dont drink and drive - take lsd poster

A poster (and sentiment) close to my heart.  If good acid was freely available (stay off the brown acid), l would certainly drink less.

toodle pip

the hildyard arms

There was a bit of a mix up last night, as l thought it was the last night of The Hildyard Arms pub in Colburn before it gets refurbished. I blame Col Moore myself, but me and a tasty crew of Rocker, Ritchie, Pon, Lammy and Powlie decided to head down there for a few ales to say goodbye to the old place, as we used to drink there years ago when Graham ran it.  We all met in The Wine Bar at White Shops because we forgot the Hildyard wasn't open until 7pm, and then when we did get down there, it wasn't the last night after all, there was only about 4 people in it, and it was still crap. We headed straight back to White shops after one drink.  It was still a good time though, as plenty of ale was consumed, the arguments and tales all kicked off, and myself and Lammy ended up being the last ones kicked out of JT's.
Hic.
Back to work today, but it's my last shift for nearly 3 weeks, and l'm off out in Middlesbrough at the weekend (and probably the weekend after). Hurrah!!!!

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the waterboys - under the skin, fanzines and following them around

Ah, The Waterboys and my 'Under The Skin' Waterboys magazine.  Between about 1985 and 1990 l thought they might have been the best band in the world, with only U2 giving them a run for their money.  Don't get me wrong, l liked lots of other music of the time (The Alarm, Prince. Springsteen, The Mission, The Cure, REM, Spear of Destiny, Echo And The Bunnymen), but from 'A Pagan Place' until 'Room to Roam' l absolutely adored them, and saw them on numerous occasions.  My favourite gig was probably at The Riverside in Newcastle in 1986 when Karl Wallenger was still in the band, as it was a very small venue, the show was great, it was one of the first times l had seen them, and the set was very, very long (and available on t'net).   Because of my love for them, l put together a magazine of stuff l would have liked to have been available to me as a fan (old cuttings, reviews and photos) as they didn't have programmes in those far flung days.  l thought l could flog them at their gigs, therefore paying for me to follow them around and enabling me to see them on tour.  As l couldn't drive, l had to hire a mate (hello Rocker!) as a driver, and we went all over Ireland and the UK flogging the magazines (I did a second one after the first Fisherman's Blues tour out of stubbornness!).  Beforehand, I had written to Mike Scott asking for permission to sell them at their gigs, but he declined and wished me luck.  He then put myself and my driver on the guest list of the Ireland 1988 tour when we turned up and met him before the opening concert in Cork (although he wasn't too happy at first about the old articles being reprinted). However, after a few dates, he took us off the list, as he probably thought we were raking it in (Hah!) and people may have thought it was the (non existent) programme for the tour. I nearly got into a fight with Mike after one of the early Irish shows about the magazine and how we weren't taking the piss (he obviously thought we were), but we were then taken off the guest list, and had many obstacles put in our way as regards selling them, despite other fanzine sellers (and pirate t-shirt sellers) being allowed lots more access and getting no grief.  I had no problems with the other fanzine or shirt sellers, bought their products, and got on with them, drinking with them and having a laugh.  To me, Saints and Angles was far and above the other fanzines as far as quality was concerned, but l enjoyed all of them and what they had to offer, as l appreciated their labours of love, and their wares appealed to me as a fan myself. Eventually, even the pirate t-shirt sellers were amazed at the treatment we were getting, as they made their wonga outside the venues while the Waterboys lackeys moved myself and my friend away from the gigs (whenever they saw us).  Because of our pitiful situation compared to the other sellers, we were actually given dodgy access all areas passes by the swag guys, so were able to see most of the shows (which was the whole reason for doing the magazine in the first place).  It was still a great experience because of the travelling around, seeing the band, and meeting people, but it was tarnished by the treatment we received.  Obviously Mike had his viewpoint and reasons, and l had my own, but it left a biter taste for a long time. I gave away a batch of left over magazines outside a Liverpool show a few years ago (I'm originally from there) and have seen the band since the Fisherman's Blues era and still adore their music, but it was definitely a 50/50 love /hate experience.  Love on my side, hate on theirs.  Hate is probably too strong a word, but who knows?
The good side was l met a lot of genuinely lovely and interesting people, The Saw Doctors stayed at my girlfriends place in Newcastle, The Hothouse Flowers were some of the nicest people you could imagine (as was The Edge and his brother), and I travelled around of the UK, without the experience putting me of the Waterboys music (Room to Roam did that at the time). One of the people we met (and gave a lift to) even ran off with and married my girlfriend (hello Graham and Dianne!), but luckily we remained friends. Rocker (the driver) said it was the best time he has had in his life, and who am l to disagree with him.  Drinks all round!!

