Jah
Wobble:
Higher Educational Supplement
The Times, 19th March 2004
Transcribed by Stephen Orr
© 2004 Times Higher Educational Supplement
REUNITED:
"BIRKBECK QUITE RIGHTLY, FANCIES ITSELF"
John
Wardle, aka Jah Wobble, studied humanities at Birkbeck College from
1996 to 2000. The former Public Image Limited bassist is now a music
producer.
"In 1996, after a good few years of procrastination, I finally
began a BA in Humanities at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Birkbeck's speciality was part-time degree courses for mature (I still
use the term loosely in relation to myself) students. Being unconfident,
I tested the water by doing an access course. I'm not sure I would have
got in otherwise. One of the two interviewers seemed to think I was
a time waster and would be unlikely to last the pace - a minimum of
12 to 15 hours a week for four years. However, the access course seemed
to clinch it, at least for the other (nice) interviewer. It was one
of those good cop, bad cop moments.
"Good cop" realised that my cockney accent did not indicate
fecklessness. I was determined to do the job and passed with a good
2:1, all achieved while touring, welcoming my first son into the world,
running my record label, as well as advising newly emergent nations
in Europe on their foreign policy. It's true to say I was a little bit
busy. (To compensate, I now meditate calmly and peacefully in front
of the Sky Sports channels for long periods at a time.)
So why did I want to begin
a degree at the ripe old age of 39 ? Well, I knew that I had academic
talents, but had woefully underachieved (my only qualifications were
two low-grade O-level passes). I had seen people of a similar age and
background go on and do degrees. I was envious. Also, it's nice to take
time off from being Jah Wobble (although I must admit, what a geezer
!) and do something (extra) ordinary. The old minor celebrity malarkey
can get a bit tiresome, water skiing in Monte Carlo, or boring receptions
at foreign embassies... it's all so meaningless. It's nice being plain
old John Wardle. Anyway, I enjoy being one of a crowd (when it suits
me). I didn't want to do an Open University degree; I wanted to be there
in the flesh, entertained and informed in the large lecture halls by
the likes of Anthony Grayling. I wanted somewhere second to none.
Birkbeck has a sense of place
and tradition. It does, quite rightly, "fancy itself". Its
sense of identity is probably greater than that of the University of
London as a whole, or of any of its other colleges, and is defined by
its relationships with mature students. Nevertheless, when I returned,
I noticed that the average age of the students had dropped noticeably.
At first I thought it might be a case of me getting older. However,
my suspicions were confirmed by statistics. Before I continue, I must
state that I resent young people (mainly for their youth, naturally).
I think an ideal age range for Birkbeck students would be mid to late
20's
upwards, with an average age ideally around the late 30s, as it was
when I was there. However, to be fair, I can see it from the younger
perspective; they can work in the day/study at night, and not end up
like their full-time peers, saddled with a large debt at the end of
their degree. This has led to Birkbeck becoming very popular with a
younger crowd. One consequence is that the college seems a lot more
crowded than it was in my time there. The place looks a bit different:
a large section of the college has been rebuilt, creating a new, and
rather large, state-of-the-art library in the process. Looks very tempting.
Hmmm... perhaps I'll do an MA... I'm very young at heart you know."
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