Loughborough Town Hall Thurs March 3rd

A brief diversion, if you will indulge me, while I lift a corner of the curtain on the five – star rock and roll swankfest that is the process of touring at this level. We’re already waaaaay ahead of the last tour insofar as we’re travelling in a big double – decker tourbus. This really does become your home on wheels; you’ve got your comfy little bunk, there are a couple of lounges, a galley with microwave and fridge, a loo, at least two TVs with DVD player and usually a games console or two, so it’s not exactly slumming it in the back of a Transit. There are some drawbacks, however. For a start, the loo is downstairs from the bunks, and negotiating your way down the stairs of a moving bus when your bladder is screaming for blessed release is an interesting experience. There’s also the ubiquitous “ no logs in the bogs “ rule that applies to all tour buses, whereby you have to dispose of your….errr…solids, somewhere beyond the confines of the onboard khazi. Under normal circumstances this is quite manageable, but when you’ve partaken of a botty – scouring chicken madras from the Golden Bengal in a moment of drunken weakness, then, my friend, you are in for a night of buttock-clenching, eye-watering hell. There’s also the fact that you’ve got eleven or twelve blokes in fairly close proximity, and you can easily have a situation where someone in a back bunk just wants to go to sleep, whilst everyone else wants to recreate then last days of Caligula’s Rome in the rear lounge, and this can make for a somewhat tetchy atmosphere. Luckily there are no such wild excesses on this tour, and the most radical thing that’s likely to happen is when someone takes the last two slices of bread to make toast, or moves someone else's slippers, but you get my drift. There’s also the little issue of hygiene. I must admit that the Booties tour party is much more fragrant than the usual tribe of band and crew, and we’ve got more than a few who like nothing better than tidying up the kitchen and tutting when someone leaves a cup out after they’ve used it. This is all good stuff, and makes for a nice, clean bus. One thing we don’t have on board, however, is a shower, so we’re dependent on the venues having them. Most people tend to wake up, have a shower, get dressed and go about their daily business, but what happens with us, especially the crew, is that we wake up , get a couple of tea if we’re lucky then go straight to the load –in. The band have got the chance to shower during the day before or after soundcheck, but we don’t, so we try and grab one whenever we can. Often the only option is after the show, and this isn’t ideal when you’ve got a caretaker looking at his watch and muttering under his breath about how he's missing the Corrie omnibus or some such cobblers. When you’re touring as we are, one of the things that really makes a difference is when you go to a venue which makes you welcome, where the facilities are good and where you feel like you’re working with the people there rather than against them. We haven’t been anywhere yet ( even Stockport ! ) where we’ve had any problems, but I have to say that Loughborough Town Hall is one of those venues that you actively look forward to visiting as a crew. Kev and Andy, the house technicians, are two of the friendliest guys you’ll ever come across on the circuit. Nothing’s too much trouble for them, and they’ll do things like bring you tea and snacks without being asked, just because that’s the way they are. In the grand scheme of things this may not seem like very much, but believe me, this kind of hospitality is gold to us. They excel themselves today; apart from the statutory buckets of tea, they bring plates of sandwiches and posh nibbles that would be more at home on a Hampstead dining table than in the hands of six hairy – arsed road crew, but they totally hit the spot. To people who are used to dining on Ginster’s finest products at a motorway services at about three am, this is manna from heaven. Everything goes in and up really quickly today, and there’s also a vey nice backstage area where the band manage to get showered and changed, so all in all there’s a relaxed feel about today . Even the soundcheck slips by quickly, and we’ve got the rare bonus of a totally clear hour before the doors open. When we played here last year we got a really good crowd and a fantastic response, so we’re hoping that this year lives up to it. Sales have been good, too, so all the portents are in our favour, and another good sign is when the audience laugh and cheer at the film footage of the intro. Three songs in and we’re home and dry. The band just click into top gear, and on nights like this you can see why Elton John was so fulsome in his praise….they really ARE the best in the business, and the crowd play their part in making this one of the finest nights so far. We thought Croydon was our best reaction yet, but this has shaded it....

