Of Death Metal, Faithless, The Feeling, bloody Fergie, Friday Hill, Girls Aloud, Gnarls Barkley, Guillemots, bloody Gwen Stefani, Hot Chip, Jamelia, James Dean Bradfield, James Morrison, Jet, Jose Gonzalez (Heartbeat), Just Jack, Justice Vs Simian, Justin Timberlake, Kasabian, The Killers, The Kooks (Naive), KT Tunstall (Suddenly I See), Lil' Chris, Lily Allen, Lorraine, Lostprophets, Madonna, Massive Attack, Matt Willis, Muse, Nelly Furtado, The Ordinary Boys, bloody Paris Hilton, Paul Oakenfold, Pink, The Pussycat Dolls, Razorlight (America), Rihanna (SOS), Robbie Williams, bloody Rogue Traders, Scissor Sisters, Scott Matthews, Shiny Toy Guns, The Similou, Snow Patrol, Sugababes, Supermode (Tell Me Why), Take That (who'd have thought??), Thom Yorke, Till West & DJ Delicious, Tocadisco, The Upper Room, Veto Silver, We Are Scientists, Yourcodenameis:milo. (Can you tell I just went through my iPod??)

19. What movies have you seen at the cinema this year?
I don't go as much as I'd like. I've seen X-Men: The Last Stand (not as good as the first two), Brokeback Mountain (stunning), The Departed (intense, loved it). Think that's about it really.

20. What was your best night out?
Recently the Sky One Christmas bash which was held at the top of The Gherkin. Just. Amazing. THAT view, and an oyster bar, and champagne. And very good company. Brilliant. Um, also my first night out with my housemates. We went to Jamm in Brixton, just the four of us, got fucked and had an absolute blast. Mark and Nick's wedding in Bournemouth was great. Richard Ashcroft at Electric Ballroom with Sarah was good, as was The Feeling at Christ Church. Any gig with Sarah is good! The night I had my first threesome was interesting. :) Seeing Robbie play in Cologne was just amazing. The night my sister came up for the weekend was deadly. But it's been a pretty quiet year really. I've been saving!

21. What was your worst night out?
The night I was supposed to see Scissor Sisters in Trafalgar Square when I had my phone snatched and then lost my friend. Well, never found her. (See Shitterday Night blog.)

22. Best Day?
Getting my purple belt in kickboxing.

23. Worst Day?
The last time I saw David.

24. Best month?
This one. I can't tell you how excited I am about going away next month.

25. Worst month?
Last month when I was stressing about all the stuff I had to do before I go away. It's all coming together now.

26. Was summer a good'un?
Not really, was working hard as we were short-staffed and I couldn't spend any money as I was saving. Although seeing Foo Fighters in Hyde Park was fucking ace.

27. Have you made better friends with anyone?
That's an interesting one. Probably Anna by going to Kenya together. Yes definitely, actually. And some people at kickboxing.

28. Lost any friends?
No, I don't think so.

29. How many people have you kissed in the year of 2006?
Loads. You mean as in boys and tongues? Still loads. I've been a right slapper this year.

31. Did you have your heart broken?
Yeah.

32. Made any plans for next year?
Well, I might have mentioned it. I'm going travelling.

33. How many hair colours have you had?
Two. Finding bits of grey now!

34. Got pierced?
Nah, my body doesn't like it.

35. Got inked?
Wanted to but never got round to it. Next year.

36. Changed your image?
No, not really.

37. Missed anyone?
Yes.

38. Enjoying this survey?
It's going on a bit longer than I thought it would.

39. Know what you want in the future?
Nope, I'll take whatever the world throws my way.

40. Regret anything?
No. I've handled everything to the best of my ability with the information that was available to me at the time. It's all good.

Unknown white male

For a long time I've been wanting to write about my going away. This year I decided to go travelling, you see, leave everything behind and go see a bit of the world. I made the decision earlier in the year after a series of events, or should I say non-events.

Once I'd made the decision my plans formed pretty quickly. South-east Asia was a priority. I've never been to that part of the world and was very curious about it, more so particularly since I've been practicing martial arts. Money was a worry, of course, for the whole trip. But a friend mentioned that her ex-boyfriend was now teaching English in Thailand. The idea fascinated me - what a perfect way to immerse myself in the culture and earn some cash at the same time. Australia would be next. My friend Su now lives there and will be getting married in September, so I wanted to time my travels so I'd be there. Then New Zealand - blame Lord of the Rings etc etc. Fiji came to be part of the plan after talking to the travel agent as we planned my route. (Though this is now up in the air after the military coup. I'll have to keep an eye on that one.) San Francisco would be next. Los Angeles holds no appeal for me, thanks to the descriptions from various friends and actors that I've met, though I may visit it for a weekend, just so I can get a taste of it for myself. Then I wanted to factor Canada in, as I have family there - three half-sisters. When one of them came over in October for my Dad's 70th birthday she invited me to stay for Christmas, which was a relief; I was a little worried about what I would end up doing on Christmas Day next year. Then it would be New York, just because I love it there, and my good friend Eloise lives there.

