What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

[WhiteChristmas]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I remember my mum crying at the Ibrox disaster. My oldest brother had gone to the match and hadn't come home. He turned up the next day - he and his friends had left early and got p*shed at someone's house; they didn't know anything about it! He wasn't allowed (keep in mind he was 22!) to go to football again without me as chaperone until he married and left home.

I remember the wee woman who lived upstairs from my aunty being in bits about Elvis. It didn't help that we 9-11 year-olds all told her he was just an old singer who was rubbish and wasn't as good as Abba or David Soul.

Bob Marley and John Lennon; heard about both listening to Tiger Tim's show on Radio Clyde (different nights, obviously)!

Diana; I got up early for a Dynamic Forces comic memorabilia special on QVC and found it off-air with a message to tune to Sky News for something important.

9/11 ; I was sitting in the car eating lunch from the sandwich shop opposite work when the first newsflash came on. Most of the internet went down under weight of traffic, but the Guardian's talkboards stayed up and had people from all over the world online.

7/7; I was on holiday in Portugal and watched it on the hotel bar TV.

Heysel; listening to radio commentary.

Hillsborough; in the window of a TV rental shop in Poole. Dozens of people gathered around in silence.

Jacko - there was a cryptic half-story on 5Live about an hour before it was confirmed. I remember thinking, "that doesn't sound good".

Challenger, Valley Parade and Whitney, strangely, I have no memory of.

The one that really sticks in my mind is the day Thatcher resigned. I was sitting on a bus outside (appropriately) the job centre - radio 4 on the headphones - listening to her telling the House how much she was "enjoying" the debate - thinking, "good riddance"

[onthebusesfan]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

My Aunty remembered When Bob Grant (jack harper from on the buses) killed himself by Carbon monoxide poisoning he was found dead in his car in 2003

i Remember Reg varney Death by a chest infection he died at the age of 92 in 2008 i still miss my hero god bless you reg :cry: and the london riots in 2011 shocking at was.

My Dad remembers Hillsborough disaster and the bradford fire in 1985 both showed on live tv not like now days and my dad was about 10 i think when the king died elvis and john lennon died .

[darren]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I remember one of the first things having an impact on me was when Dustin Gee died. It seems silly now but I was only 9 and at the time I loved his shows on TV with Les Dennis. I remember hearing he'd had a heart attack and was very ill and thinking "oh no I hope he doesn't die" but he did and I was really sad. First time I was shocked by a celebrity death.

DO not remember dustin gee.
what age was he when died mate.
i remember when kenny everett died how sad i felt i think he died in 95 which made me 20 yrs old.

[Trickyvee]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I remember one of the first things having an impact on me was when Dustin Gee died. It seems silly now but I was only 9 and at the time I loved his shows on TV with Les Dennis. I remember hearing he'd had a heart attack and was very ill and thinking "oh no I hope he doesn't die" but he did and I was really sad. First time I was shocked by a celebrity death.

[stockportyears]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I was seventeen and still at school when John Lennon died. I hadn't heard the news that morning, and when I came into the classroom, a bit late, the teacher and one of the kids were talking about it. At first I thought they were talking about something on the telly last night, so I asked flippantly, "What's this - did I miss something good last night?"

"No," said the teacher, "It's just that John Lennon was shot dead this morning."

I was so gobsmacked that I didn't know what to say. I just said, "Oh," as if I couldn't care less! That was a bit embarrassing.

I must admit, I was just turned 11, and wasn't really that familiar with him, obviously I knew the Beatles, but knew far more about McCartney simply because he'd been in the charts all the way through the late 70s with Wings. John Lennon, to me at that time, was a bit like one of McCartney's 'backing group'. Obviously, the more I found out about the Beatles later on, I realised how important he was.

As for Elvis Presley, the only Elvis I'd actually heard of then (I was 7) was Elvis Costello, as I'd seen him on TV at some point (he must have just started to become famous), so I initially thought it was him who had died!

[Marillion]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I was seventeen and still at school when John Lennon died. I hadn't heard the news that morning, and when I came into the classroom, a bit late, the teacher and one of the kids were talking about it. At first I thought they were talking about something on the telly last night, so I asked flippantly, "What's this - did I miss something good last night?"

