The weirdest thing

...just happened to me. I'm not really supposed to be blogging right now, but I feel like I must share this: I just had the oddest phonecall ever, one that is still sending shivers up and down my spine as I write. One of my all-time childhood heros just rang and, because I didn't answer the phone, left a message on my answering machine. No, I didn't have a clue it was going to be him, or else I would certainly have taken the call. As it is, I am now the proud owner of what may be a priceless historical piece of audio only to myself, but nonetheless one I am very proud of. Here goes: when I was a kid there was this band, "Arno&Andreas" whose cassettes and LPs I absolutely devoured. They were the best - 1970's-style Christian pop music with what can only be described as massive production and big, big sound (horn sections, slapped basslines, DX7 synth licks, hammond organs and percussion mayhem, the whole nine yards) as well as catchy melodies and ever-so-slightly oddball if unselfconscious lyrics. I never managed to see them live but I think it's fair to say I know greater parts of their musical oeuvre very, very well, to the point of being able to sing their songs by heart, instrumental solos and drum breaks included. I LOVED this band and was devastated when I found out they had quit playing together sometime in the late Eighties, I believe. To me, they encapsulated all that was great about Christian contemporary music and, in my opinion, no-one in Germany has ever come close to achieving the kind of greatness these guys had at the time. So, anyway, many many years later, C and I were sitting working in the office last night when I have this idea that, for an RE class C is teaching, she might be able to use one particular "Arno&Andreas" song that I hold in such fond memory. Unfortunately, I only have a this song on cassette, which means I have to go and rummage through huge boxes full of old tapes down in the cellar, alas finding myself unable to locate the MC in question. Undefeated, I go online (as, unbeknown to me, does Christine, who is well aware of my love for the band) and find that one of the former band members, Arno Backhaus, has a personal website (www.arno-backhaus.de) from where he is selling CD recordings of many of their classic albums. Yay! I fire off an e-mail order for the CD I know holds the track I was telling C about, only to find out later that evening that she has gone and done the same thing, thinking she might surprise me with a gift. So I get back on the computer and e-mail the website, asking them to recall my order as it would appear to have been unnecessary. And then, this very morning as I'm sitting writing up a long-overdue review for a friend's CD (the album "Pride of Creation" by CEIL), the phone rings and I listen in stunned silence as Arno Backhaus himself, one half of "Arno& Andreas", tells me that, in fact, C and I ordered disparate CDs, so he doesn't know now which one to send us. I swear I almost spray coffee all over my keyboard as I hear the words "hi, this is Arno Backhaus calling" emerge in a calm, friendly voice from my answerphone's tinny little speaker. Honestly, it feels like having, say, Dave Matthews ring to say sorry I wasn't entirely happy with his band's latest album and would I mind getting back to him for some feedback. I'm totally blown away! I've no idea what Mr Backhaus does for a living these days (his website seems to suggest that maybe he's not entirely sure himself, though he appears to be doing well enough at whatever it is he does), but I do know he's just delivered me an absolute once-in-a-lifetime memory, the kind of story I fear my dear grandchildren will someday be so sick of that they will refuse to come visit eventually. Isn't life random sometimes? Cheerio!