Ruts D.C. August 2024

 So - the Ruts D.C. ElectrAcoustiC tour went wonderfully well, and August is looking good too...

'It's A Long Way Back To Germany...' (AKA 'Oh Manchester, so much to answer for...')

 The following was written in June 2022 at the times and in the places indicated. Usual rules apply. 

Ruts DC and Die Artze backstage at Parkbühne Wühlheide Berlin on 07/06/22
L-R Segs, Farin, Dave, Bela, Leigh, Rod

Tuesday 7th at 9.48 am in Room 305 Ibis Hotel in Kurfuerstendamn Berlin

Life is funny stuff sometimes isn't it?  

I'm sure I've written that here before. Oh well.

It's been an extraordinary, some might say ridiculous couple of years hasn't it? Last time we were in Germany it was December 2019 - we played at Huxley's in Berlin with The Stranglers, and it was a wonderful evening. As we stood in the dressing room saying our various goodbyes I shook hands with Dave Greenfield and said something like 'see you back in Blighty then'. He laughed that wonderfully mad laugh of his, then said more-or-less the same thing to me.

Of course, it never happened.

However since then it feels as though a million things have happened, one of which became all too clear when we (Ruts D.C.) entered passport control at Brandenberg Airport. I went to walk through the EU channel as I have so many times before, then abruptly realised that I couldn't. As I stood in the 'All Other Passports' queue I felt a strange sense of sadness, even bleakness. Little Englanders who never leave Little England had done this and more to me and millions of others. The bastards.

The young man behind the glass was friendly enough, which was something of a relief as I had by now convinced myself that he (a) was carrying a gun and (b) hated me and everyone else from the afore-mentioned Kleines England. He asked how long I was planning to stay in Germany and I mumbled something about playing some shows, before surprising us both by blurting out that 'I didn't want to leave Europe, this is ridiculous...' 

He smiled, then almost apologetically said 'no English person who comes through here did' before stamping my passport and wishing me a good stay.

We're in Germany to play two shows with Die Artze. No, I hadn't heard of them either, but they are massive. MASSIVE. The first show is tonight, open air, 20,000 capacity and sold out. Apparently Thursday's show in Dresden is bigger. Excellent.

Last night Mutti and his wife Monica took us to what I suspect is the only Italian restaurant I'll go to that has a wall signed by Charlie Harper, CJ Ramone and other punk rock luminaries. By the time I had gamely battled my way through mountains of pasta and pizza it had been signed by us too. Of course it had. It's probably the only Italian restaurant wall that I will ever sign, although I suppose you never know. We then repaired to the bar opposite our hotel for, well, ages. Of course we did. 

We leave for the venue at 11 am. That's early isn't it? Time to get ready then.

Wednesday 8th at 10.16 am in the same hotel room

Well.. What a day that was. I'll have to think about this one...

10.57 am

I've thought about it, and I'm still not sure what to write here. Oh well - let's see what comes out shall we?

Our day began with a hotel breakfast - it was one of those 'ooh look, we're back in Germany' moments with what seemed like tons of cold meat and cheese everywhere. In a rather sad attempt to eat healthily after the previous evening's excesses I opted for muesli, fruit salad and yogurt. Well, it's worth a try isn't it?

At precisely 11 o'clock Mutti arrived in the bus - within minutes we were on our way to collect his assistant Andrü from Coretex Records where he also works before making our way through the city to Parkbühne Wuhlheide, the scene of the evening's festivities. After collecting our passes and leaving our guitars and gear in our dressing room - actually a tent, but you know what I mean I think - we went out front to have a look at the venue.

It's big. Ooh it's big. This really could be one to remember.

We had been asked to arrive at the venue at midday which we duly did although we all wondered if this was rather early - in the event we waited for around 3 hours before anything of any real importance took place. This was a little annoying in some ways although it did give us chance to sample the backstage catering (oh gawd - more food!) and to catch up with Berlin photographer Raven who has come along to capture the event on our behalf. He first photographed The Ruts in 1980 so has a lot of history with Dave and Segs - he took quite a few shots of us including some in a nearby wood - possibly an unlikely location? - so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

The Die Artze soundcheck started at 3.15 - with the doors opening at 4 o'clock it was somewhat inevitable that we would be setting up and soundchecking with people coming into the venue, and this indeed turned out to be the case. Aside for a few problems with Segs's bass set up - it turned out to be a malfunctioning speaker cabinet - sound check went well and we returned to our dressing room in an optimistic mood.

Around 20 minutes before our showtime of 6.15 we met Die Artze for the first time - they were great, really nice people and big Ruts and Ruts D.C. fans. After a few photos of us all together guitarist Farin and bassist Rod said that they would like to introduce our show - drummer Bela stood next to me in the wings, told me that they had just said that their main influences were Bob Marley and The Ruts as a big cheer went up. As we walked out onto the stage I got my first view of the crowd - it was quite a sight.

