My First Cyber

The Internet. Ain't it marvellous?

Well, believe it or not, there was a time when it didn't exist, or when it barely existed.

In 1998, with the web in its infancy, Rog er Taylor (drummer with Queen and underrated vocalist) performed a webcast from a barn on his large Surrey estate, setting a new world record in the process for the most people watching an online gig.

As a big Queen fan, who also loves Roger's solo work, I was very excited about this, not least because at the time the tubthumper wasn't planning on doing any more touring. This, was to be it, the only gig to promote his latest (and last) solo album, 'Electric Fire'.

So, on Thursday, 24th September 1998, after most sensible people had finished work, I found myself in my office, hunched over my laptop, trying to watch and listen to RMT play a mixture of classic Queen hits and some of his new songs.

Amazingly it worked, the sound quality was good, the picture quality less so, it felt new and exciting - as well as somewhat exclusive, watching it in an empty office it felt like my own private show.

Ten years on (is it that long!) we're probably all quite blasé about this type of thing, so this memory is a good way to remind me what a bloody good invention t'internet is, as well as what a good singer old Rog can be when he puts his mind to it!