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the wine bar on monday

Part of the mayhem and carnage from Monday night in The Wine Bar with Paul and Linda.  This was still early doors, and we ended up being the last ones to leave JT's with Eleanor and Billy (who had been hilarious earlier on, sellotaping some tampons to his ears to drown out Jimmy's swearing).  There should be a photograph up of it in the pub now, as Stella Steve snapped one, and said he's arrange it.
A fun night for all the family.

toodle pip

richmond live and my brother stopping

It's been non stop madness since last Wednesday, as my brother has been up from Leeds for Richmond Live, but decided to come up early and didn't set off back until today.
My ears are now getting used to the quiet again as he never stops talking, and the house is emptier without all his stuff spread about.  We have had a good time over the last few days, but there certainly has been a lot of ale taken on board.
As for Richmond Live itself, we went through for Friday and Saturday, but stayed in town for a bit on Saturday with other lads, but lost everyone pretty much straight away when we got into Richmond live.  Dazzer ended up heading to the Holly, and Robbo must have gone home early (or he's still walking home now) as he disappeared as well.  Then again, everyone was pretty drunk by then.
Yo El Rey were my favourite band of the weekend, but From The Jam were pretty good as well.  It's a shame my Flip video camera gets distorted sound if stuff is too loud, but there's few videos from it below.
Now it's back to normality (or what passes for normality in my life).







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the stockton weekender

Well. l'm now back from the Stockton Weekender 2013 (as it is now called), and had a splendid old time. I stayed at Robbo and Kerry's house in Nunthorpe as they were away at a wedding on the Saturday, and even caught a bus into Middlesbrough town centre, as one was just about to set off when l was heading towards the train station (due to the anticipated drinking, driving for me was a no no). The journey to the venue was staggered as it was broken up with visits to some fine and upstanding hostelries along the way, along the mainly very deserted streets, and The Don pub overlooking the far end of the venue became a second home in between bands. As for them, Spiritualized were better than l hoped for, and Primal Scream had the crowd a rockin' (even with some new songs thrown in).  However, for me, Dexy's Midnight Runners (now just Dexys) were the highlight, as l thought there new material might not go down so well, and was half expecting items to be thrown at them, but the crowd loved them. There was a lot of love in the audience that's for sure. Pleasantly surprised that the taxi back to Nunthorpe on both nights was cheaper than it is from Middlesbrough itself, and l now have some nutty drinking buddies in The Don (scarily enough). I recorded some music, but the sound on them is crap, as l was too close to the front. However, if you want to check them out, go here, or just YouTube other peoples videos.
Next up, Richmond Live this weekend - bring it on!

toodle pip

robin friday and reading festival 1974

When l was a young lad and my parents moved to RAF Benson (in between Reading and Oxford), one of the first things l did was choose a local football team to watch, which turned out to be Oxford United.
I went to just about all of their home games while we were there, but also some away fixtures (not many, as l  was still at school).
One of these was in 1974 against Reading, in a pre season friendly, where the programme was a single sheet of paper. Myself and a mate also hung around the ground for a bit and met some of the players, some of whom signed the back of the sheet.
One that did not sign (as l don't recall meeting him) was Reading's Robin Friday, who went on to become a cult hero at both Reading and Cardiff City, despite only playing a couple of seasons for both.  He was a wayward lad, drinking, shagging, drugging, being banned from pubs, and certainly a man who did his own thing, despite the consequences.  He was also a great lower league player who was skillful and gave everything in a match, which is why the fans of both clubs loved him (and still do).
There's a great book about him by Paulo Hewitt and Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan (from Oasis), which is well worth reading called The Robin Friday Story (The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw).  Luckily, my piece of paper from this game proves l did see him play. Sadly, he died when he was 38 from a suspected heroin overdose (according to Hewitt).
On a related note, because l was into music as well, l often wondered why myself and mates didn't bother with the Reading Festival, which was pretty much on our doorstep.  Then l saw a poster of the line up and realised why.  I have grown to love The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Kevin Coyne, and the older me would watch George Melly and Ronnie Lane, but at the time it was all Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Sweet, Status Quo and Deep Purple.  This Reading line up would have meant nothing to us at the time, and my first Reading Festival had to wait until 1977.

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