Toby Young Toby Young

When does ‘middle age’ end and ‘old age’ begin?

[Getty Images]

I was a bit irritated by all the millennials saying the Superbowl half-time show made them feel old. The 15-minute musical extravaganza at Sunday’s game was a tribute to the golden age of hip hop and featured Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Dr Dre. The reason it made so many people in their thirties and early forties feel a bit long in the tooth is that all artists are now candidates for the Hall of Fame. Dr Dre is 56 and Snoop Dogg turned 50 last year. Seeing their idols thickening around the waist and sprouting grey hairs was a mementomori for people who came of age around the millennium.

The reason that bothered me is that I’m even more ancient than Dr Dre. Indeed, I felt old when Snoop Dogg had his first hit with ‘Deep Cover’ in 1992. By that time, my musical tastes were pretty much set in stone. Classic rock and classic soul were my bag, and while I was able to make room for the occasional artist who straddled the two genres — like Prince or Lenny Kravitz — I was reluctant to stray too far from the 1970s. I had a vague sense that hip hop was raw and exciting with some of the same anti-Establishment energy as punk, which I’d been a big fan of in my teens. But I also felt it belonged to the generation immediately beneath me and kept a respectful distance. I didn’t want to be one of those Peter Pan types who tries to get down with the kids by advertising his familiarity with the latest musical trends.

I describe myself as ‘middle-aged’, which always provokes laughter from my children. ‘You’re 58, Dad. Do you really expect to live until you’re 116?’

So, anyway, hearing people a decade younger describe themselves as ‘old’ made me feel like the Ancient Mariner — and that may have been the intention.

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