Croydon Ashcroft Theatre Wed March 2nd

The last time we were here at the Ashcroft was on the final date of the 2010 tour, and I remember it being somehow anti-climactic, especially as the house was enforcing a rule whereby no-one was allowed to even stand up and dance in their seats without being taken out the back and beaten with rubber hoses by steroid – crazed heavies. A word with the management happily reveals that this is no longer the case; they’d
“ misinterpreted the licensing guidelines “, apparently. Where it said “ the paying audience should be allowed to express their appreciation and enjoyment of the evening’s entertainment in any appropriate way “, the management actually thought it said
“ anyone showing even the faintest vestige of enthusiasm will be swiftly and violently eliminated in the appropriate way “. An easy mistake to make, really. We’re in good company tonight, as Lenny Henry is playing the Fairfield Halls next door, so we might just sneak in for a chuckle. Today’s one of those days where we get lots of little niggling technical things going on like cables suddenly not working and noises coming out of places where they have right to come out of, but eventually everything’s up and running and we’re good to go. As Jamie’s voice has been getting stronger by the day the decision is made to put two of the “ dropped “ songs back in the set, though he’s unfortunately not confident enough yet to do his solo number. We sit him down and sympathetically tell him that this is fine, not to worry at all, but that if it’s not back in within a show or two we’re going to have to throw him out of the moving tour bus. Twice. The show goes up and he’s quickly on to one of his first real tests, “ Go Now “ ( or “Gonads” as is it somewhat childishly referred to by the crew ), but he sails through without a hitch, and it becomes clear early on that this is a crowd looking for a good night out. They obviously couldn’t find one in Croydon so they came to see us, but hey…you take your breaks where you can find them. For some reason on this tour it seems that the crunchier songs like You Really Got Me, Light My Fire and Pinball Wizard are going down best, though Whiter Shade has been a real winner too….guess it’s just not a song that people cover very much as the vocal is so difficult to nail properly. When You Really Got Me’s guitar riff kicks in tonight people actually scream in recognition, which is both gratifying and a little bit scary at the same time , and the second half just builds and builds….even the other acoustic section storms it, especially the “ Elvis Moment “ on Suspicious Minds. The acid test, of course, will be the dance party section….will the audience go for it, or will years of conditioned subjugation by the authorities keep them in their seats ? Steve kicks in the intro to Mony Mony and does his “ Get up off your seat and on your feet “ call, and bugger me, do they take notice !! At best we were expecting some gentle shimmying and clapping along, but no…with a roar a bunch of people stampede to the area in front of the stage where they proceed to wig out with almost mad abandon. There’s one oldish chap who is just banging the palms of his hands on the stage whilst bellowing along with the songs, and right in the middle is Really Should Know Better At His Age Man, who actually looks like he’s been wired directly into the National Grid. He treats us to a display of Dad-dancing of almost Olympian quality before getting totally lost in the moment, turning to his girlfriend and commencing what can only be politely termed “ heavy frottage “, with much pelvic thrusting., before he disappears into the melee of gyrating groovers. Their singalong stuff would grace the terraces of any football stadium, and at the end of the main set we’ve never heard cheers like it outside the Liverpool Philharmonic last year. It is, quite seriously, one of the best receptions we’ve ever had, and to be honest we’re all a bit stunned by it, so marked is the contrast from last year. Our only vague disappointment is that we didn’t improve on last year’s attendance figures, but a word with the management after puts things in perspective for us….next door, major star Lenny Henry, in his adopted home town, has only pulled a crowd of around 400. We’ve been hearing for a while that business is down in general all over the country, and this brings it home to us with a bang, so although we’ve not done massive numbers tonight, between ourselves and Lenny we’re DEFINTELY the happier of the two. A somewhat disturbed evening lies ahead for his tour accountant, methinks…..

