Making a comeback

Making a comeback

Hello, and welcome back to Listen to English. I hope you all had a good summer break.

Today, I will tell you about an expression which you often see in the newspapers– “ making a comeback”. What does it mean, to“ make a comeback”?

Imagine that you are a pop singer. Your records sell really well. Your concerts are a sell- out. You earn millions of dollars, or pounds, or euros, every year. Then your fans get bored. They want something new. They stop buying your records. They stop going to your concerts. There is a new band, composed entirely of13- year olds, which is now top of the charts. People have forgotten about you. Then perhaps10 years later, people rediscover you. They thought you were dead, and are surprised and happy to find that you are still alive. You make a new record and people buy it, because it reminds them of the old days. You are invited to sing at some big music festivals. You have made a comeback.

Here is another example. Kevin, as he generally does on Saturdays, goes to a football match to watch his team, United. The first half is a disaster. The other team score two goals. The crowd is sure that United will lose. The second half starts badly– the other team score again. And then, in the last15 minutes, United start to play proper football. They score a goal, and then another one, and finally a third goal in the last minute. The newspaper report of the match talks about“ United’s big comeback in the second half“. And Kevin is very happy!

The newspapers are very fond of writing about“ making a comeback”. Here are a few of the things which the newspapers tell us have made a comeback, or are going to make a comeback:

1. sewing machines. Because of the economic recession, people think it would be good to make their own clothes, and sales of sewing machines have gone up. Sewing machines are making a comeback.

2. ripped jeans. Do you remember when you could buy jeans which already had holes in them? Well, they are making a comeback, or so the newspapers say!

3. bow ties. I have no idea why bow ties are making a comeback. Indeed I don’t think they are.

4. English cricket. After several years of despair, the English cricket team has beaten the Australians, and we are all very happy. English cricket has made a comeback.

5. red kites. The red kite is a bird of prey, which became extinct in England over100 years ago. Over the last20 years, conservationists have released red kites into the wild in several parts of England, and there are now several hundred of these beautiful birds. The red kite is making a comeback.

6. cider. Cider is an alcoholic drink made from apples. For years, sales of cider have been falling, as people preferred beer or wine. Now people are interested in cider again. I went to a pub last week which sold20 different sorts of cider. Cider is making a comeback.

But the most amazing comeback is this.

That was Vera Lynn. She was a very popular singer during the Second World War, when her sentimental songs on the radio helped to keep people’s spirits up. But that was a long time ago. You have to be in your70 s to remember Vera Lynn on the BBC in wartime. Now a CD of some of her songs has just been re- released, and it is in the Top Twenty. Who is buying it? Are there queues of old people outside the record shops? Or do people buy the CD for their grannies? Or is it just that we English are in love with the past? I don’t know, but Vera Lynn– who is now92 years old– has definitely made a comeback.