The kind you find in a second-hand store

Hooray, the 80s are back. And not a moment too soon; today's copycat pop is so unlistenable that I have had to drop XFM in favour of Virgin Radio.

Forget the rah-rah skirts, power shoulders, leggings and curly perms. But give me that music (and Azzedine Aläia's clothes) any time; twenty years later, its freshness and originality still captivates me.

The highlight of this year's Brit Awards was a rare performance from Prince, who performed Purple Rain. It was good to see him in such fine form, sporting a neat crop and the word "slave" scrawled on his face. Even His Purpleness works for the cash machine.

I do not own any CDs by James Blunt, KT Tunstall et al., so that must make me a candidate for an old folks' home. But at the Virgin Megastore the other night, I was looking lovingly at CDs by Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Aimee Mann and His Purpleness. I've even been trawling eBay for 80s t-shirts.

As my Brother The Lawyer reminded me the other day, Whitesnake still rocks and David Coverdale is pushing 60. I fully expect that he will receive a MBE soon and make the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine, as Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox have.

With any luck, the world will succumb to global warming before Muse, Snow Patrol and The Others do.

Don't mention the goosesteps

It doesn't take a team of geniuses to work out that it will be a long, hot summer for German police, who are controlling the hooligans at World Cup 2006. It does, however, require 423 Members of European Parliament to come up with the novel idea of cutting the sound and colour during televised World Cup matches, so that viewers won't be offended by racist activities.

This will probably be just as effective as the threat of jail for anyone who imitates Basil Fawlty. Home Secretary Charles Clarke has warned that hooliganism is no laughing matter, but why do our officials think that colour TV is to blame? Racism and hooliganism are always ugly, whether in black and white or colour.

As the last World Cup in Japan and Korea proved, distance and a high cost of living proved to be the most effective deterrents to hooliganism. Unfortunately for Germany, it is easily reached by any number of low-budget airlines. It also has a healthy - and longstanding - hooligan tradition of its own and enough cheap beer to fuel countless riots.

But tourist dollars are important to a country that is experiencing some serious economic turbulence, so raising the prices is not an option. Money is why Germany lobbied hard to beat South Africa in the World Cup stakes.

However, money can't buy love or happiness (as Jose Mourinho knows) and I fear the Germans will find precious little of it amongst this summer's drunken football fans.

Accentuate the positive

Whenever I think of the BBC, I always think of the tube stop: White City. You need only walk around Media Centre and TVC to know how ironic that is - the Beeb has been trying and trying to diversify, ever since Greg Dyke declared the place "hideously white" some years back.

It's baffling - they serve hot curries at lunch (a fiery chicken chaat was yesterday's special), they have training programmes and there are all sorts of initiatives to turn White City into a melting pot. Things have improved, but the upcoming redundancies may mean that it is going to be a long time before a gay black woman gets Greg Dyke's old job.

Sensing a golden business opportunity, Raphael Mokades, Pearson's former head of diversity, decided to set up Rare Recruitment, an agency that specialises in ethnic minority applicants. This splendid idea was immediately reported to the CRE (Commission for Racial Equality) by a civil liberties group, who accused Rare of 'positive discrimination'.

As a board member of Aspire, a support network for ethnic minority journalists, I know that media organisations often complain about the lack of minority applicants. And yet, there are hundreds of hungry young journalists who subscribe to Aspire's email-list, looking for advice and job leads. Clearly, something must done to match the opportunities with job-seekers and that is what Raf's new business aims to do.

I must admit that I cannot tell the difference between positive discrimination and positive action. But I do know what a level playing field is - so I encourage all my Aspirants to hone their skills and get the right education if they are to compete for jobs.

Confessions of a mercy killer

Recently, I sent my former journalism tutor the link to this blog. His response was scathing - "why should anyone care what you think?"

I refrained from calling him a grouchy old fart and conceded that there are millions of us out here in a virtual Hyde Park Corner, pontificating about all sorts of things. But in these troubled times, journalists are finding lots to say and editorial columns are proving to be more than mere outlets for political or social commentary.