Stockport Plaza Tues 1st March

Ah, the unrelenting glamour of life on the road……We wake up this morning in a sort of lay-by outside the theatre in the middle of Stockport, parked on either side of a rubbish – filled skip ( which also seemed to be home to a family of Albanians ) and as we emerge blinking into the weak sunlight, hair awry and all smelling faintly of eau de bloke, some locals stare at us as though we’d arrived from another planet…..which in a sense we have, as OUR planet isn’t largely populated by shellsuited, soap-dodging benefit scroungers whose idea of a day out is a family trip to Poundland. Once again we look up at the massive illuminated art deco frontage of the Plaza, and once again we ask “ What in the name of Basil Brush’s underpants are we doing here ? “ The external grandeur of the theatre, we recall grimly, doesn’t extend to the dressing rooms or backstage facilities, and , of course, there’s the little matter of a 1 in 6 slope carpeted by lush, flight-case knackering shag pile waiting to swamp our gear, at the end of which there’s a hoik up on to the stage which is so high Sir Edmund Hilary once came here and planted a bloody flag on it. To be fair, there are two improvements from last time. One is that they’ve actually supplied a couple of crew to help us load in, and the other is that they’ve now got a goods lift which makes the ascent of Everest to the stage a little easier. In fact, it all comes in and goes together easier than we’d expected, but it’s still a grind. To add insult to injury we know this one’s not sold well ( this sentence was brought to you by Great Understatements of Our Time, number five in a series ), so everyone’s a bit fratchy. No blood is shed, fortunately, and we make it through to soundcheck in one piece. We’re trying a new bit of theatrical jiggery-pokery tonight which involves dropping a piece of scenery in and out, so we test it out at soundcheck. The band impress us by working around this potentially dangerous object without loss of limb or sight, so we decide to keep it in. If it does end up braining one of them we could just work it into the show and call it suffering for our art….And so to showtime, and the depressing sight the audience scattered throughout this huge place. At least the management haven’t tried to sell the balcony, which is so far away they speak a different language there, and within a couple of songs we’re reminded that although this place wasn’t heaving last time either, this tends to be a noisy and enthusiastic crowd. They’re really good natured too, and Den gets some banter going with them. There’s one woman in particular who may possible be a little over – refreshed as she feels it necessary to bawl out to the stage after every other song. This in itself isn’t too much of a problem, but she combines the volume of a jumbo jet with the raucousness of Barbara Windsor, and I’m here to tell you folks, it’s not a winner. Den handles it with aplomb, however, and luckily it doesn’t seem to affect anyone else’s enjoyment of the show, especially after we have her forcibly removed and shot. The set rattles along beautifully, and the new trick in the acoustic section works a treat, so we’ll be using that wherever we can. Jamie’s definitely getting better; “ Whiter Shade” is almost at full power, though we’re still being prudent and keeping “ Go Now “ and “Itchycoo Park” out of the set for another day or two. It’s in the bag by the time they get to the new “ Sixties dance party “ section, and there’s some proper community singing on “ You’ll Never Walk Alone “. As with last time we’ve won this crowd over and they’re full of praise, but once again we’ve played to a small crowd and you have to start looking at the venue itself to see if everything is being done to promote the show. We make a little mental note for the future. The load out isn’t as brutal as we’d feared, partly thanks to the venue’s new scissor lift and partly due to the fact that they’ve got some people to help us this time, but some purblind, spavinned Neanderthal has chosen to park their car right up against the front of the bus and then abandon it, necessitating the whole crew dragging the skip along the road so the bus can get out( much to the displeasure of the Albanian family, whose kids were due up in an hour to go and commit some burglaries ). It is with genuine feeling that we say “ Stockport, thank you and goodnight “……

