It’s weird how inspiration strikes. There I was, minding my own business, music playing in the background, when a song came on that instantly transported me back to the mid-1980s while simultaneously providing me with a useful and timely metaphor.
That song, “If I was” by former Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, was released almost 40 years ago. I hadn’t heard it in decades. Those that are old enough might recall the premise of the song in which Ure imagines himself in various roles – sailor, painter, poet – and how each might declare and demonstrate their undying love for an unnamed woman. “If I was a soldier, captive arms I’d lay before her”.
I was 21 when that came out, so when I heard it again my initial response was one of nostalgia tinged with sadness at my lost youth.
But then I was struck that the song would be a perfect backdrop for a look at the demolition and construction industry of today.
So stick with me while me (and Midge Ure) imagine the demolition and construction industry as other things and in different scenarios. I will start with the issue of recruitment. And to highlight the problem that demolition and construction faces, let’s imagine the industry as an actor at a Hollywood casting call.
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