YOU WON'T CHANGE THE CHILDREN OF THE (INTERNET) REVOLUTION

Today is the anniversary of Marc Bolan's untimely death. Hence the apt headline. Anyway, while this post is about looking back, it's also about knowing when it's time to move on. So, children, settle down, drink your milk and listen up.

True story ... The wife and I were shamed by our three-year-old niece last week, when, infront of her, we were asked what a transformer was. “It’s a robot in disguise,” we both answered with utter sincerity. “Oh,” said the toddler, “I thought it was something to do with electricity”. We looked at each other startled, and thus, a single conversation highlighted just how influenced us 21st century 30-somethings were by the 1980s entertainment moguls. Today’s rising captains of industry are also the generation that nostalgia kidnapped, trussed-up and threw in the boot of its car (a Ford Capri, of course), at an age when they were still buying the acne cream. While being fixated on Lando's 'tache and cape, we were raised on a diet of Manimal, TJ Hooker, The Littlest Hobo, My Little Pony (skinny and boney), The Fall Guy, Terrahawks, Thundercats, He-Man, Granstand then Dr Who, The Goonies, Supergran and Gummidge. And it's a heritage that manifests itself in our lives every day. From sharing common childhood experiences on Facebook to buying up retro car boot junk on eBay (the exact same stuff your mum coldly sold during your first term away at Uni), we creep steadily forward within our fourth decade as wide-eyed children cocooned in adult bodies. And the influx of cheap "100 Greatest TV moments" shows aren't helping us grow up. From T-shirts to trainers, magazines to DVD's, you'll find most 30+ year-olds are nursing a serious bout of Dusty Binfluenza. We're entertaining modern life while refusing to let go of our halcyon days. That’s why, one drunken evening, a pal – Stuart “The Loofa” Kerr – posed an intriguing question that captured the attention of surrounding friends (fully grown men and women whose brains are sitting somewhere east of Fraggle Rock: What would be your ultimate Transformer? Legend that he is, Loofa came up with a corker: A leopard that turns into Kylie’s bum. Mattel ... any chance?