Skegness Embassy Sun Feb 27th

We seem to make a habit of playing out of season seaside towns these days. Nothing wrong with that in itself, it’s just that when they’re on the North Sea like Skeggy then it’s about 25 degrees colder than anywhere inland, with an icy wind that blows right across from the Urals and straight up your gusset. “ Skegness – it’s so bracing ! “ say all the tourist ads, probably because “ Skegness – come and get frostbite in your nethers ! “ wouldn’t have sounded quite so appealling. At least The Embassy is warm and welcoming, and although we know that tonight’s not sold too well there’s a nice big stage, and so for the first time on the tour so far we can spread out and run the full production. One of the things that we were talking about on the bus last night was how both band and crew seem to have hit the ground running this time out….apart from the initial technical grief we had at Haverhill everything has been remarkably painless, and we’ve dropped into a really good groove right from the off. When I think back a year to how things were at the start of that first tour it seems like a lifetime away; events that would have had us run screaming into the streets last time are now met with a shrug of the shoulders and an“ OK then “. The band’s attitude has got a lot to do with it..…this is a very different way to tour than what they’re used to, but they’ve taken to it like ducks to water, and that’s made for a much easier working environment. It helps that we don’t have any major prima donnas in the tour party, of course, but it’s also because we know and trust each other more now. We know the band will always deliver, even when they’re feeling physically below par, and they know we’ll always make them look and sound great. Even Still As Yet Unnamed Chris Stocker The Monitor Chap has bought into the whole vibe, and so far his only crime has been to be younger and better looking than me.I’ve been on tours where band / crew segregation has made things almost unworkable, but there’s none of that here. Today’s a great case in point….with the help of an excellent local crew we bang the kit up in record time, so we have a nice relaxed soundcheck that seems to be over in no time at all, giving us the chance to get something to eat or even ( Oh luxury of luxuries ! ) grab a quick nap back in the cocoon of our bunks on the bus. As we’d feared, tonight’s not a big audience, and there’s an element of polite applause at first, but gradually a few whoops and cheers come in, and suddenly that invisible barrier is broken down. It seems to be the rockier numbers like You Really Got Me, Light My Fire and Pinball Wizard that get the best response, but the crowd sing along lustily when asked to and although there might not be many of them their demands for an encore at the end are loud and genuine.We hear after the show that the duty manager was so impressed with what she’d seen that she e-mailed the general manager at home during the interval saying “ you’ve GOT to re-book this show ! Good news indeed, but unfortunately another worry does rear it’s ugly head tonight….Den’s been carrying a bit of a bad throat for a couple of days, and after the show he’s decidedly croaky, so it’s on with the big coat and woolly scarf , a quick drop of jollop and off to bed for him. To make things even more fun Chris ( that’s Chris Keyboards, by the way ) seems to be coming down with the same thing. Our safe little bus may soon be turning into a plague house on wheels, so we’re going to have to keep a very close eye on everyone over the next couple of days. We can’t have history repeating itself…..can we ?

