The Stranglers / Ruts DC tour 2017

We're on at 7.45 pm each night - see you down the front!

North East Calling

I have just - just! - returned from the first three shows of the twelve that Ruts D.C. will be playing in the month of November, and I'm pleased to say that barring the odd technical hitch they all went very well. Heavy traffic (and indeed heavy rain) meant that we were an hour late arriving at The Wardrobe in Leeds for the first show on Thursday but our new driver / backline man Jon got us all there in one piece - after an excellent support set from The Expelaires (who reminded your humble narrator of early U2, which is never a bad thing in my book) we took to the stage at 9.15 for a splendid 75 minute set with sound man Bob getting everything sounding pretty near perfect. After the show Rhiannon does a roaring trade on the merchandise and we chat many-an audience member, all of whom seemed to enjoy the show which is always good news. And it was great to see Phil from Bug with his wife Annette and my old mate and fellow Chicago Blues Brothers escapee Matt too. From there it was back to the hotel for a drink (ok then, quite a few drinks!) before bringing a long day to a close.

The next morning we breakfasted amid stories of cannibalism on the television news (Dave - 'if you were going to eat someone you wouldn't start with their face would you?') we all agreed that it had been a great gig to start the tour with. With the rain continuing to fall we left for Newcastle not long after checking out at midday, arriving at The Cluny a little after 2pm. I'd not been there before although it's a very well-established venue which has been putting on live music for many years - we'd not been there long before Martin McAloon appears to say hello to Segs and Dave, he's the former bass player in Prefab Sprout, brother of Sprout singer / songwriter Paddy McAloon and an old friend of them both. After setting up and soundchecking there time for me to help Segs solder a couple of leads in one of his bass guitars before we have a meal in the venue bar then head off to The Vermont Hotel to check in and have an hour-and-a-bit off before returning to The Cluny just in time to catch the guitar / vocals / backing tracks duo The Symptoms. Perhaps inevitably they bring Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine to mind, which can't be bad can it? Our sound isn't quite as good as the previous night, with a couple of monitor problems and a microphone failure but none of this bothers the audience, most of whom go crazy from the word go. Once again there's time to speak to some of the crowd afterwards before retiring to our hotel for, you've guessed it, a drink or two. And why not?

Saturday morning's weather was a distinct improvement on the previous couple of days, and with only a relatively short drive in prospect there's a chance to spend a couple of hours in Newcastle before leaving for the next hotel. This can only mean one thing - a visit to Guitar Guitar is in order. Within no time myself and Bob were ensconced in one of the demonstration booths there with a Vox AC30 - I'd wanted to try one for a while as I'd heard great things about the latest model, and I must say that it sounded absolutely tremendous. I've also been told that the AC15 is worth a listen so I'm hoping to find one or those at either the Edinburgh or Glasgow shops this weekend. We also auditioned an Electro Harmonix B9 organ simulator pedal which sounded frankly astonishing - there go the wages I fear... from there it was the afore-mentioned drive up to Stockton-on-Tees where we're returning to The Georgian Theatre around a-year-and-a-half on from our first visit. Steve and Martin of Big Figure Promotions were very helpful, support bands The Iron Hearts and The Filth both played well and we gave a good show despite more microphone problems - in Bob's words, 'I took 'em all of the shelf in the warehouse, and that's where they're going back to!' 

Today it's been the long drive home, and I don't mind admitting that I'm feeling very tired now. Still there are four shows in Scotland on the horizon - now that's something to really look forward to! Mind you, that'll be an even longer drive home...

'One last bout before the year is out? Thought you'd never ask...'

Following on from last weekend's Islington extravaganza Ruts D.C. have 12 gigs this month, starting in Leeds this Thursday - as the accompanying flyer shows we'll be covering a fair few miles, and it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway!) that I'm really looking forward to getting out and about again. If you coming to a show then please say hello!

Meanwhile it's been three gigs in three days for your humble narrator, starting with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale. It being the night before Halloween Al suggested that we play 'Monster Mash' - I remember the record well from when I was a lad (by the splendidly-named Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and The Crypt Kickers, although I believe The Misfits among others have covered it) and even though we hadn't had chance to rehearse it beforehand we played it well with the only downside to an otherwise good night for the band coming when somebody knocked Al's saxophone over. Fortunately it wasn't too badly damaged, but sadly the same thing happened the next night when the band played at The Black Horse in Eastcote. This time it was more serious as one of the keys got bent, to such an extent that we were obliged to leave several songs out of the show. Bah! Still I'm told that it's since been repaired, and once again 'Monster Mash' went well as indeed did the rest of the show. There are some pictures from the show on Al's Facebook page - as you can see I was too miserable to dress up for the occasion... ah well, maybe next year? And last night The Upper Cut played at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook. We've not played together very often lately so there were a few dodgy moments - still judging by people's comments afterwards everyone there everyone there enjoyed our efforts, and we managed to play the Cream (yes I know that it's a Robert Johnson song, but most people heard it first by Cream or Eric Clapton didn't they?!?) classic 'Crossroads' for Jack Bruce which has got to be a good thing if you think about it.