We started with Something That I Said, then straight into Kill the Pain - Segs said that he had recorded the next song with Die Toten Hosen before we swung into Staring At The Rude Boys. There was just about time for a swig of water before Born Innocent had the crowd clapping along with their hands above their heads, and Jah War saw much dancing and (yes!) singing along. From there it was an easy way home - In A Rut and Babylon's Burning felt great, and Psychic Attack ended to a reaction that many-a headline band would have been proud of. Our 30 minute set was over far too quickly, but it was a great - make that GREAT - gig.

After all our gear was packed away it was time for yet more food (as my nan used to say when I ate too much - 'you'll be as big as a house you will!') before I went out into the venue to watch a bit of the Die Artze show. And very good they were too! Mutti then suggested that it would be good idea to leave before the end to avoid getting caught in the post-gig traffic - this was a bit of a shame as we'd been invited for a drink with the band afterwards but we all agreed that it was probably a good idea. This somewhat inevitably meant that we ended up in the bar opposite the hotel again - with Germany leading England 1-0 the atmosphere was 'interesting' to say the least, and when England equalised from a controversial penalty it became more interesting still... our friend Oliver arrived to general jollity (he promoted our show in Hong Kong a few years ago) and we eventually got back to our hotel at around 2.15 am. A splendid evening. I think.

Today is a day off - Dave and myself are thinking of going to the Technical Museum, and The Rumjacks are on at SO36 tonight so let's see what happens. Sleep, the way I'm feeling at the moment...

Thursday 9th at 9.24 am in the same hotel room

Sometime around 11 am yesterday my phone went ping. A few seconds later it went ping again. And again. The messages were all asking if I/we were ok. I replied that we were, although I had no idea why they were all asking.

The terrorist incident that they knew about had happened a short distance from our hotel. Thankfully we were all blissfully unaware of it. But it makes you think doesn't it...

Dave and myself had intended to have a day out and about in Berlin, including a visit to the nearby KaDeWe superstore (a) out of curiosity and (b) to see if he could pick up a replacement Leki walking stick as he had mislaid his one the previous day. We were going to go out around 10 o'clock but upon discovering that the shop didn't open until 11 Dave scheduled a phone interview about the upcoming Kirsty MacColl boxset (he drummed for her for many years) for 11.15 which meant that we didn't leave the hotel until nearly midday. They didn't have any sticks at the superstore so after a few seconds on Google we took a taxi across town to a suitable shop - traffic was heavy and there more than a few diversions but we got there in the end. We then perhaps rather wildly decided to walk back to our hotel - 'twas further than we thought but it was interesting to be walking rather than be in a vehicle. I stopped to take photos here and there along the way, including one of a rather splendid-looking church - as I looked closer I saw the police tape cordoning off the surrounding area. It was the site of the terrorist incident, and it was a few hundred yards from our hotel.

Supposing we had gone out earlier? Went for a walk and turned left instead of right? Went to look at a local church someone had recommended as 'interesting'?

Incidentally after we'd realised all of this we obviously decided to go to the bar opposite - Dave's walking stick was hanging on the wall outside. Of course it was. 

Friday 9th at 10.01 am in the same hotel room

Another great gig, this time in a football stadium. A football stadium. Who'd have thought it eh?

We left for Dresden at a quarter to eleven yesterday morning - just under three hours later we arrived in the city. Mutti did his usual excellent tourist guide announcements ('and on our left...') which are always interesting - he pointed out the Rudolf Harbig Stadium where Dynamo Dresden play on our right, then turned the van towards it... I've been lucky enough to play some classic venues over the years, but a football stadium had up until this point eluded me. Excellent!

The first person we saw was Rod from Die Artze, who said how much he had enjoyed our show and that he was disappointed that we had not been around for a drink after their show. He then rather sheepishly asked if we would sign a copy of our '40 Years Of The Crack' CD for him and said that Segs was one of his heroes. Amazing. 

Once again we set up and sound checked as the audience were arriving - it had been sunny at the Berlin show but it was a greyer day here, they seemed unperturbed by the possibility of rain as they applauded our 'one two one two'-ing into the microphones. After sound check I bumped into Farin who also said that he'd enjoyed our show, and asked how I got my guitar sound. I often feel a bit awkward when people ask things like this - as an undisputed nerd I usually start rather nervously then bore them to death with details, but he seemed to be really interested. What a nice chap.

Our show began at 6.05 pm - once again Farin and Rod introduced us, and once again our 30 minutes went by far too quickly. Another unforgettable show.

Drangsal were on at 7.10 - I watched a couple of songs then went to the catering tent. I will indeed be as big as a house at this rate... and yes, you've guessed it, we were back at the bar opposite our hotel by 11.20. Of course we were.

Today we rehearse 'The Crack' for North West Calling tomorrow night. Rehearsing in Berlin? No, I never thought I'd ever type that either - but as the past few days have shown, anything is possible. 

Saturday 11th at 9.47 am in Room 440 at Gatwick Travelodge

When we got here at whatever-time-it-was last night - around 1.10 am I think - the last words I expected to hear were 'the bar's open'. 