Market Drayton Festival Centre Sat 26th Feb

OK, let’s get this out of the way here and now. I’m a fat bastard. I love my food. In fact I love anyone’s food. Last time we were here, Sheila, the lovely lady who cooks all the grub in the venue’s café made us some fantastic cakes, and I may just have had a teeny tiny sample of each one. As a result, everyone in the tour party is convinced that we’re only back here doing this show tonight because of Sheila’s cakes. This is not true. We’re only doing this show because of Sheila’s cakes AND her toasted sandwiches. We love this venue, and we love the people who work here. Today we love them even more because since our last visit they’ve built a whole new backstage area with nice loos and a lovely, hot shower. They’ve even supplied us with a load of fluffy towels and some shower gel, and nothing ever seems to be too much trouble for Geoff and Glyn who run the venue. A nicer, more helpful bunch of people you truly couldn’t wish to meet. We know the show’s going to be a stonker before we even start, too….they love their Sixties music here, and fortunately they love us playing it for them. Although it’s always cosy onstage and there’s a slight element of Tetris about the placement of instruments, cases and so on, the atmosphere’s great and as the audience are virtually on top of you there’s a great communication between the stage and the auditorium. We’ve encountered one problem, though….what’s become known as The Chris Issue. We’ve never had two people in the party with the same name before, and it’s a bugger. We started trying to differentiate by calling them Chris Monitors and Chris Keyboards but that was too unwieldy. We then tried Big Chris and Little Chris but that didn’t work either, so we thought the easiest thing was to find a tour name for Chris Monitors. First out of the bag was “ New Pug “ followed by “ Pug 2 “ and even “ Not Pug “, but we need to help the poor chap make his own mark on the tour, so until anyone else can come up with a better moniker he’s know as “ Oy ! You !”. Suggestions to tony@thebootlegsixties.com, please…..Right. Let’s get this next bit out of the way quickly too. The venue fed us. Sheila may have made some cakes. I may have had a piece. Of all four of them. And then taken another cake on the bus after the show. See ? Simple. No problem, And CERTAINLY not deserving of the public humiliation dished out from the stage as Den regaled the audience with tales of wanton gluttony from yours truly. I mean, how unfair…after all, I was just helping the poor woman decide which one tasted best (the amswer was all of them, in case you’re interested ). But enough of this, and on to the show….we’re adding a new bit to “Suspicious Minds” tonight, as we’ve finally got the techy bit sorted out to do it in full, so we’re gradually getting towards the finished version of the show.. As soon as Jamie’s back up to full strength we’ll put the missing songs back in, and that’ll be that. He’s definitely starting to sound better already, and although he’s judiciously pulling back from going full throttle still, it only feels like a matter of time now. The show tonight is pretty flawless from top to bottom, and it’s genuine pleasure to watch the band’s faces as they play and see how much they’re enjoying this. The Market Drayton crowd are as vociferous and enthusiastic as ever, even cheering the film of Geoff Hurst’s last goal for England as if it had been scored tonight and not forty-five years ago, and the new “ Elvis moment “ works an absolute treat. There’s one lady of somewhat advanced years in the front row who sits throughout the evening with a sort of “ stunned mullet “ expression on her jib, and the initial feeling is that she must be finding it all a bit loud, but when the “party” section starts she’s up and dancing too. They’d seriously let us play all night if they could, and for all the constraints of size and finance it’s one of those places that we’ll try and come back to every time. After the show we get a really nice e-mail from a lady who was there tonight. The last time we played here she’d just tracked down her Dad who she hadn’t seen for 48 years, and the two of them came to see the show and were in tears as the band played “Walk Right Back” as it had become “ their song”. Unfortunately he was too ill to attend this time, but she told us her story and how much the show and that song had meant to them. Now, I may be a great big cynical old Hector at times, but when you hear things like that it makes you realise that what we’re doing here can seriously touch people’s lives. In the context of what’s happened with Clive it’s all too easy to trivialise this as just so much musical fluff, but it IS worthwhile and it can make a real difference. Altogether now….We are thr world, we are the children…..