Right - tomorrow it's a day in Balcony Shirts, Tuesday it's a Ruts D.C. rehearsal and Wednesday I'm back in the shop before the first batch of shows in Leeds, Newcastle and Stockton-on-Tees start on Thursday. Busy busy busy - the rest of today off methinks...   

Distant relatives

I have just - just! - returned from playing four shows with Ruts D.C. :-

Not a bad evening's
entertainment!

After a suitably long 'it's-Friday-afternoon-traffic' journey with new face Mark behind the steering wheel we arrived at The Brudenell Rooms in Leeds around 5pm. We're on with T.V. Smith (who I hadn't seen since our duo gig at The 12 Bar Club before Christmas - we're playing our first show of this year at The New Cross Inn this coming Saturday - and who has been on tour in Europe with The U.K. Subs for the last few weeks) and Louise Distras (who was also on The 12 Bar Club show and who has also been on tour in Europe) so there's a fine evening in prospect. We're set up and soundchecked in good time - I'm putting my guitar away and talking to T.V. and Louise when I sneeze, sneeze again, then look down to see blood at my feet. Time for a nosebleed then... Louise helpfully fetches a handful of tissues and I spend T.V.'s soundcheck sitting on the stage trying to stop the blood flow. Dramatic eh? Actually it was pretty horrible, at one point literally streaming out. Urgh! Meanwhile the rest of the band went to check in at our hotel while the nosebleed eventually stopped and I watch Louise's soundcheck before setting up our merchandise stall. Chris the promoter opened the doors at 7 o'clock and people began arriving straight away - T.V. Smith mega-fan T.J. says hello and fellow Wilko Johnson obsessive Alan turns up with his two sons and presents me with a DVD of Wilko in Japan in 1992 and a 1995 tour programme (top man!) while the wonderfully-named Paul Newman asks me if The Price will be playing anywhere this year. I wonder if we will?
Just before 8 o'clock I bump into Louise who says 'I hope I don't break any strings' as she's making her way towards the stage; she doesn't but she does play an excellent set as does T.V. Smith. Then again, he usually does. By the time we went on the place was all but sold out, there's people dancing from the off and the show goes brilliantly. After encoring with 'In A Rut' and 'H-Eyes' we return to the dressing room but the audience is still going crazy and we somehow find ourselves back on stage - but we've played everything that we know, so what shall we do?
We'd had a rehearsal on Thursday evening during which we tightened up a few songs and began looking at other material that could possibly find it's way into the show. One of the songs that we tried was 'Generations' a song Segs recorded with Joe Strummer and Rat Scabies under the somewhat unlikely name of Electric Doghouse. We all agreed that it was definitely one to bear in mind for the future - unbeknownst to us the future was only one day away... it could be argued that in these days of YouTube it's not a good idea to play a song that you don't know, but we did it anyway! How did it sound? Like this...
After the show Mark and myself do a roaring trade on the merchandise stall and Dave and Segs signed old albums and singles, not-quite-so-old CDs, posed for photographs and made a lot of people very happy. I was even asked to do a couple of photos myself!
My first sight of Bewley's Hotel (I didn't go there earlier, remember?) included a couple of likely lads with their trousers around their ankles outside the main entrance. Friday night in Leeds then... Seamus and myself decide that we want to see what's going on so get a couple of drinks amid sights and sounds of great drunkenness and jollity from stag parties, hen parties and parties generally. A couple of chairs away from us a chap slides off his seat onto the floor a bit like a cartoon character might, he's out cold and his friends can't wake him up - suddenly the atmosphere changes and the hotel staff summon two paramedics and a voice over the tannoy asks us all to move out from the bar into the entrance hall. A few minutes later two of his friends are helping the now-just about-upright man towards the lift - 'we've never had a night like this!' says the barman cheerily as we hand him our glasses and chaos resumes all around us. Later we take the lift to the 4th floor where we're sharing room 441 - as the doors open there's a large upturned plant pot in front of us with flowers and soil everywhere. Why do people do things like that?