Oh God.

Anyway - if you ever find yourself in Berlin looking for a place that your band can rehearse at I can heartily recommend The Noisy Rooms. And not just for the name, excellent though that it - it's clean and tidy, all the gear works (including the air conditioning - oh yes!) and yes, you've guessed it, you can get a beer there. It took a bit of finding - it's round the back somewhere, if you know what I mean - but it was well worth the effort. With a performance of 'The Crack' due the next day we thought that we should run through the songs that we rarely play, indeed in some cases hadn't played for around three years - Dope For Guns, Savage Circle, Criminal Mind, Out Of Order and Human Punk all went well. After that we went with Mutti for a quick farewell drink at the bar opposite the hotel - of course we did! - before a taxi took us back to Brandenburg Airport. We'd only arrived there 4 days earlier, but so much had gone on since then it seemed like ages ago... a near-empty flight got us back to Gatwick Airport around 11.40 and, well, you know the rest. Or you can guess it if you don't...

We leave here at 11 am. Again. Time to get ready then. 

Sunday 12th at 11.41 am on the road home

Do you Like Ed Sheehan? How about The Killers?

I don't know much about either of them to be honest. Ed's the little red-headed fella isn't he? Elton John's mate, owns a loop pedal or two, bafflingly popular  - that's him isn't it? And The Killers had that song about your boyfriend looking like your girlfriend or something didn't they? And that one that all cover bands play but that's too difficult for me, mister something-or-other? Bafflingly popular again. Anyway they both played in Manchester last night, somebody reckoned that there were something like an extra 400,000 people in the city over the course of the weekend - great for the local economy, but not too good if you needed to get a hotel...

We stayed in, of all places, Stoke. 

It worked out well - a nice hotel, Rubber Soul Records nearby, we were only an hour from The Ritz... that said after our gig we ended up in a traffic jam long enough to be seen from the moon and didn't get back to Stoke until after 2 am so I suppose that it wasn't all good news. Oh and when I unpacked my very sweaty gig shirt I realised that I'd left my waistcoat and tie (both worn in a desperate attempt to smarten myself up, and because I decided that no one else at the festival would be wearing either) at the venue. Bugger!

Our show was good if a little fraught in places. Maybe we'd been a bit spoilt by the previous few days but to begin with everything seemed a bit too much like hard work. Opening with Babylon's Burning is tough at the best of times - it's bloomin' hard to play! - but ending it to muted applause is tougher. It was then that I realised that much of the audience, many of whom had been watching bands since midday, were either (a) getting jaded, (b) nearly asleep or (c) catatonically drunk. Not all of them though, and things got going in the end, with The Outcasts joining us on group backing vocals for In A Rut (much merriment around my microphone) and H-Eyes bringing things to a suitably raucous end. A great show - eventually. We do it all again at North East Calling in September, but there's a lot going on before then, not least finishing our new album, playing The Rebellion Festival and more. And I'm tired now, very tired as it happens so it'll be time for a snooze soon - it was indeed a long back to Germany, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Forwards! 

That Was The Year That Wasn't (Slight Return)

It has been exactly one year since my last blog posting.

So what, if anything, has changed?

Well...

Omicron. No, I'm not too good at the Greek Alphabet either - aside from the odd distant memory from Physics lessons sometime last Century it's not something I've used a lot, although I feel as though it's getting more useful all the time. As I type this I am in the grip of the latest Coronavirus variant - I've been asleep for much of the last few days and when I have been awake I've felt as though I've been in the ring with Mike Tyson in his prime, although thankfully things seem to be improving now. Christmas? Who needs it eh? Still vaccinations seem to be getting more popular these days, although we all know someone who hasn't had one because they don't like the idea of it or that think it's all a conspiracy - I've had two of 'em and and a booster and I still caught it, so it does make you wonder... that said, the general consensus seems to be that if you catch it after being vaccinated it does lessen the effect of the virus, which given how I've felt for the last few days is an interesting thought. 

And the British Government continues to make every mistake imaginable and still somehow remain in power. Surely we deserve better than this? I saw Labour MP David Lammy talking on TV not so long ago - the interviewer made a typically flippant remark about a comment he made criticising the international embarrassment that is our current, worst ever Prime Minister and Lammy snapped back with the words 'THIS USED TO BE A SERIOUS COUNTRY - DO YOU REALISE WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF US NOW?' 

Now there's a question. 

Enough of such philosophical ramblings - I had my 60th birthday this year. 60! How on Earth did that happen?!? The Slogans were supposed to be playing on the day but our drummer man was pinged (remember the pingdemic? It seems a lifetime ago doesn't it?) so the gig didn't happen - instead I spent the evening in the hallowed surroundings of The Dolphin in Uxbridge, mostly in the garden, occasionally somewhere near the bar and had a splendid if rather difficult to remember time. I wonder where we'll all be in July this year? I wonder if we'll be anywhere, if you know what I mean?

And you thought that I'd stopped the philosophical ramblings...