"No," said the teacher, "It's just that John Lennon was shot dead this morning."

I was so gobsmacked that I didn't know what to say. I just said, "Oh," as if I couldn't care less! That was a bit embarrassing.

[stockportyears]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

Other "having the radio on at the right time" moments I remember was the Oklahoma city bombing.

I turned the radio on one night last year to hear Richard Bacon and others in the middle of solemnly debating what was obviously some death of major importance. One contributor said :"and a career which was really set to take off again with the O2 concerts..." and my first thought was 'Britney Spears has died', basically cause she'd just finished a run at the O2 and, well, with all she's been through recently, you wouldn't be surprised.
But then Bacon interjected "But there's such an amazing and important musical legacy!" and I realised it wasn't Britney Spears...

It was, of course, Michael Jackson.

[Trickyvee]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

9/11 stopped me in my tracks. The joker of our workplace came barging in and said that a plane had crashed into the twin towers. He was a right attention seeker and usually full of bull**** so I didn't believe him until everyone started crowding around the computer. I couldn't leave the work I was doing so it was ages before I realised it was true and saw it for myself. That night I felt really jittery and upset, wondering what the future of the world was going to be.

Two weeks later our boss, a really nice bloke, committed suicide by throwing himself infront of a train. It was completely out of the blue and had a huge impact on everyone. That really shook me up a hell of a lot.

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

9/11 i had just had my internet and was in a american chatroom messing about it was around 2pm on a Tuesday and someone said about a plane crashing into the twin towers, i didnt even know what the twin towers were till that day, so i thought ill jus put the news on and see if theres anything mentioned on there.
I presumbed it was just a little cropdusting type plane that had hit a block of flats or something but when i saw the pics on the news i was totally shocked.
The Diana one i was waiting for a Ferry about 4am in Dover and some random man came up and told me and i started laughing and sayin "yeah right whatever" i just thought he was some strange person who had drank a few and was talking nonsense then on the Ferry most people were on about it all the old women were quite sad and saying "ooh its a shame etc" while most of the men were like "oh well etc" and wernt really botherd.
Im glad i was out that day because i remember hearing off everyone how rubbish TV was on that Sunday and loads of things were cancelled and it was just the same old news reports reported again and again.

[Grosh62]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

A girl riding a bike on Chickenley Lane.
The occasional wall.
The Falkland's war.
The storming of the Iranian Embassy during the Snooker on TV.
My Dad's death from MS(a world event to me).
Challenger.
Diana.
Boxing Day Tsunami.
and 9/11 (in Particular the 1st Tower collapse. The 2nd one seemed inevitable)

[darren]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

qyite a few left me stunned.

heysel in 84 european cup final
liverpool juventus.

and of course hillsborough.

the stabbing of monica seles in germany when playing steffi graf.
she was stabbed in the shoulder when she was sitting down as you do after each 2 games.

[Kiop]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

What events stoped me in my tracks?

Erm...none.

[Richard1978]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I remember coming home & the Challenger disaster being covered on TV most of the evening, I can't remember if CBBC was taken off air, or Newsround was extended to cover it.

A few months later Chernobyl disaster was a "What Happens Next?" event.

Other "having the radio on at the right time" moments I remember was the Oklahoma city bombing.

[nessie]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I think the first one was the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I was at a school that was next to an american air base and lots of the kids were from USA.

Then Hillsborough shocked us all in high school.

Princess diana..that one was odd. Because somehow it didnt seem real. Even though i was watching it on tv it wasnt going in my head (because princesses dont die, i know they do but you see where im going!)

Then the big one was 9/11. I was at work. Someone come in the office and i thought they were chatting s***. Rung me mum and she was in tears and then i was in tears. I felt awful for weeks after that. It can still bring me to tears that one.

[pantherpink]

Re: What Events Stopped You in Your Tracks!

I was working as cabin crew when we heard about Princess Diana. It was awful working that day. I remember I was nightstopping in Cologne and when I came to reception the captain said so matter of factly "did you hear Princess Diana died", and I just went cold. We were all in total shock the whole way to the airport and the whole working day. We had to hand out newspapers as the passengers boarded and there was just silence for all 4 flights I worked that day. Not one passenger asked for anything. Everyone was just in silence and so upset. :cry: