Wednesday 31st August
What can I say? I’ve been well and truly
bowled over by the second album from Luke Morley’s
new band The
Union. In Peter Shoulder the former Thunder guitarist
has unearthed not only a wonderful vocalist but an invaluable
creative sidekick. If like me you thought the band’s
self-titled debut was good, prepare to be genuinely mesmerised
when ‘Siren’s Song’ drops on October
3.
I’ve also been devouring a new two-disc anthology
from Chicago called ‘The Ultimate Collection’
(Rhino Records). It kicks off with ‘If You Leave
Me Now’, ‘Hard To Say I’m Sorry’,
‘Hard Habit To Break’ and ‘You’re
The Inspiration’… need I say more??!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 30th August
My Bank Holiday Monday was spent tidying and
cleaning the house, also costing the prices of new furniture
on the internet. Ho-hum. How extraordinarily tedious.
So it was a relief to head up to town during the evening
for what looks set to be my final gig experience for quite
some time.
En route to Camden to investigate Helstar, the Texan power-thrashers
who were due to make their debut on UK soil, I met Myke
Gray of Skin fame for a quick update on Red
White & Blues, a new band he has formed with former
Jagged Edge frontman Matti Alfonzetti. Myke played demos
of a few songs that will be released on an album in time
for a tour with the Quireboys in November - I really liked
what I heard: the band are a little bluesier than Skin,
but with some top quality hooks. In his capacity as a
fitness coach he also administered some useful advice
on my painful shoulder complaint and even offered to teach
me how to kick-box next time I’m in the West End.
Top fella!
Atomkraft, a band I hadn’t seen live since a rather
embarrassingly vodka-soaked trip to Poland during the
late 1980s, were Helstar’s special guests. In saying
‘Atomkraft’, what I mean is their bass player
Tony Dolan (AKA ‘The Demolition Man’ of Venom
fame), who now also handles vocals in the disappointing
absence of frontman Ian Davison Swift, augmented a very
proficient three-piece backing group. For the first three
numbers or so the sound was abysmal, the guitars completely
inaudible above Dolan’s marauding bass-lines, but
the experience became infinitely more pleasurable as things
evened out, a superb version of ‘Queen Of Death’
a highlight of the band’s own tunes, whilst a stab
at Thin Lizzy’s ‘Cold Sweat’ also hit
the sweet spot. (For those that care the full set-list
was: ‘Future Warriors’, ‘Pour The Metal
In’, ‘Demolition’, ‘Foliage’,
‘Rich Bitch’, ‘Dead Again’, ‘Vision
of Belshazzar’, ‘Gripped’, ‘Queen
Of Death’, ‘Cold Sweat’ and ‘Total
Metal’). I thought they were great.
The odds were stacked heavily against Helstar who arrived
late at the Purple Turtle following a hellish trip from
mainland Europe and were plagued by equipment problems
throughout a 95-minute set witnessed by a sparse turnout
that thinned our further still as the clock ticked towards
the last tube (incredibly, they finished playing at ten
to midnight on a day when public transport is extremely
limited). Nevertheless, it was impossible to miss the
quintet’s childlike glee at breaking their duck
in Britain after almost thirty years. James Rivera has
kept his pipes in fine order and the band kicked serious
amounts of ass as they ran though five songs from the
new album ‘Glory Of Chaos’ plus a stunning
selection of old ’uns. Rivera unveiled a rather
silly impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger as he told the
crowd: “I’ll be back!” Here’s
the set-list: ‘Angels Fall To Hell’, ‘Pandemonium’,
‘The Plague Called Man’, ‘Conquest’,
‘Bitter End’, ‘Summer Of Hate’,
‘Evil Reign’, ‘Burning Star’,
‘Monarch Of Bloodshed’, ‘Dracula’s
Castle’, ‘Angel Of Death’, ‘The
King Is Dead’, ‘Baptized In Blood’ and
‘Alma Negra’, plus encores of ‘The King
Of Hell’ and ‘Run With The Pack’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 28th August
Yesterday’s game between Crystal Palace
and Blackpool offered the Eagles’ sternest test
of the season so far. Holloway’s men can consider
themselves unlucky to have been relegated from the Prem
last year and although they’ve lost a few top players,
the Tangerines will be pushing to go straight back up
again. If CPFC really are going to end up in the top half
of the table instead of facing yet another relegation
battle, the game offered a fascinating litmus test for
the hopes of the supporters. In the end it was a right
old ding-dong of a contest. Blackpool took the lead, Palace
then deservedly equalised and both sides could have won
it during the cut ‘n’ thrust of the final
stages. I feel heartened about the prospects of my beloved
football club. Time for a nice curry and more alcohol…
f**k the diet for another day.