Talking of The Slogans - we managed to play a few shows this year including one particularly memorable one at The Uxbridge Christmas Market earlier this month. Yes that's right, an outdoor show in December. And yes, it was as cold as you would think it would be, yes the power went on and off as you would expect it to and yes, it was really good fun. We've also had more than a few gigs cancelled, which seems to be a familiar tale for most bands these days. I've also been depping in The Good Old Boys as guitarist Simon hasn't been well - again we've played a few shows, had a few cancelled... see what I mean? One can only wonder when or indeed how this situation will change. 

I mentioned in the last missive that I had recorded some guitar parts at home using GarageBand for an Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants single; this was due out early this year but somewhat inevitably got caught in a Brexit-induced vinyl pressing backlog and so didn't actually emerge until the Summer. Has anything actually improved as a result of Britain leaving the EU? No, I didn't think so either... nevertheless, 'State Of Grace' is available here from Time & Matter Records even as we speak. We only managed to play one show this year (at The HRH Punk Festival in Sheffield back in October since you were wondering) but it was a great gig at an excellent event - there are plans to return to both the studio and the stage next year, and hopefully we will. 

Vinyl copies of the 'ElectrAcoustiC' album by Ruts D.C. were also delayed thanks to the afore-mentioned backlog, eventually being delivered nearly a year after the CD became available. The Sunday before Christmas I played an afternoon show at The Cavern in Raynes Park with The Good Old Boys then made my way up to The 229 Club in Great Portland Street where Theatre Of Hate were playing; there I met Dave and Segs backstage (the things I write here eh? Well, the things I used to write here... I really must do this more often mustn't I?) and signed over 300 albums, all of which had either been pre-ordered or were purchased in the next couple of days. A genuinely exciting day - it would be good to have more like that... mind you, I suppose that might have caught Coronavirus then... ooh!

So - what next? 

Well in a time that could politely be described as 'uncertain' one thing that even I could never have predicted is actually going to happen - nearly 30 years after we first broke up there is to be an official album release by The Price, something that we didn't manage to achieve during our original existence. Even typing it here feels weird... but, incredibly, it's true. 'No Justice?' is out early next year on Cadiz Music - to quote the soon-to-appear press release it contains 19 tracks recorded between 1988 and 1993, and even though I say so myself it sounds bloomin' great. More news to follow on the band's Facebook page via the link above, my Facebook page and no doubt some other places too... maybe even here...

Theoretically Ruts D.C. are supporting The Stranglers in January and February - this is the third attempt at The Final Full U.K. Tour, and with further restrictions looming as I type this it's difficult to say whether it will take place this time either. We have German shows planned for later in the year, along with various others in the pipeline, and we'd also like to make a new album - but who knows what will happen? It's interesting isn't it - we've never really known what will happen in life, but these days it almost feels as though we did. If I put something like 'we're touring with The Stranglers' here then the chances were very good that we that we would indeed tour with The Stranglers. Those days seem a very long time ago now don't they?

Hmm. Even I thought that I'd stopped the philosophical ramblings... mind you, it's been good to be back blogging, even if I am running on paracetamol and, well, not much else at the moment.

See you all in 2022!

Ruts D.C. European Tour, November / December 2019

As Ruts D.C. ready themselves for a return to showbusiness here's a look back at last year's November / December European tour... 

The stage is set - Das Bet, Frankfurt, November 29th 2019

Friday 29th November, 10.30 am, Room 21 of the Goethe Hotel, Frankfurt

'She said... I know what it's like to be dead...' I like The Beatles. I really like The Beatles. I mean I really like The Beatles. Sometimes I don't listen to very much else, and this is definitely one of those times. And today I really really like 'Revolver'. I've got something I can laugh about. Good day, sunshine.
Actually it's quite a grey day outside, but at least it's not raining. It was raining last night when we arrived at Das Bett in Frankfurt to load our gear in for our gig there, and it was still raining when we left there 7 or so hours later. At least that didn't stop a very enthusiastic audience coming to the show, but more about that in a minute. 
We - Ruts D.C. - are on tour in Europe. 12 shows in 12 days, 7 of them supporting The Stranglers in some very impressive venues, the rest club shows with us headlining. It's good to be back on the road (maaan!) although the road is long, with many-a winding turn - well, it certainly was yesterday as we travelled the 360-odd miles from Paris to Frankfurt, and it's the best part of 500 miles from Stuttgart to Bologna tomorrow. A long and winding road indeed.

But enough of the increasingly awkward quotes from not-particularly cool songs - how did we get here?

'Made it Ma,
top of the World...'