The next day begins in a leisurely manner that's very welcome after the previous day and evening. After breakfast we check out at midday and by 2 o'clock we're arriving at The Sporting Lodge Hotel in Middlesbrough. After checking in (Seamus and myself get room 122) it's time for some food - I get an excellent arrabiatta pasta which I just about finish before my nose starts bleeding again. Urgh!
It's only a short drive to The Georgian Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees and we're loading our gear in not long after 5 o'clock. Steve the promoter has got a couple of lads to help us carry our equipment (hurrah!) and we've got Green Dragon Studios to use as a dressing room. Soundcheck is a bit more involved than on the previous evening with the drum sound posing a few problems for our soundman Nick but he eventually gets everything sounding great. 
Support comes from The Clashed who I met last summer when The Flying Squad played with them; they've still got Joe and Mick the wrong way around (as you can see here) and they still do a good job of recreating the sound and the fury of The Clash, which is much appreciated by the rapidly-arriving crowd. The show has sold out in advance which usually bodes well for things but in this case it felt as though it all took a while to get going - we start with three reggae-based songs which I don't think was quite what the audience was expecting. There was a chap standing right at the very front wearing a white Ruts logo t-shirt who didn't look too happy until our fourth song 'Backbiter' when he suddenly bursts into life, as did many of the people around him. It was definitely harder work than the previously evening although as you can see if you watch the show here it all came good in the end. 
As I'm putting my guitar away a chap comes over, he's says that he really enjoyed the show but wondered if he seen me supporting The Ruts in Middlesbrough back in the day, wearing glasses and playing rock 'n' roll songs. He looks disappointed when I tell him that it wasn't me but was a chap called Auntie Pus (who incidentally has just written this blog piece on last week's Bristol show. Thanks Julian!)

I always wanted to be
 a tourist attraction!

It's a 5-ish hour drive to the next show so we set out at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. 'Snow capped peaks to our right' says Dave as we pass through some spectacular scenery on our way to Dundee. We stop at a motorway service station where we see a poster for the gig in the tourist information display - excellent!
We arrived at The Reading Rooms just after 5pm. (Again! It's always 5pm!) Promoter Jim is a massive fan of the band and was present at a legendary Dundee gig back in 1979 when Segs and Malcolm let him and his friends in through a back window. There are only a few tickets left and he's hopeful that the gig will be a sellout which makes the already good mood in the band even better. The P.A. is superb and the sound is absolutely excellent - Dave and myself jam on 'Lust For Life' for no other reason than 'we just started playing it'.
I'm behind the merchandise table again as Jock Hart arrives, he's a big fan of the band (as you can tell from this review that he wrote of the evening) and it's good to see him again. Business is brisk and I sadly spend much of the support set by The Spitfires presiding over a merchandising frenzy although I managed to see their last few songs including a version of 'Career Opportunities' and I thought that they sounded great. A difficult band to follow, but follow them we do with a storming performance, one of the best that we have yet played. Afterwards we sell umpteen CDs, run out of Ruts logo t-shirts and meet people who say that it was the best show that they've ever seen by anybody ever. A successful evening's work.

It was another early start yesterday as our last show of what Dave called our 'tourette' was at Eric's in Liverpool. I thought breakfast finished at 10.30 but it actually stopped half an hour earlier meaning that I ate a bowl of muesli standing up looking out over The River Tay as clearing up went on all around me. 
I spent a fair amount of the journey to Liverpool drifting in and out of consciousness - the last few days were catching up with me! We stopped at Lockerbie Service Station for food and fuel (Nick pronounced his burger as 'a mistake') and found our way to Liverpool in good time (can you guess what time we arrived?!?) with Mark reversing into Mathew Street from North John Street with great aplomb. It's a long load-in as we have to walk our equipment past The Cavern and down a seriously steep flight of stairs into the club. As we're setting up I say hello support band Biteback's guitarist Richie who also plays in The Crows, he says how much he's looking forward to the evening and I tell him he's not the only one...
After soundchecking I went upstairs to call my cousin Steve (my phone wouldn't work in the club) who lives over the water in Birkenhead and who is coming to see us play. Or is he? He's got no money, not even enough for the train fare to Liverpool but he's waiting for his next door neighbour to come in as he's going to lend him the cash. When I ask him how much he needs his answer of £6 seems barely believable. I think about how often we all squander money (well, I certainly do!) but if you've got nothing then even a small sum of money seems like a fortune. I tell him I'll call him back in a while to see how he's getting on - in the meantime we walk through the city to The Holiday Inn opposite Lime Street Station. We're checking in as Molara meets a couple of friends who are coming along to the show. Hmm... he looks familiar... she introduces me to 'Jamie' and I realise that it's Jamie Reid - I mumble something about how much I like his work to which he smiles and says that he's really looking forward to seeing the show. Excellent.
As I walk back towards Eric's I call Steve - it's not going well, his mate still hasn't arrived and time is getting on, I tell him to get a cab over to the top of Mathew Street where I'll meet him and pay for it and his return fare home but he gets upset saying that he doesn't want charity, I tell him that it's not charity it's family and that he can pay me back sometime if he wants to and then I'm getting upset too... by now I've walked past the turning to the venue and along Duke Street towards the Ferry landing stage and I'm looking out across The River Mersey and can see the lights of Birkenhead over the water, he's only over there but he might as well be on another planet, neither of us knows what to do but he says he'll call me back if his mate turns up. I stand on the landing stage looking across the river - me and my brother Terry grew up with Steve and his late brother Gary, they were more like our older brothers than our cousins and as I stand there I can remember a thousand things that we've done together. I feel helpless; I also feel very alone. Bugger. I walk back up the hill, past The Liverpool pub near James Street Station where Steve's train would come in, past a bus queue, back up Duke Street, feeling like I didn't know anything anymore... then as I turn into North John Street my phone suddenly rings - it's Steve's girlfriend Lizzie who says that his mate's come home and lent him some money and he's getting ready to come out to the gig and will be with me in a half hour or so. Amazing! Steve comes on the phone sounding like he's won the lottery and saying that everything's ok and he'll see me soon. Thank God for that... by the time I get to the club I'm in a much better frame of mind, as I'm about to go downstairs a chap asks me what time the band are on, as I tell him 9.30 he spots my Bored Teenager badge that T.V. Smith gave me on Friday night and we're all smiles as we both agree how great his latest album is. What a difference a few minutes can make eh? As I turn towards the club I see Phil from Louder Than War who apparently was standing there all the time. I really did have other things on my mind didn't I?
8.30 and Biteback take to the stage. It's their first show as a four piece, the young lady on rhythm guitar looks a bit reticent at first but things soon get going. They play 'English Civil War' (it was definitely a weekend for Clash cover versions!) which fits in well among their own material and they go down better and better as their show progresses. Then I spot a familiar figure in the doorway - it's Steve. I don't remember the last time that I was so pleased to see someone.

'And I... wanna be...
anarchy...'

9.30 and we're on - the place isn't full but there's definitely enough people in to make it work (the show was slotted in at the last minute and as Ethan at the club put it, 'it's a Monday night and the day after St. Patrick's Day') but what they lack in numbers they more than made up for in enthusiasm. The show is a bit looser than the others with lots of storytelling from Segs and Dave coming out to the front of the stage to thank everyone for coming and to introduce the band. Overall it's a great show to end this run of gigs with, and in the dressing room Steve tells me that he really enjoyed it which means everything to me. Then Jamie Reid came over and asked me if I'd like him to sign my guitar - I'd half-jokingly said it to Molara earlier and she'd arranged it with him, meaning that I might well have the only Jamie Reid signature model Les Paul in existence. Strange but true. Then it's time for Steve to catch his train home, we blather at each other like kids, share a hug and then he's gone. I'm so glad that he made it along.
With everything packed away it's time to go back to the hotel - or is it? Phil asks me if I fancy a drink so we adjourn to The Grapes for an hour or so. As a young man plays guitar and sings over backing tracks in the other bar and Beatle - hunting tourists take endless photos of the walls he asks about the last few days - I say that I must have shaken 100 hands and heard the words 'I've waited over 30 years for this night' almost as many times. You don't know how lucky you are sometimes do you?

This morning I was in the hotel shower, thinking about how great the shows and the last few days had been, what the music means to me and to the audience, the mixture of emotions that the previous night had bought out in me - as I rinsed the soap off my face I opened my eyes to see blood on my hands. Another nosebleed. Back to the real world. You don't get something for nothing do you?  

I swear I was there

I'm bound to say that the worst thing about leaving something on a train isn't leaving something on a train - it's feeling like an idiot. Well, it is for me anyway. On Monday morning I called The 12 Bar Club to check that I hadn't left it there (even though I have a recollection of struggling through the front door with both hands full and my bag over my shoulder) and then attempted to call the London Transport Lost Property Office. After what felt like ages on the phone waiting to get through I decided to try their website - it didn't take too long to fill the form in so let's hope it's as easy for them to find my pedal board...

In the meantime I spent most of Sunday attempting to do very little - I actually managed to run through a fair few songs for next weekend's Ash Bash show so it wasn't a completely lost day although I also fell asleep on the settee... I felt a bit better in the evening and so made it down to the Load of Hay to see The Bullet Blues Band, and very good they were too. I even managed to join them for a few songs at the end of their performance - I got up from my seat to go to the bar and Eddie the singer said something like 'let's get Leigh up to help us with this one'; it's difficult to say no in situations like that (well maybe it's more accurate to say that it's difficult for ME to say no in situations like that...) and it was good fun to say the least. They're a great band, and they deserved a bigger audience than the one that they had. It's Steve Simpson on the 20th then Pimp My Jazz on the 27th - if you're in the area why not come along?

Tuesday it was back to Brixton for the last Ruts D.C. rehearsal before the upcoming gigs. I arrived at Jamm just as Dave was finishing setting his kit up; Seamus arrived soon after me (Molara sadly couldn't make it) and with Segs marshalling the troops we were set up and playing in no time. There were a few last minute arrangement changes here and there but it all sounded good to me - the first show is in Manchester this coming Thursday followed by Bristol on the 26th then December 1st in Bournemouth and Kentish Town on the 2nd. With the album still to be finished Dave from Balcony Shirts has done some design work on the 5-track sampler CD that will be available at the gigs, and we're also making some t-shirts to sell at the shows - it's all getting nearer by the minute. Excellent!

A long day Wednesday saw The Briefcase Blues Brothers return to Bibi's Italian restaurant in Leeds. I travelled up with Adam the drummer - we arrived to find Rob (keyboards) and Kylan (bass) more-or-less set up, with Mario and Matt (Jake and Elwood) getting the P.A. system up and running. After a quick soundcheck it was time for some food - I certainly ate far too much but it was so nice I couldn't help myself! We then walked around to Becketts Bank for a drink (As we passed The Queens Hotel Matt and myself reflected on the fact that if we'd been there a day earlier we could have seen Jimmy Saville lying in state) before returning to the venue for a boisterous show in front of an audience that danced a lot more than I would have been able to after the amount of food that I'd eaten. A good gig.

A fairly quiet Saturday in Balcony Shirts (the calm before the storm methinks... hopefully...) was enlivened no end by a visit from Big Al Reed who (a) bought some strings and (b) asked the ever-interesting question 'are you working tonight?' When I said that I wasn't he said he needed someone to do a duo gig with him in Chalfont St. Giles - was I interested? Of course I was...

When we arrived at The Feathers we were greeted by a barrage of shouting and swearing from a chap sitting at the bar. 'He's a bit loud' said Al, eyeing him suspiciously. Well that was one way of describing him. Meanwhile a somewhat over-refreshed but very cheery Irish lady asks if she can sing a song - we're hardly set up before she's wowing her friends and the sweary man with 'Summertime'. Al takes it all in his stride, singing a few swing numbers before inviting me to join him for a few songs. He plays some on acoustic and others on electric guitar, some with backing tracks and some without, and he was excellent. I don't think he needed me there, but I'm glad he invited me along. Then again we were invited back in December so we must have done something right.

As we were leaving we met the over-refreshed but very cheery Irish lady out at the front of the pub. She loved us, as did John, one of the locals. 'Did you meet ''Tourettes''?' he asked with a smile. It was fairly obvious who he meant. 'We call him "Tourettes" 'cos he's got Tourettes'.

Ah, that explains it.

And Sunday it was Ash Bash 5 - as previously mentioned I'd missed last weekend's rehearsal so had been attempting to learn the songs on my own but was glad to have a run through with Simon on drums and most of the band (fellow Flying Squad members Andy on vocals and guitar and Mike on bass with Tina on vocals; Max joined us on keyboards at the venue) before heading off to The Forest Suite at Bracknell Leisure Centre. After loading in and setting up we had a quick (and I mean quick - a verse or two at most) soundcheck with each student before Simon introduced the show. The idea of the event is that some of Simon's drum students get chance to play one or two songs with a live band (us!) and as such it's a very enjoyable event to be part of. In all too many cases the students knew the songs much better than the band (!) but we managed to get through it all without too many mishaps; at the end Simon joined us for a very enjoyable romp through 'Children Of The Revolution' (oh yes!) to bring a splendid event to a close. Great stuff.

Right. My next gig is with Ruts D.C. Here we go...

The Italian Job

So - I end a posting with a bit of unbridled optimism for once and then spend the latter half of the week just gone feeling terrible. Well not terrible exactly, but not too good - the long-suffering Shirley thinks I might have some sort of virus which is making me feel very tired with an intermittent headache, aching muscles and a few stomach problems that I won't go into here. Yes I know it sounds like a hangover but I can assure you that it's not... this wouldn't have happened when I was in my forties!

There have been three gigs since the last posting, the first of which was in Leeds with The Briefcase Blues Brothers. Now I've heard a lot about Bibis Italianissimo, an Art Deco-styled Italian Restaurant (really!) that has been the scene of many eventful BBB performances, not least around the Christmas period. Well it's certainly an extraordinary place, and if Wednesday's gig was anything to go by it's reputation as a venue is more than justified. Adam's on drums, Kylan's on bass, Rob's on keyboards and Mario and McGoo are Jake and Elwood - I'd not worked with Rob before, he uses headphones rather than an amplifier with a small mixing desk to control his sound and to enable him to hear himself and the band. It's an unusual idea but it certainly seemed to work for him. And I'd not seen McGoo for ages; since we last spoke he's been to America to record some solo material and very good it is too (check out his website here, his Facebook page here, and if you like the music it's available on iTunes now!)

After a straightforward soundcheck it's time for an excellent - and I mean excellent - meal (vegetarian ravioli makes a welcome change from coleslaw and potatoes I can tell you!) Mario, McGoo, Adam and myself walked around the corner past The Cockpit to the Yates's for a drink and to be amused by the fact that 2 poles have been fitted in the pub... there was might best be described as a 'guerrilla busker' outside who seemed to be rushing up to unsuspecting passers-by and singing to them (or maybe more accurately 'at them') which seemed to create a bit of consternation but which looked quite funny from where we were sitting.

Back at the venue there are plenty of people in, and our 90 minute set seems to last no time at all - always a good sign. A young lady called Lizzy who I think was out on her hen night was cajoled by her mates into joining us on stage (although we did nothing to stop her!) to add some impressive vocals to 'Mustang Sally', and there's plenty of boisterous banter between the Brothers and the audience. Great stuff.

After the show I made a visit to the Gents (like you do!) and was followed through the door by two young ladies. 'You can see I'm not local can't you?' said the first cheerily and they both giggled. I doubt that either if them had seen me. 'Well I don't know about that but I'm not sure that you should be in here' said I for the want of anything wittier to say; 'Oooh it's a men's one' said the second young lady amid even more giggling, and then they were gone. Wednesday night in Leeds eh?

Two Uppercut gigs this weekend, the first of which was on Friday when we made our second visit to The Anglers Retreat in Staines. I'd been in the shop that day but had left feeling rough - I went home and slept for 2 1/2 hours, which with hindsight probably got me through the show. As Roger and myself arrived we found the two Terry's in the car park - 'someone's just said ''you're that band that plays all the Rod Stewart stuff aren't you?'' ' said Terry the bass somewhat ruefully. At least we weren't billed as a tribute band this time. It wasn't as busy as our first show there (it was Royal Wedding Day which I guess could have accounted for the large turnout?) but it was still pretty crowded by the time we started playing. After our first set I was at the bar talking to arch Flying Squad fan Tony and his mate Martin who had come along to check us out (good boys!) a chap came up to me and said that he liked the band but that 'as a Clapton fan I have to tell you that your version of 'Layla' was crap'. I briefly considered saying something along the lines of 'as a Clapton fan I have to tell you that I think your opinion is crap' but instead contented myself with 'oh, we like it', which must have really annoyed him as I later found he went round to the rest of the band and told them that he'd 'just told your guitarist that as a Clapton fan...'

Our second set saw a young lady called Sally (it was her birthday - can you guess which song we played for her? Well, we had to didn't we!?) got all her mates up to dance which made backing vocals a dangerous proposition (you only need to get a microphone in the teeth once to know that you never want to get one again!) but a gang of girls going mad in front of the band is just the thing to guarantee that the band gets a bit of attention. We played well, went down really well and encored with 'It's All Over Now' and 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'. Good job we didn't make a mess of another one of Eric's songs eh?

Sunday we returned to The Ivy Leaf Club in Uxbridge for a gig with a difference - we were on between 3 and 6 in the afternoon. Time was when quite a few venues would put on Sunday afternoon gigs but that seems less common these days and I for one was surprised when Kevin at the club suggested it but it turned out to be a good call on the club's behalf. I was feeling a bit better than I had at Staines and so found it an easier show to play even though we made a couple of wrong turns here and there - a shaky version of 'You Never Can Tell' (normally play that one rather well!) was eclipsed in the 'dodgy song stakes' by 'All Or Nothing' (again, it's normally ok) which went completely wrong before the second chorus for no apparent reason. Maybe it's just as well that we didn't play 'Layla' or anything could have happened... someone asked for a Dr. Feelgood song (he caught me in the wrong band! We played him a Pirates song instead!) and our encore of 'Jumping Jack Flash' (yeah, that one again!) was immediately followed by a game of 'Play Your Cards Right'. Now there's something I never thought would ever happen.

Not a bad day revisited

Back in May last year I wrote a typically over-emotional piece in these hallowed pages relating to 3 gigs in Yorkshire with T.V Smith. In it I recalled a moment during 'Borderline' at The New Roscoe in Leeds when I felt that it might have been the best piece of music that I'd ever been involved in. I wasn't relating to my or T.V.'s performance - it was the song my friends, the song. You remember songs don't you? They were things that people used to write, back in the days when people who had something to say for themselves chose to use 3 or 4 minutes of pop music to express their feelings. These days I'm not really sure what people do, but that's more my problem than yours, or indeed theirs. But I remembered that moment last night, on the stage at The 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, next to the afore-mentioned T.V. Smith, playing the afore-mentioned 'Borderline'; as we swung into the first chorus and T.V. sang 'on the borderline, why don't you get on my side?' that feeling returned. You don't get moments like that very often, and I'm sitting here struggling to find a way to describe it. Again I looked out from the stage - there was a small oriental lady at the front, Gaye Advert behind her to the right, some punky lads in the shadows, all eyes on T.V. with the song building and building, bringing all the outsiders like me... you... us... together - '... it's not just you, sometimes I feel it too... look your enemy right in the eye, and say ''stay away 'cause I keep my monsters tied''... on the borderline, where the rules do not apply... you'd better steer wide...