Morecambe The Platform Fri Feb 25th

A long old run up to Morecambe for Nick and I in the equipment vans this morning, but the roads are unusually clear, and apart from having a struggle to escape the tractor beam of a McDonalds near Lancaster, I get there in good time. I’m also ridiculously pleased to get a series of texts from Clive asking how things are going and sending me a selection of his latest jokes; he may be down but he’s not out ! This is my first sight of Morecambe, and to be honest it’s not inspiring; it’s a cold, wet February morning, the tide is out, and all I can see as I drive along the seafront is miles of muddy shallows disappearing into the murk. With a shiver I remember that this was where a group of Chinese cockle – pickers were trapped by the incoming tide and drowned not that long ago. It’s grey, depressing stuff, and even the sight of town hero Eric Morecambe’s statue in classic “ Bring Me Sunshine “ pose can’t raise the spirits. I pull up to the gig to see the first problem of the day….last night’s duty manager has forgotten to take the lock off the bollard on the access road, so instead of being safely tucked in by the building with power hooked up and all systems humming, the bus is out on the main road being battered by driving wind and rain. To add to the overall ambience, a hideous denizen from the Ninth Circle Of Hell comes up ( you may also hear them referred to as “ traffic wardens” ) and happily slaps a ticket on the bus on the grounds that it’s causing an obstruction. The fact that the roads of the town are virtually deserted seems to have escaped this troglodyte’s notice, and unfortunately an attempt to explain our predicament merely prompts a swivel – eyed rant about rights of access and the sanctity of Her Majesty’s highways. I’m sure I also heard something about how we were all going to burn in eternal flames for having the temerity to park there, but I could have been mistaken. As soon as one of the venue staff finally comes along to let us in, however, the day takes a major turn for the better . The gig itself is a massive improvement on everything we’ve seen here so far…..it’s the old railway station, and the management have done a fantastic job of turning it into a cosy, quirky venue. House guys Shaun, Ron, Tom and Magic are friendly and helpful, and after a brew or four we’re warmed up and raring to go. It’s the band’s first day of using venue showers instead of having hotel rooms, and there’s a little bit of trepidation as to how they’ll deal with it, but apart from a few cases of terminal bed-head, they’re all fine. The set-up comes together quite quickly and the only casualty is the running board for the PA speakers which I spent several hours lovingly crafting earlier this week. After serving us well in Haverhill it finds the mean streets of Morecambe just too tough for it’s tender sensibilities, and promptly sheds two wheels as soon as it gets down the ramp. Epic fail….. The venue has been laid out for tonight in what’s known as cabaret style, in other words it’s tables and chairs rather than rows of seats; we did this once before in Bridlington and it worked really well. Tonight proves to be just as good; everyone is close to the stage, creating a nice, intimate atmosphere. Jamie’s voice is still suffering so we continue to run the slightly truncated show, and we realise that there’s a certain symmetry about the songs we’ve taken out….Go Now has gone now, She’s Not There isn’t there, and Elvis ( Suspicious Minds ) has left the building !There are about nineteen new songs being featured in full or in part, and there’s a second semi – acoustic medley been added, plus there are new outfits, new solo bits, new links and loads of new footage, so although it retains the essence of the regular show there’s plenty of different stuff for returning fans to enjoy. There are already songs that are showing early signs of becoming standout moments; a stomping version of Out Of Time closes the first half and Jamie does a fantastic job of Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade Of Pale ( or Skiffle Lie Fandangle , as it’s also known ), plus Phil’s twist on the Shadows is a corker…we may have dispensed with the Black Box Of Bafflement but the spirit of Hank still lives on !We’ve still to see Jamie’s new solo spot, and one song in the second medley can’t be done just yet as we’ve got to sort out some visual issues, but what we’ve got already is looking and sounding great, and the audience are lapping it up. For the second night running the show computer behaves itself, largely thanks to Tomps offering it a sacrifice of several pocket calculators and a digital watch, and apart from a couple of “ new cue “ visual glitsches the whole thing runs beautifully. Duty manager Shaun ensures that he earns legendary status after the show by giving us a big bag of doughnuts, sausage rolls and sandwiches for the bus, and so it’s a bunch of much happier campers who climb into their bunks and head south down the M6. As the bus pulls out there’s a bump from beneath the wheels and I look out the window to see what looks suspiciously like a traffic warden lying in the road where we’ve just been parked…….