On Thursday evening we - tour manager Liam, Duds the driver and Dave, Segs and myself - stayed in the St. Albans B & B in Dover; this set us up for the 8.45 am ferry to Calais and the subsequent drive to gay Paris where the rain did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm at seeing our name (literally) up in lights at The Olympia. It's impossible not to be aware of the heritage of the place - from Edith Piaf to Jimi Hendrix and from Jacques Brel to David Bowie via Iggy Pop and indeed The Beatles, they've all graced the stage. And what a fantastic venue it is, from the drive-in backstage area to the astonishing foyer it lived up to it's legend with ease. Our breathless 45 minute support set started with 'Something That I Said', ended with 'Psychic Attack' and went down well with all concerned, although nothing quite prepares you for a shirtless Jean-Jacques Burnel coming into the dressing room to ask how the show went. 'Great' replied Segs cheerily, 'everyone said that I have a better physique than you'. 'Well, they would' smiled JJ. A good start to the tour.

And last night, the first of our 'solo' shows - a 90 minute roar through most of 'The Crack', a fair bit of 'Music Must Destroy' and all points in between. Das Bett is a excellent club, the audience was up for it from the first song - great stuff all round. 

Right - it's Stuttgart tonight so it's time for a shower now - on the road again...    

Monday 2nd December, 12.07 pm, carriage 5 seat 33 on the 11.45 am train from Rome to Turin 

Well. You never know do you? It goes to show you never can tell.

So there we were, less than 10 minutes away from The Orion, looking forward to another gig with The Stranglers and bemoaning the fact that we were on the Rome ring road rather than passing by The Colosseum when a previously unheard and not-even-vaguely nice sound came from somewhere beneath the bus. It was a kind of grinding noise. And as if by magic we stopped moving, and didn't start again. Bugger. I'd just replied to a message from Jim the Stranglers's drummer asking where we were and if we were ok by saying something like 'see y'all in 10 minutes' - as I say, you never can tell can you? 

Mr.Spock,
backstage at Goldmarks. Weird 

There are no good places to break down are there? This one could have been worse, but not much - as vehicles careered past us (and, strangely, the odd pedestrian - what on Earth were they doing there?) Duds had a hi-vis vest on and a red warning triangle out in no time while Liam went into a not-inconsiderable amount of mobile phone action. To cut a long-ish story short-ish, a very nice chap called Maximilian made three journeys to get the band, Liam and all our gear to the venue while the ever-heroic Duds stayed with the broken bus - he and it eventually got towed to the venue around 10 pm. We just about got set up and soundchecked before the doors opened at half past seven; we roared through our set as Liam made phone calls, sent emails and generally worked his magic on what until that point was looking like a distinctly unmagical situation while we played our show. We ended up staying on the outskirts of Rome (still nowhere near Colosseum - bah!) and we're now on the afore-mentioned train while Duds and Liam are in a hired van hoping to get our gear and baggage to Turin in time for tonight's show. Crazy times - and it had all been going so well... a great night for us at Goldmarks in Stuttgart - where we played a slightly different set to the previous night as there were people attending both shows) and a splendid support show in Bologna (where it was great to catch up with Marz from The Valentines and his lady Angela) had set us up for a good night in Rome. We played well - perhaps very well given the circumstances - but it was a very fraught time. In a effort to clear my head and to have a break from the backstage wheeling and dealing I went out to watch some of The Stranglers's set where I met some people from Coventry who had come all the way over to Italy to see us and who didn't actually know that The Stranglers were playing. Amazing. As I say, you never can tell - let's see what tonight brings...


Wednesday 4th December, 11.10 am leaving for Cologne

It's misty. Oh. ok, it's foggy. Actually that's a point - when does mist become fog? For that matter when does fog become mist? Hmm...

So here we are in our 'new' van, and very nice it is too. I believe that it comes courtesy of The Rumjacks via our friend Mark Sabin who, when he saw various Facebook posts detailing our plight in Rome contacted various people on our behalf. What a splendid chap - I really must get him a drink next time I see him.

When last we spoke Dave, Segs and myself were on a train bound for Turin. I spent much of my journey hemmed into my window seat by a (presumably) Italian goddess asleep in the aisle seat next to me. I don't think that she looked at me once during the journey - actually thinking about it she probably looked at me once and then decided not to look at me again. Ah well.

After arriving in Turin we took a taxi to The Hotel Galant where we managed 30-odd minutes of relative calm before taking another taxi to The Teatro Della Concordia just after 6 o'clock - after grabbing a bite to eat the call came through that our gear would be arriving any minute. Sure enough as the clock struck seven times the indefatigable Duds and the ever-exuberant Liam arrived, giving us 30 minutes to get the gear in, set up and soundchecked before the doors opened. Once again all hands were on deck, once again we somehow got it all done. It's amazing what you can do when you have to isn't it?

Live at Lucerne - thanks Martin!

When we started our show at 8.15 there must have been, ooh, 30-odd people in a venue that must hold at least 20 times that amount; when we finished 45 minutes later there were probably a couple of hundred more. They saw a show that for the second night running could very easily have not happened at all but which once again turned out to be better than it perhaps had any right to be. And last night we played Sedal in Lucerne - Martin and his team made us all very welcome (he designs the most wonderful posters as you can see here) and we played a very good show to a very enthusiastic audience. I do wish that they wouldn't let people smoke in venues though - they did ask people to stop while we played and put the air conditioning on but I suppose we've all got used to playing in clearer rooms these days. Sadly our stage fans had to be left in Rome due to lack of space in the van so it was bloomin' hot on stage - hopefully we'll be able to buy some more today. First World Problems eh?