I closed my eyes and played. And played. And played. And suddenly, everything - everything - was alright.

I'd not played at The 12 Bar Club before and I'd love to play there again as it's a great little venue, although the word 'little' is very important in this sentence. There are tables that are bigger that the stage, front rooms that are bigger than the audience area and I'd imagine that one person with flu could very easily infect everybody in the building with one sneeze. It's murky, dank, seedy - in other words, it's fantastic. I travelled up on the tube with Esso; as we arrived '1-2-3' by The Professionals was playing in the bar and club manager Barnet was anticipating a good evening. Esso went to The Angel to meet up with John King just before T.V. arrived; soundcheck was straightforward enough with John the sound man getting everything right in no time. I bumped into Brian from Wunjo Guitars as I walked around the corner to the Nunu takeaway (falafel and salad - excellent!) who I'd not seen for a while - when I said I'd been in a few times and he'd not been there he said he'd been 'working on his golf'. Business must be good then... after catching up on a few phone calls I met Esso and John for a drink then went back to the venue to catch a few songs from gig organiser Brandy Row - anyone who plays a Johnny Thunders song is alright by me - and to get ready for the gig. We were due on at 10.15 but went on a bit later than that, and 'No Time To Be 21' kicked off a set that for me surpassed the 100 Club show earlier this year in pretty much every way. I've dribbled on about 'Borderline' already, but there were more than a few 'can this get any better? Yes it can!' moments for me; that said I also played a couple of absolute howlers during my solo in '21', forgot the extra beat of silence in the last chorus of 'Worn Once', messed up a chord change or two in 'Bored Teenagers' - well, you don't get something for nothing do you? Our set ends with 'One Chord Wonders' and general audience mayhem, we encore with 'Good Times Are Back' and 'Runaway Train Driver' before T.V. sets up shop at the front of the stage and does a roaring trade. Excellent!

It's a late bar and people are everywhere, it would have been great to stay for a drink but Esso and myself have got a last train to catch. Oh well, maybe next time. As we're leaving a chap called Martin stops me to say that he still has his old Price singles and that it was great to see me playing, was the band still going, when was I playing with T.V. again, while we were talking a couple come over to ask the same questions- for a few seconds I think about taking up Esso's idea of getting a cab home later, but times are hard and it would cost too much. Oh well, maybe next time. And once again another one of those amazing songs says it all - it's expensive being poor, these days more expensive than ever. And you don't get something for nothing do you? But for evenings like this, it's all worth it, every time. See you on the borderline sometime...

Not a bad day (or three)

Dear Jim

Please could you fix it for me to play 3 gigs in Yorkshire with T.V. Smith.

If possible could one of them be in a brewery.

Thank you very much

Leigh Heggarty age 48 3/4

In the small hours of this morning myself and the long-suffering Shirley returned from 3 days in Yorkshire - as far as I know Jim didn't fix it for me even if he did turn up at the first venue; he didn't come to the gig, he just sat in the restaurant looking miserable. Ah well, he missed a great night, in fact 3 great nights of EARTHBOUND, the annual gathering of TUTS (T.V. Smith's United Tour Supporters - I think that's the correct wording, I'm sure one of them will correct me if I'm wrong!)

Friday is not always a good day to be travelling on motorways - it can be really busy! - but our journey was pretty straightforward until an hour or so from Otley when our sat. nav. stopped working; we pulled into a service station and asked a nearby driver if we could try it in his car to see if we could work out what had gone wrong, and decided that the power cable was faulty as it wouldn't work in his car either. With no appropriate lead on sale in the service station shops we resolved to get one on Saturday and made the rest of the journey using the sat. nav on my iPhone and a rather curious papery thing called a 'map'... Dowgill House turned out to be an excellent bed and breakfast establishment on the same road as the venue (hurrah!) so after checking in we walked down to Korks at the allotted meeting time of 6.30 to find several TUTS (many of whom had come over from Germany for the event) already getting settled in. T.V. arrived with Tim (a.k.a. T.J. who organised much of the weekend as well as booking us some splendid accommodation - thanks mate!) and we set up and soundchecked without too many problems. We'd rehearsed up a fair bit of obscure material for the gigs (and T.V. had also prepared some new solo stuff - after all it is a fan gathering and they deserve to hear some different songs don't you think?) but only played the more obvious stuff at the soundcheck to keep the set a surprise to any TUTS with good hearing in the other bar!
The venue is in the back room of a clearly well-thought-of restaurant, and seems to be a thriving folk club on Thursday nights as well as booking the likes of Mike Peters and Ian McNabb on Fridays. There's a fair sized crowd in by the time T.V. goes on for his first (solo) set which goes down well and ends with T.J. joining him on vocals for 'Make Your Escape'. After a short beer break we kick off with 'No Time To Be 21' - I don't mind admitting that I felt quite nervous before we started as there were people in the audience that knew the songs better than I did (!) but after a few songs I felt a bit better about things. Our set was mostly songs we'd played together before and ended with the 'Adverts trilogy' of 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes', 'Bored Teenagers' and 'One Chord Wonders'; T.V. encores with 'March Of The Giants' (as requested by an audience member) then we play 'Good Times Are Back' to finish a good first-gig-of-three.