Birmingham Mail columnist Maureen Messent took self-expression to new heights when she admitted to administering a fatal dose of morphine to her terminally-ill great-aunt.

Her confession jolted readers, who inundated the newspaper with letters, phone calls and emails. Although most readers supported Ms. Messent's actions, she was arrested last Thursday by police. There is now a possibility that Ms. Messent will face murder charges for the death of her great-aunt 30 years ago.

Ms. Messent apparently knew of the risks involved and wrote her column anyway, in support of euthanasia. She was incredibly brave to do so, since her decision sparked debate and discussion. Isn't that what the best editorial columns and blogs are supposed to do?

You spin me right round

Most sensible people avoid discussing politics and religion at dinner. Hacks, however, find politics much more interesting than their marriages or children.

Last week at the Frontline, dinner was dominated by that old chestnut, the disconnect between politicians and young people. Two young Asian journalists were debating the pros and cons of Respect MP George Galloway's stint on Celebrity Big Brother.

"Well, he probably did it because it would help make him more attractive to young voters," they said.

I feel sorry for the poor people - young or old - who voted for Galloway, thinking that he would actually do something to help improve their lives and businesses. Instead, he disappeared for several weeks to cavort in a house with other 'celebrities': Dennis Rodman, Rula Lenska and Pete Burns.

Is it any wonder that young voters are staying away in the UK and the US? Gordon Brown wants to lower the British voting age to 16, but why should anyone vote, when George Galloway holds the worst record for answering emails from his constituents?

Politicians like to blame the media for young voter apathy because we supposedly make them look ridiculous. They do fine on their own, by going hunting - just ask US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Six-camera Mo

Thanks to my friend Salim Amin, I was able to see a very advance screening of his new film Mo & Me the other night. It is a loving but honest appraisal of his dad's remarkable life and career.

Most people will know Mo Amin as the man who shot that Ethiopian footage which transformed the rat Bob Geldof into a bona-fide saint. Salim avoids sentimentality and presents his dad to us in all of his flawed glory. This was one bad-tempered skinflint who always got his story - and his invoices (which always included the price of postage) in on time.

The film is also a colourful visual history of Africa, which was largely captured by Mo's arsenal of cameras. His nose for news stories often led him to the good, bad and ugly; a chance telephone call resulted in an unlikely friendship with Uganda's Idi Amin, who thought they were related because they shared a surname.

Mo's greatest legacy was his work - and his son, who has created a magnificent portrait of his life.

These people are not your friends

That's what Philip Seymour Hoffman's Lester Bangs tells the young journalist William Miller in one of my all-time favorite films, Almost Famous.

In his latest film, Capote, Mr. Hoffman is definitely nobody's friend - he is someone who fails to see the 'big fuss' about To Kill A Mockingbird (written by his loyal sidekick Harper Lee) . The real-life Truman Capote was the one guy you don't tell secrets to.

But as young William Miller discovers in the cut-throat world of rock journalism, friendship (or some form of it, anyway) is a useful lubricant that can lead to an exclusive interview behind closed hotel doors.

Capote left me uneasy, and feeling more than slightly guilty. Like many journalists, I have had to charm - well, it would be a real stretch to say 'seduce' - reluctant sources into talking to me. I am not sure that I wouldn't sink to the tactics used by Capote if I had to talk to a mass murderer. The question is, would I feel bad if my new pal died?

Good Morning and Good Luck

To Wall Street Journal reporter Farnaz Fassihi, who has left Iraq for the relative calm of Beirut. Read her farewell article here, which is a no-holds-barred summary of three tumultuous years in Baghdad. This has echoes of the email Farnaz sent to friends and family, which was widely circulated and brought her to public attention.

Beirut has always appealed to me, ever since a Lebanese colleague told me how women would get their hair done as bombs rained down on the city. Like Paris, France, the 'Paris of the Middle East' is full of chic, impeccably-groomed women. Intimidating, perhaps, but I still hope to visit and eat even more Lebanese food than I already do.

And I will - I'm paying yet another visit to Chez Marcelle this weekend.