Tonight we're in Cologne with The Backyard Band - we played with them last year and I really liked them so I'm looking forward to seeing them again tonight. We then rejoin The Stranglers for gigs in Amsterdam and Hamburg before journeying North for our own show in Husum - no, I don't know it either - then finish the tour in Berlin on Sunday. This means that we're now over halfway through our '12-shows-in-12-days' stint - I feel tired but not exhausted, and given the madness that has befallen us on the way everyone is in high spirits and pretty good shape. Let's hope that things stay that way.

Friday 6th December, 10.43 am, on the Amsterdam ring road

'Headache? Tense nervous headache? Take Anadin.'

Do you remember that advert? It's funny what comes into your mind sometimes isn't it? Well, it's funny what comes into my mind... 

Stage passes for the tour.
I could probably get a
few bob for these couldn't I?

I've got a headache at the moment, although not necessarily of the tense, nervous kind. It may be at least in part attributable to drinking until 2 am in Dan Murphy's Irish Bar near the venue. Or maybe I've just got a headache. In which case nothing acts faster than Anadin. Or something. Still 'twas a great night last night - The Milkweg is a classic venue, and with the show a sellout it was full when we started at 8 o'clock and even fuller (is that good English? It's not is it?) when we finished 40 minutes later. It was absolutely packed for The Stranglers, or it certainly was for the last part of their set, when I found myself wedged against the bar at the back of the hall - not the worst place to find yourself, although it did get a bit pricey... back to our show where, to continue the 'First World Problems' theme, both Segs and myself had odd moments with plectrums. I dropped mine during our first song ('Something That I Said' - we've started all the Stranglers support shows with this song, a good choice I think) and only just managed to get one out of my back pocket in time for the guitar solo (as I say, first world problems...) whereas Segs somehow cut his thumb opening a can of beer near the end of our set - as often happens if you cut your hand it bled profusely, although as he put it, 'it helped my plectrum stay on my hand'. On seeing it after the show JJ just calmly asked him 'did you hit someone?' A fair question I suppose. or certainly a fair question if you're Jean-Jacques Burnel. As I say, a splendid evening all round - unlike the previous evening at Helios 37 in Cologne where my amplifier decided not to work. Well that's not strictly true - it was fine during our soundcheck, to such an extent that our new friend Chris the sound engineer complemented me on how good it sounded ('at last, someone who knows how to work an amplifier'. What a nice chap!) And it sounded great after the show, when I decided rather nervously to try some trouble-shooting and it worked with no problem whatsoever. It was during the gig that it didn't play the game - total silence is never a good start to a show. Fortunately we had a spare, but it took me a few songs to get going - overall not a bad gig, but our standards are high, and we felt that we'd dropped back a bit from the previous night in Lucerne. Still we were definitely back on form last night, and we're in Hamburg tonight which is usually a good one for us. Oh and before I forget, The Backyard Band were excellent. Check 'em out, you won't be disappointed!

Right - time for a sleep to get rid of this headache. Hopefully.

Sunday 8th December, 10.29 am, leaving Husum

The obligatory 'on the road' photo -
going from Italy into Switzerland

Well as I said earlier I hadn't heard of Husum before, but what a great place. We arrived early afternoon yesterday and so had a bit of time to look around, which of course involved the triumphant sighting of a Guinness sign (oh yes!) and a meal in an Italian restaurant (implausibly attractive waitresses!) before heading out of town to The Paulsen Hotel where I managed an afternoon nap - rock 'n'roll eh? We returned to The Speicher to set up around 6 pm - it's a great club with friendly people, which set the scene for a top evening. Perhaps surprisingly it took a while to get going; maybe there was a bit of a language barrier or possibly it was one of those venues that people go to whether the know the band who's playing or not - for example Segs saying that it was Malcolm Owen's birthday was met by almost total indifference and indeed silence. Still things picked up and with much dancing and merriment it was very much a case of 'all's well that ends well'. And there were more first world problems to contend with, this time for your humble narrator when my mobile phone went dead. As in 'dead' i.e. not working, black screen, the lot. It turned out that the battery went from around half charge to 0% in a few seconds - when you get these things they don't tell you that they don't actually work do they?

The previous night we supported The Stranglers at Fabrik in Hamburg - no delay in getting going there, as we left the stage to a reception that many headline bands would have been happy with. Great stuff - and talking of headline bands, The Stranglers were excellent, although as I have observed on a number of occasions in these hallowed pages, they usually are.

So - Berlin tonight, the last night of the tour. I really must work out how many miles we've travelled. I must also work out what on Earth I'm going to do with myself when all of this is over.

Tuesday 12th December, 10.49 am at home

It's always weird, coming home after a tour.

You feel tired... empty... or something.