A sunny Saturday began with a big breakfast (lots of nice comments about last night's gig from the TUTS staying in the guest house - that's a relief!) before we packed the car and spent an hour or so wandering around Otley - I was pleased to discover that there's a fish and chip shop called Chip-In-Dales (you don't believe me? Click here! Excellent!) 'though Shirley found the market rather more interesting. From there it was a 40-odd minute drive (Shirl fixed the sat. nav. lead - get a grown-up to help you next time Leigh!) to the Elm Crest Hotel in Huddersfield to check in and to watch some of The Cup Final. Having been forewarned that there would be little if any food at the venue (lots to drink 'though!) we went to the local Co-Op to pick up some supplies (it's all glamour this rock'n'roll lark I can tell you!) before making our way across to The Elland Brewery, scene of the evening's festivities. Part-owned by T.J.'s mate Smit it's definitely is one of the more unusual venues that your humble narrator has ever found himself in; we were playing in the main brewing area alongside the vats where the beer is brewed and soundcheck wasn't quite as straightforward this time, lots of feedback 'though we got it sounding ok in the end. It's an 'invite-only' show and with all the TUTS present and correct the live music begins with Sam and Dean playing some eclectic cover versions ('Living Next Door To Alice' goes down particularly well!) before T.J. introduces T.V. who plays a set of both new and obscure songs kicking off with 'Earthbound' (appropriately enough) and including quite a few from his new 'Sparkle In The Mud' collection of '70's and '80's demo recordings. I'd not heard the new songs before - 'Complaints Department' stood out as being very different for him, almost reminicent of John Otway! Then it's time for me to join him - continuing the theme of the evening we play rarely heard songs from his back catalogue (including this one) before surprising everybody with a brand new song 'Man Down', the cognoscenti show their approval by doing the conga to 'Runaway Train Driver' (I'm not making this up - click here to see what happened in 2004!) and several join us on the mics for 'Good Times Are Back' which finishes our set to riotous applause. T.V. returns to play another new song 'Dawning Of False Hopes' solo although he surprises everyone (including me!) be calling me up to finish it with him, I don't know the song but play a few notes here and there as I attempt to work out the chord sequence. He tries to finish the set there but the TUTS are having none of that so he returns to play a wonderful version of 'Generation Y'. A great gig. I must have shook hands with virtually everyone in the place and when Shirley and myself eventually leave it's to a chant of 'Leigh-Leigh-Leigh' - now there's something that's never happened before! If I can get a recording of it I might use it as a ringtone!

Sunday started with another big breakfast amid more praise from the TUTS (I could get used to this!) many of whom seemed more than a little worse for wear... we gave T.V. a lift into Leeds where Shirley enthusiastically attacked the shopping centre before making our way to The New Roscoe. We're playing everything we know as a duo - 23 songs! - and T.V. came up with the idea of playing them chronologically which made for a very interesting set 'though we saved the afore-mentioned 'Adverts trilogy' until the end. With everything sounding good we retired to the bar - Shirley's on merchandise duty for the third time (she's getting really good at it!) and with the last of the special 'Earthbound' t-shirts (guess who made them?!?) alongside T.V.'s CD's and books on the table we're ready for the gig. A healthy crowd (including CBB-er Matt with his wife Rowena) saw what for me was the best show of the three. It's hard to pick a highlight but I remember thinking 'this just might be the best song that I've ever played' during 'Borderline' then looked out to see the audiences faces, all captivated by what just might be the best song I've ever played... I made a mistake during 'Runaway Train Driver' - T.V. careered across the stage grinning, shouted 'I know what you just did- and I don't care!' in my ear before just making it back to the microphone in time for the next line, an incident which somehow sums up the spirit of the performance. Afterwards I say thank you's and goodbye's to friends old and new - Klaus, Fleagle and Mrs. Fleagle, Wolfgang, Gabumon (archivist extraordinaire!) and many many more, all agreeing to keep in touch, to meet at gigs, all wishing that the weekend could somehow last forever. It's hard to put into words how I or indeed Shirley felt about our time with the TUTS - suffice to say it's one of the best weekend's work I've ever been part of, although I'm not sure 'work' is the right word to describe something that was so much fun. As we arrived home at nearly 5 a.m. we were both very tired but had just been part of something that we wouldn't have missed for the world. Same time next year? I hope so.