GUEST,John Hills said:"perhaps we are seeing part of a process which will, in due course, turn full circle".

While I, too, would like to believe that, the truth is that there is no evidence that this is the case - rather the opposite, we are on a downward spiral that only a new "revival" will pull us out of.

Such a "revival" can only be led by youngsters, not by us. And it may well blend in some new music elements, as part of the attraction for the younger generation. How about listening to the latest Metallica ballad for example? And before you cringe at the connotations of the band name, do spend 3 minutes listening to "Nothing else matters" - when my 18 year old daughter played it to me I was bowled over. Now, I would gladly accept some of that as the price for doubling audiences and halving average age at the clubs.

But will such a revival happen anyway? In whose interest is it? What will drive it? Perhaps the record labels, in search of new audiences; or perhaps - I'd like to think so - the young'uns themselves, as they seek self-expression in the passive, non-participatory world of pap thrown at them by the media.