I've just worked that we travelled over 3,500 miles in the buses which, leaving out the 600 mile flight home, means that we averaged over 250 miles a day. No wonder I feel a bit... something or other...

Great photo eh? Thanks Rikki!

But what a show to end on - Huxleys in Berlin used to be Neue Welt, which saw appearances from The Clash, Jimi Hendrix and (gulp!) Adolf Hitler among many others. And since Hendrix also played at The Paris Olympia it means that we began and ended the tour on a stage previously graced by The Experience. That's a nice thing to be able to type... 'twas a great gig to end on, with 'H-Eyes' making it's first and therefore only appearance on the tour - it was a requested by Rikki from The Stranglers road crew, who took some excellent pictures of us throughout the tour. The Stranglers were brilliant, Vom and Andi from Die Toten Hosen came along as did Mutti and Monica from Muttis Bookings, and quite a few of us ended up in The Franken Bar until the small hours drinking far too much - as I say, a great gig to end on. 

Hopefully there will be many more shows with The Stranglers - it's a great double bill that works so well on many levels for both the band and the audience -but in the meantime Ruts D.C. have got work to do. We've got a live album to put together and songs to write for a projected new release - but first I've got to do two weeks worth of washing. More First World Problems eh? When are we back on tour?!?

Ruts Dc, Husum, Germany, December 7th 2019

Days In Europa

Well none of us knew what to expect, but the Ruts D.C. Crewe Weekender turned out to be an absolutely fabulous event. Great performances from Criminal Mind, Tara Rez, Dealing With Damage and Kirk Brandon, the punk rock legend that is Auntie Pus compering and three Ruts D.C. sets - great stuff all round. And it was good to have time to meet people and, it must be said, have rather a lot to drink with them - no wonder I was totally knackered when I got home on Sunday afternoon. Still, no time to worry about that now as we're about to set off on a two week jaunt around Europe (while we still can!) playing support sets to The Stranglers and some club dates of our own courtesy of our good friends at Muttis Booking. There are some near-astronomical distances to travel, and 12 shows in 12 days is a heavy schedule, but I can't bloomin' wait. See you on the road, or indeed das Autobahn...

Do Anything You Wanna Do

'The Crack' by The Ruts was released 40 years ago on September 28th 1979.

I bought it then - my copy still has the 'Pay No More Than £3.99' sticker on the cover - and I absolutely loved it. I still do. It is, in my not-so-humble opinion one of the greatest records of all time, and that means a lot around these here parts - I spent so many hours listening to it, and so many more hours playing along with it in an attempt to decipher the wondrous electric guitar playing of the mighty Paul Fox. Although I couldn't have known it then it wouldn't be that long before I myself would be able to ask him how to play the songs; even more unlikely is the fact that these days I find myself playing the songs on stage with original Ruts Dave and Segs. It's a funny old life sometimes isn't it? You never know what fate has in store for you... 

...for example, who would have predicted a Ruts D.C. Weekender in Crewe, during which we will play 'The Crack', an acoustic set and more? Well certainly not me, but I wouldn't have predicted a European Tour with The Stranglers and a just-before-Christmas show at The Brixton Academy with The Alabama 3 either - as I say, you never know what fate has in store for you... and there's more - we have a live album recorded on the last tour coming out in December, and gigs a-plenty are already coming in for next year - great stuff all round. 

And who would have predicted that your humble narrator would be asked to appear on noted website Everyone Loves Guitar? Segs was on last month - you can hear him here if you'd like to, and very interesting it is too - and I'm recording my appearance tomorrow. I've been sent some sample questions and they're very in depth - I was expecting things like 'what gauge plectrum do you use?', not 'what is your happiest childhood memory?'. This should be interesting - I'm really looking forward to it!

But as if to prove that you don't get something for nothing in life, October 2nd saw the

death of Eddie And the Hot Rods singer Barrie Masters. I can't pretend to have known him well, but every time I did speak to him he was always friendly and enthusiastic, which is more than you can say about many people that you meet. And The Hot Rods have always had a very special place in my musical mind... I saw them play at Brunel University in Uxbridge way back in 1977 (probably 19th October) supported by No Dice - this was the first vaguely 'punk' gig I attended and it remains one of the most exciting evenings I've ever been part of. Everything about it was brilliant - No Dice were excellent (I've got an old single by them but I really must search out some of their stuff one day) and The Hot Rods were absolutely phenomenal. They looked great, sounded greater and, maybe most importantly from my point of view, they might as well have had a bloody great sign saying YOU COULD DO THIS LEIGH above their heads. I was a cripplingly shy, very-young-for-my-age 16 year old, and although it took me a long time I can say without being pretentious (for once!) that I wouldn't be playing the guitar today if it wasn't for that show. I saw them play again on many occasions - this amazing clip of them playing 'The Beginning Of The End' on The Old Grey Whistle Test shows just how great they could be as a live band - and then, incredibly, was lucky enough to appear on stage with the last line up of the band a couple of times, the last of which was at The Islington Academy in April this year - I played 'I Might Be Lying' and Ignore Them' (the A and B side of my favourite Rods record in case you were wondering) and joined a cast of thousands for the last song 'Gloria'. After the song had finished and everyone made their way off stage I somehow found myself with Barrie in the middle of the stage - he looked exhausted but he'd made it through an epic show. I lifted his right arm aloft, as you do with a champion who had just won the toughest fight of their life, and the place went mad. A fantastic, unforgettable moment. 

