THE drink that gives you wings to fly away; the energy drink that Freddy Krueger is likely to be clutching in his razor hands; what about the one that ends with a zade? The trio of energy drinks with fizz, specially developed to give you a whizz, and ideal to gulp when feeling as flat as punctured bicycle tire!
As a child of the 70s, my fizz and whizz hit didn’t come from an energy drink: it either came from a) Flying Saucer sweets filled with sherbet or, b) a pack of Refreshers. I loved both, but Refreshers hit the parts that other fizzy whizzy sweets could not. It’s fair to say, at one stage, spread over the number of years, from the late 70s to early 80s, I was a Refreshers addict.
You may know someone who cannot function without one of the popular energy drinks, they’re addicted, and, I kind-of get it. Looking back, whilst I didn’t crave Refreshers first thing in the morning, I needed them a few hours later. Feeding my addiction was rapid: I’d start-off by popping one into my mouth, but soon one was not enough so I started popping two at a time! The fizz certainly gave me a whizz but they were a few minor side-effects: the change in my tongue colour would surely only be attractive to aliens, and of course, after the fizz whizz had worn-off, I was feeling as flat as that punctured bicycle tire.
My addiction to the fizz whizz ended in the early eighties so I’ve been clean for more than 30 years (don’t hold back with the applause). So far, I have not been enticed by the coloured-bull that will give me wings, or that monstrous magic in the can, and not even by the many flavours of the zade. If I did want a fizz whizz hit, just like sneaking out of rehab, I’d find those Refresher tablets that had me hooked all those years ago.
The Milk Tray Man, mouthfuls of Angel Delight, smashing Smash Hits magazine, splashing it all over with Brut aftershave, World of Sport or Grandstand? A fat wallet or your flexible friend the Access Card? Could you survive a term at Grange Hill? Nostalgia with enough clout to send you flying back to the 80s and 70s in the hardback book Section N Underpass. Click image below to get the rundown:
