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Bob Layton Editorial: Money for nothing

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has tempered a ruling that deemed the Dire Straits hit "Money for Nothing" unfit for radio, saying that while the homophobic slur in the song is inappropriate, it must be taken in context and that individual radio stations can decide what their listeners want to hear. British musician Mark Knopfler is shown performing on stage at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, June 7, 2010.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has tempered a ruling that deemed the Dire Straits hit "Money for Nothing" unfit for radio, saying that while the homophobic slur in the song is inappropriate, it must be taken in context and that individual radio stations can decide what their listeners want to hear. British musician Mark Knopfler is shown performing on stage at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, June 7, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mario Vedder

As we wait to see what will eventually become of Northlands Coliseum, people still talk about their memories.

Like you, I attended lots of concerts and games, but the one that still makes me smile happened back in 1985.

READ MORE: Estimated cost to demo Coliseum doubles, Edmonton report says

It was Sept. 26, and yes, I had to look that up. It was the Dire Straits concert.

Sept. 26, 1985 was a Thursday and I arrived at the concert wearing a suit. I don’t remember why, I had obviously just come from a more formal event.

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At any rate, Marg and I took our seats. Directly in front of us, a young man was passing out little packets of something wrapped in tinfoil to his friends.

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I wasn’t sure what it was, as they carefully unwrapped it and sniffed at it.

Being a curious newsman, I leaned over and asked, “What do you have, there?”

READ MORE: Longtime employee reflects on Northlands Coliseum’s history as closure approaches

He turned around, looked at me, quickly stood up, looked me up and down and his eyes got big and he shouted, “Narc!”

He and his friends did a quick “walk of life” to the aisle.

These “sultans of ” whatever they were did not come back.

I hope they didn’t miss the show, otherwise they spent their ticket “money for nothing.”

Bob Layton is the news manager of the Corus Edmonton group of radio stations and a commentator for Global News.

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