When I was 13, I formed my first band - The Offbeats . . . the neighbors weren't too pleased about this. We used to practice at weekends, quite loudly - for hours. Dennis played rythymn guitar and sang, Paul played rythymn guitar and sang, I played lead guitar and sang, and Ricky was the drummer.
After a few school gigs, someone mentioned that it might be a good idea if one of us played bass, to 'round out' our sound. I immediately told Dennis to do the honours as I'd played the guitar longer than him. He wasn't thrilled. He'd only just persuaded his dad to buy him an electric guitar . . . and besides, as far as he could tell, girls weren't impressed by bass-players. When my family decided to move house - thus ending the loud rehearsals of my band - the neighbors got together and sent us a going away card, thanking us for leaving.