Freedom 90 - George Michael and a job working for BCCI Bank in the City

I had a 'spine- tingle' tonight whilst trying to put together a Christmas present for my 2 year old son. Both kids in bed, wife watching George Michael in Concert on Sky 1 and me with a bloody huge box with an unassembled table, 7 metres of wooden train track and an allen key.

George Micheal was doing his encore and came out and asked the crowd in Earls Court what song they wanted to hear. Then the drum intro to Freedom kicked in. It took me straight back to my first job in the City. These are the thoughts it evoked.

Still living at home with parents but feeling all grown up. Spending nearly a third of my salary on a season ticket to get to and from work. Being all grown up with a packet of Malboro Reds and a brass Zippo lighter, mints and a Next Suit.

Against my parents wishes I decided to swerve University and got a job for an international bank called B.C.C.I. The Bank of Credit and Commerce International. For those of you in the know, you'll know that this bank was basically a front to launder drug cartel money, clean it and then move it around the world. It was a massive operation with branches worldwide and plenty of branches in London with lots of marble toilets and gold taps. I worked first at Leadenhall Street and then later at the Charing Cross Road Branch. It was closed down by the Bank of England in 1991

Amusingly over the years since the closure, my old branch on Charing Cross Road ( opposite Centrepoint) became an Ann Summers Sex Shop, then a Benjy's Processed Meat Sandwich Shop and now I think it's an EAT.

We used to be allowed to smoke at our desks and I had a massive BCCI hexagonal brown smoked glass ashtray on my desk. I still have this at home, in the shed as a door stop. I was given it as a leaving present by my manager when I left to become a commodities broker. Nice present!

This song evokes feelings and memories of hope and excitement. Job in the City, good prospects and the first steps of a career. When I was at BCCI I wasn't aware of any of the stuff that was going on. There was no internet, no twitter, no blogs, no mobile phones, no texting, no email. My mum and dad had read some stuff in a 'big paper' but I really didn't have a clue that the bank was already under a lot of scrutiny. I wanted to get into Trading either Currency or Soft Commodities and when an opportunity came up I left the Bank.

The whole point of this Music Memories Blog is to capture those moments as and when they occur and hearing Freedom by George Michael did just that tonight. That was nearly 20 years ago... Wow...

I still haven't finished building the table that my son's train set is supposed to sit on and I'm trying to watch a Bluray of Terminator Salvation with the sound set on bloody quiet. It's not happening...