Old Dogs and New Tricks

There have been some notable returns to public awareness by rock bands and celebrities in recent years.
Pink Floyd were coaxed out of semi retirement and temporarily put aside the differences between the band members to perform and thrill at Live 8.  Led Zeppelin similarly causing an overload of the internet from the clamour of those seeking the elusive tickets to a series of London gigs a few years ago. I tried over two days but could not stand the tension and stress of getting to the final payment page before everything crashed on the screen of my laptop.

 There has been some reluctance amongst the surviving original members of Monty Python to return to public performance this year with some highly publicised back-biting and airing of differences.

In spite of some significant periods of absence from the limelight, take Kate Bush, for example, the most faithful and  ardent fans may claim that their heroes have never really been away at all. There is a certain timelessness in the back catalogues of the best exponents of rock, pop, comedy and drama which means that they attract new devotees from successive generations which further perpetuates reputations and solvency.
It is important however to consider the motivation behind a long awaited return to public exposure. This can give added credibility if marking a landmark anniversary of that first and arguably best album release but less so if just fund raising to meet legal costs for long running copyright or inter-band disputes or to pay off an estranged spouse.

I recently went to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse live in concert. The music is still as good as ever especially if you close your eyes and it is somewhat of a shock to open them to see a  group of oldies on stage, sharing their own private jokes and reclaiming that sensation of when they were in their prime albeit a bit stiff limbed and laboured.

Musicians are more likely to just age naturally after their retirement from active service but only if they have escaped any long term health implications of a typically riotous, debauched and depraved existence. Everything would be stacked against attaining that average life expectancy given the exposure to hazards of passive smoking, late nights, fat filled arteries from junk food and additive infused M&M's.
History would certainly encourage most rock stars intending to cash in their pension to avoid swimming pools, fast cars, flying in adverse weather and all of the foregoing  with a skin full of alcohol or drugs.

It is different for our sporting heroes.

Take racing cyclists, who will have maintained long periods of peak athletic fitness , that is of course if not succumbing to performance enhancing drugs and the inevitable side effects that go with that choice.
Most cyclists can look forward to enjoying a reasonable longevity in the sport. Many will have started at a very early age with child, junior and youth competition before progressing to the senior ranks and for the most talented into the Professional ranks.

The halcyon days of cycle sport were, in my opinion, the successive Tours de France in the 1980's coinciding with my own late interest and participating in the local racing scene.

I followed the greats of the time and was fortunate to be able to see my heroes in action on a stage of the 1984 Tour. The best of the best included Fignon, Hinault, Lemond, Roche, Kelly, Millar, Delgado and the hard men from Holland, Belgium and Italy. Apart from the untimely death of Fignon in recent years most of the rest continue in some role in the sport that gave them a living.

Bernard Hinault works as a front man for the current Tour de France organisation. Sean Kelly, ever the mumbler, continues to give his wisdom on TV commentaries. Stephen Roche pops up now and again as a pundit, Greg Lemond has come out of self imposed isolation to ride on public participation events following a Tour Stage in his favourite mountain territory and I walked past Robert Millar at a local race in his guise as manager for an Elite Category team.

 They look as though they work out although as anyone in their middle years know there is a certain thickening of chest and protruding of the belly (particularly amongst males) which warrant the occasional sharp intake of breath if looking to impress.

Ageing cyclists retain, however, their physique in their legs and even though my heroes are very much of pensionable age I would hesitate to challenge any of them to a race around the block or attempt an overtaking manoevre if coming across them on the way back from the shops.