obviously this could be a horrific incident - so feel free NOT to talk about it. I'm talking about moments where you just dusted yourself down and got on with life.

was at a gig (The Beat) a couple of years ago. the atmosphere was VERY TENSE, with lots of Fred Perry wearing knuckle draggers kicking about. I was high as a motherfucker too, which added to the general feeling of paranoia.

anyway, the gig was maybe 10 minutes old and was having a great time. there were a couple of girls dancing nearby and having a great time too. started chatting to one of them (in a non-predatory fashion) - then BOOM! some cunt just sparked me from the /frontside, knocking me to the floor.

got up, had a look around and found myself completely surrounded by meat heads. as I'm a lover*, rather than a fighter, I just took myself out the the reception area and sat down, feeling a bit sorry for myself.

the two guys I was with came out and asked what happened. told them not sure, but I definitely wasn't feeling the gig anymore, but being an all time top guy, I told them that I didn't want to ruin the rest of the evening for them, so told them to go back in and enjoy themselves.

had a MASSIVE lump on my head/eye, which came up almost immediately - and by the next day, my eye was almost completely closed.

gonna be honest, this wasn't a very nice experience and it really knocked the old confidence for a fair while. plus, I had a massive shiner - and everyone I met after that were saying shit like "you been in a fight?" - nah, man - I'm a fucking victim!

so yeah - things like that

*a pussy