I owe Barrie and people like him more than I'll ever be able to put into words. 

I think of it every time I play. 

'Hey hey hey - we're all riding on the ghost train...'

Ruts D.C. in Aarhus, Denmark, Friday 14th September 2018

Well - so much for me getting back into blogging eh? Maybe I should just try for a monthly bulletin? 

In my defence your honour I have been updating my Facebook page regularly, which I suppose is for want of a better word 'easier' than writing extended pieces here. I think it's the immediacy of being able to put something up more-or-less as it happens that's so appealing, whereas it takes a fair bit more work to get things onto here. 

So - since last we spoke... 

Ruts D.C. played three shows in Germany and visited Denmark for the first time - a splendid if rather tiring 4 days. The good news is that in time honoured tradition I took the usual scribbly notes, the bad news is that I can't find them. Bugger! Oh well... there are enough other scribbly notes that need to be written up here before those!
As we're playing the '40 Years Of The Crack' tour in February we're obliged to go underground from now until then, although I'm pleased to say that we're appearing at The Inkmas Tattoo Festival in France on November 18th. Hopefully a few other shows will come in too... that said we've got plenty to do between now and the tour - there are 5 songs on 'The Crack' that we've never played live, and in addition to learning them we've got to put a show together. There are talks of back projections and stage sets - maybe we'll use them, maybe we won't. It's the music that's important - well, I think that it is anyway. And that magnificent music will be available again on vinyl very soon - Dave, Segs and myself spent a day in the hallowed confines of Abbey Road Studios last month with noted mastering engineer Geoff Pesche cutting a new vinyl master of the album. Well I didn't do much, other than stumble around thinking about The Beatles - who incidentally were working on the song 'Piggies' from the soon-to-be reissued 'White Album' 50 years to the day earlier on September 19th 1968. The things I know eh?

So then - Hallowe'en. I'm obviously far too miserable to have anything to do with it under normal circumstances, but these are far from normal circumstances... today sees the release of the new single by Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants - the appropriately-titled 'Ghost Train'. Alvin is of course the bass player in The U.K. Subs who's also previously played with Iggy Pop and Cheap 'n' Nasty among many others - here he's joined by Subs sticksman Jamie Oliver and Godfathers guitar hero Steve Crittall, alongside guest guitarists Brian James (yes that's right, the chap that wrote 'New Rose') on the B-side 'Clumsy Fingers' and, incredibly, your humble narrator on the A-side. How on Earth did that happen? Anyway I might be a bit biased here but I think that it's a great record - you can hear and indeed buy a copy here. See what you think - there are only 300 vinyl copies so I wouldn't hang about if I were you...

And talking of tattoo festivals (now there's something that I never thought that I'd ever type!) Neck played The London Tattoo Convention last month, supporting the excellent King Kurt. 'Twas a roaringly good event with some frankly astonishing sights - let's see what we see next month... and I may well have a bit more time to play with them and indeed a few other people now, as my time with Big Al and The Blistering Buicks has come to an end. I'll miss playing with the lads, but when you've gotta go, you've gotta go. And you never know, it might leave me with a bit more time for blogging. 

Well, as I say, you never know.

'Didn't you used to write a blog Leigh?'

Yes. Yes I did.

And I will again, honest.

'Well, why don't you write it at the moment?' 

It's... er... it's just that... I've... well, I've been really busy. God knows how and at what, but there doesn't seem to have been time to do anything other than work in Balcony Shirts and play the guitar with Big Al Reed and the Blistering Buicks. I must have done something else?

Yes, of course I have - I've been to The 100 Club a few times. I saw Glen Matlock with the mighty Earl Slick on guitar, and The Chords UK with Chris Pope on fine form among others.. and last month I played at The Gwyl Pontardawe Festival with Neck, a splendid if rather rainy event in Wales. Of course I've done things. Of course I have. Haven't I? 

Hmm... I guess we all have times when we feel as though things are passing us by? And this, my friends, is how I've felt lately. Strange. However...

This week Ruts D.C. return to the stage. Thank Christ for that. We've got three gigs in Germany (Hannover, Hamburg and Berlin) and we're playing in Denmark at the Atlas Paere Punk 40 Festival in Aarhus, all courtesy of our good friends at Muttis Booking. And I for one can't wait - I've never been to Denmark before, and the Berlin show is on a boat going up and down the River Spree. That's more like it!
Usual rules apply - I'll update my Facebook page as often as I can, and I'll take a load of scribbly notes that might or might not get transcribed here one day. And by the very act of typing this here I appear to be back blogging again. 

As I say, that's more like it.