from Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys
At Aston University a week later several large bikers loomed up at the front of the stage, took one look at us, and screamed, 'Play "Paranoid",' by Black Sabbath. We decided that it was a reasonable request and at the end of our set we did just that. Actually, we could only play what we knew of the song, but it seemed to satisfy them, as afterwards their large leader, in studs and leather, approached us in the student bar.
'You're all right, youse are,' he said in a broad Midlands accent, pointing a skull ringed finger at us.
Robert looked at him and said, 'Thanks. I'm glad you liked it,' or words to that effect. This seemed to mollify the other bikers, lurking behind their leader, and they skulked off back into the bar. As much as Robert could be a lightning conductor for violence, he could also be a soothing panacea to some of the more outré elements of society. I think they were just appreciative of the fact that someone would acknowledge their existence. I think that's true of most us, really.