Haverhill Arts Centre Thurs Feb 24th

Do you ever get that feeling that everything’s conspiring against you, and that maybe some things just aren’t meant to be ?? Now, I’m normally a “ glass half full “ kind of cove, but recently even my optimism has been given a severe shoeing. We’re about to start what is arguably an even more important tour than the debut outing a year ago, yet over the course of just a couple of days we’ve heard that Jamie’s chest infection is still giving him serious trouble with his voice, quickly followed by the dreadful news that our friend and fellow crew member Moore, has suffered a stroke and is in hospital. As Clive was probably the fittest and healthiest member of the whole crew this has been a major shock, and to be honest we’re struggling to get it to sink in. He’s got such a presence that it’s hard to imagine him being laid so low, and this has really cast a pall over our preparations. The only bright spot is that Tomps, despite being the most in- demand cameraman and video editor this side of the Rockies, has come to the rescue and managed to re-arrange his work so that he can cover the whole tour. It’s thus with somewhat mixed emotions that we arrive at the Arts Centre today…..we’ve got the usual pre-tour mixture of nerves and excitement peppered with a fair amount of anticipation, a dash of pure terror and a pinch of roiling guts, though on reflection the latter is probably last night’s chicken jalfrezi. For the first time in ages there’s also a totally new face on the crew in the shape of monitor engineer Chris Stocker. When Pug left us last year for Antipodean shores we’d half expected that he’d either run out of money or do something illegal, either of which would necessitate a sharp exit back to Blighty and the welcoming arms of the Bootleg family, but sadly he’s proved to be made of sterner stuff, and we’ve had to go back to the drawing board. Of course, with our contact network and our gazillion years in the business we could get a monitor engineer in no time at all, but it needs to be someone who fits in with our somewhat idiosyncratic bunch as much as someone who has the pure technical ability. We’d seen Chris before many times outside Milton Keynes railway station as he sat wrapped in rags with his dog on a string, and had been impressed with the cheerful way he shamelessly begged for money and scraps of food, so after a short negotiation about how many bottles of cider he’d be paid and a quick trip to a local sheep-dip, he was in. So finally the build-up is over, and here we are again in Haverhill. Now, first days are always a BIT fraught, but today seems especially knotty and gnarled. Chris is seeing the system built for the first time, and there are also new elements to the PA, so that all takes a while to get going, plus the computer which runs all the show visuals falls over and steadfastly refuses to start up again. Did you notice how calmly I slipped that in, Faithful Blogreader ? A year ago that news would have at best rendered me a sobbing wreck and at worst had me reaching for the steak knives to commit hara-kiri, but these days a combination of absolute trust in the abilities of my colleagues and, of course, some blind, desperate optimism gives me the warm, fuzzy feeling that it’s somehow all going to be fine. The other thing that seriously impresses me is the band’s attitude…..instead of having conniption fits, Den accepts the problem with almost Zen-like stoicism. Before we’ve even started the first date we’ve had to change the show anyway…..Jamie’s voice problems mean that we’re having to drop four numbers from tonight’s set….but the experience of last year’s tours mean that we now greet this kind of news with almost arrogant insouciance rather than bowel – loosening panic. As it happens, by some arcane process of digital alchemy the computer decides not to only to start working but to KEEP working throughout the show, although Tomps advises us not to breathe anywhere near it or even look at it in case whatever little demons are churning around inside it’s bits and bytes get the arse with us and go on strike again. All in all it’s been a pretty fraught and stressful day, to be totally honest, but then the lights go down, the “no smoking” announcement is made, and the magic begins all over again . Can I just say here and now that I’m going to make no excuses for not going into detail about the actual show here, because if I’m totally straight with you much of it went by in a blur of new cues, new songs and furtive sideways glances at our recalcitrant computer. Suffice to say that despite Jamie’s vocal worries the band, to use a well-worn X Factor cliché “ owned “ the stage tonight….and fear not, folks, there’ll be a lot more about the performances themselves in future blogs. One thing that DOES merit special mention, though, is that for the first time we’ve a big, spiffy, proper tour programme which Den put together with old mucker and all – round graphic genius Ian; it’s glossy and professional and I think I want to marry it and have it’s children. Well done chaps….big pats on the back due all round. Another marker of how the show is expanding and developing arrives tonight in the shape of a big, shiny double-decker tour bus, with bunks, kitchen, entertainment systems, engine, wheels and everything. This beastie is going to be our home for the next few weeks, though sadly not for me tonight….I’ve got to head back to base to pick up some bits and bobs for tomorrow. I DO get the dubious pleasure of being the pathfinder, leading the bus out towards the M11 and tomorrow’s show in Morecambe, but as I stop for fuel I see the bus pass me and disappear into the Suffolk night. Either driver Kev is now sure of where he’s going now, or else I’m going to find myself very lonely at the gig tomorrow…….