I've wanted to write about this trip and my feelings about it at various times during the year (but for one reason or another I've not been able to sit down and do so) and I've wanted to write about it for one reason - because a lot of people have asked me why I'm going. At first it seemed like a strange question, as it didn't seem like a big deal to me; a lot of my friends have gone travelling and it was something I'd always wanted to do as well. But I came to realise that it wasn't such an obvious thing to do for everyone. To some people I was giving up a good job, a career I was doing well in, my friends, lots of things, and it seemed like a huge sacrifice. For what?

Truth is there was a long time where I'd become a bit jaded by my job. I've now worked as a feature writer for the Press Association for six years. For at least two of those years I've been looking to move on to something else. A job on a magazine, maybe. But what magazine? A couple of times I came close to what would have been good jobs, but they didn't happen for reasons beyond my control. So I found myself in a situation where I liked my job enough not to jump ship to just any old thing (I've been lucky enough to have a job throughout much of my 20s where I get free CDs, free holidays, a free mobile phone, free parties etc etc, as well as a lot of scope to write about different things, plus I was good enough at what I did that my superiors pretty much left me to my own devices) but also having been doing it long enough to become bored with the process. Part of me was hankering for the next challenge, and the ones offered by promotion within the Press Association - managerial, editorship - were not ones I was interested in taking up. Instead I wanted a new job with new challenges, but one that was as good as one I had. Jobs like that don't come along very often, as I discovered.

So I started thinking about other options. Travelling had always been one. It had always been part of my loose agenda, really. I'd wanted to get at least two jobs under my belt first, get my career going, and then think about travelling. But that wasn't happening. Time was running out. I'm hurtling towards 30 at what feels like a rate of knots and being above that age puts certain limitations on travelling. But it wasn't just my own ageing that was an influence, it was my friends' as well. Marriages, mortgages and motherhood became regular topics of conversation as they became realities for my friends. The pseudo-family I had formed with three of my closest friends when we moved to London, and who I lived with for six years, began to separate as life took us in different directions. One of them fell in love with an Australian who she is about to marry (the aforementioned Su), another went off to have a baby, the other decided to buy a house. So I decided to follow the plan I'd always had in the back of my head - go travelling.

Another reason I'm going is because I can. I have very few commitments. I'm not stepping out of a particular career trajectory to do this, for example. The nature of the career I've chosen means I can just pick up where I left off when I get back. Or even pick it up in another country should I decide to do so. I don't have a mortgage, or a child, and I'm not in a relationship. Now is probably the best opportunity to go that I will ever have.

Of course it's not the case that I'm not leaving anything behind. I have a great network of friends whose support I don't think I'll truly appreciate until it's no longer a Tube ride away. I'm leaving behind an amazing job (although it has only become really enjoyable again since an end has been in sight). I'm leaving a city I love. London may be a hard place to live in - it has a rhythm to it and that rhythm's pretty fast - but once you get into that pace, you get so much out of it. And (the one thing that really makes me not want to go) I'm leaving behind a man I love, a man who I never seem to be in the right place for, nor him me. And just as he has come into a better place, I'm leaving and it's too late to do anything about it. Maybe that's the way it will always be, who knows? It's certainly the way it is now.

So I'm leaving behind good things, but for good reasons. As I've been saying to people, I'm throwing all my cards up in the air. But that's okay, I'm in a good position to get another good hand. There's one really obvious and pertinent reason for me going - because I want to. I love travelling. I travelled a lot as a kid. We never went any further than Europe on our family holidays due to financial constraints, but my parents took us away as much as they could, exposed us to different cultures, food and people in the likes of France, Germany and Spain. And, as I said before, I've been lucky enough to have a job that has enabled me to travel a lot. As an adult I've gone to places as far flung as America, the Maldives, Egypt, Holland, and Kenya. And now I want to go further, do more, and more intensely. The places I'm going are well-trodden, possibly not very adventurous in the eyes of a more seasoned traveller. And I'll admit, I expect many aspects of the places I go will have some familiarity and make my life a bit easier on the way. But what's important is that I've never been there. I want to experience these places myself, and see the broader horizon with my own eyes. I can do the more alien, the more difficult and the more dangerous when I've got a few more miles on the clock. For me this isn't just a one-off adventure, this is just the beginning.