It’s lunchtime as I type and I’ve just returned
from a second visit to Selhurst in 24 hours, this time
clutching tickets for Palace’s away game with arch
rivals Br***ton & Homo Albion on Sept 28. They’re
as rare as a sensible statement from Mark ‘I Don’t
Like Journey’ Kentfield. With the gruesome prospect
of cleaning up the upstairs shower area once I’ve
finished a day of working my office, acquisition of these
golden tix makes me very happy indeed. Bring it on!!!!!
Let's stuff it up the Tesco Carrier Bag wearers.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 27th August
Well, the Sky TV box has been reactivated and a sense
of calmness is gradually starting to descend upon Ling
Towers. And oooooooh look… a new four-CD boxed set
from Nazareth has just dropped onto my desk. Titled ‘The
Naz Box’, it covers 1971-2011 and features two hours
worth of unreleased material. Nice!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 26th August
Well, the worst day of my life is over. The
removals fan arrived at 8am and within a couple of hours
the house was a shell. Bob the dog, who barks the place
down whenever visitors arrive, was unusually quiet; obviously
aware that something significant was going on. Managed
to get through the day, largely thanks to Classic Rock’s
Sept 14 issue being on production deadline. My good friends
Harj Kallah and Andy Beare dropped by during the evening
to ensure that I wasn’t alone, which was nice of
them. We had a really pleasant evening with lots of conversation,
laughter and booze. I’m still slightly agog at The
Beare’s revelation of: “Women are so f**ing
weird, sometimes I wish I was gay. It would make life
a lot easier.”
Looking on the bright side: Things can only get better
from here. Anyway, my weekend looms. I must try to balance
a Crystal Palace home game with the writing of a large
piece on the Firefest for Issue #4 of Classic Rock Presents
AOR. Of equal importance is the cleaning of Ling Towers
and the replacement of various household implements and
furniture that whisked their way up the M1 (and henceforth
the M6). I shall be renting out a room within a month
or so (anybody interested in sharing a large, pleasant
family house in South London, with easy connections to
the West End then don’t hesitate to get in touch
– serious offers only pls). And try not to think
of me with mop and feather duster in hand, LOL! Now **there’s**
a mental image to mess with your head…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 24th August
Yaayy! Crystal Palace are safely through to the second
round of the League Cup, having overcome dogged resistance
from Crawley Town. But for poor finishing the visitors
could have been two up by half time. Freedman made changes
after the break and the Eagles were good value for their
2-0 victory. A clash with Wigan - AKA CPFC Reserves -
beckons on September 13. That's four consecutive wins
- WTF??!!
If I sound buoyant, well. I'm not. Quite the opposite.
My boys leave for their new lives in Manchester tomorrow.
The Crawley game was my last with my Sports Bud son Eddie
for a few weeks. Here's a nice photo of us taken at Fortress
Selhurst during last night's half-time interlude.
Apologies in advance should I fail to scribble any more
of this bulls**t for the next few days.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 23rd August
This is highly embarrassing - I **still** cannot get my
BlackBerry to function. You are definitely some sort of
technophobe when your sons, aged 14 and 12, have to set
the thing up for you, and the bloody interweb remains
out of bounds. Well, I **can** access various websites
but the thing refuses to let me download my emails. Hummmmph.
However, I have managed to log on for the free BB message
service, which is kinda cool. I can now 'ping' messages
back on forth to my two lads with maximum speed and minimum
fiscal remuneration.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 22nd August
I’ve been transcribing a fairly lengthy
interview that I did recently with bassist Michael Anthony
for Classic Rock’s specially themed magazine on
Chickenfoot, which lands on September 27. I’ve been
given a sizeable word-count, which is fortunate as despite
being a fairly modest guy Anthony had quite a lot to say
for himself. The interview was certainly conducted in
great spirits. When at one point Mike referred unthinkingly
to his former group Van Halen as a “well oiled-machine”,
I interrupted the conversation to point out the lovely
Freudian slip he’d let go (obviously, Edward Van
Halen has a well-documented history of problems with alcohol).
“Ha-ha-ha, um… yeah. Well spotted,”
he guffawed in response.
Actually, I’m extremely impressed by Chickenfoot’s
second album, which the band have somewhat bizarrely entitled
‘Chickenfoot III’. It represents a huge improvement
upon their self-titled debut, the songs from which sounded
great when performed live but at times were far too obviously
the glorified product of extended jam sessions. This time
there’s a sense of cohesion that was sorely lacking
last time around.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 21st August
The hoodoo is banished and I’m feeling
Glad All Over! Yesterday’s 1-0 victory at Hull City
was Crystal Palace’s first triumph away from Selhurst
since last October, elevating the club to fourth in the
table. Of course you can't read anything serious into
the league positions after just four games, but The Eagles
haven’t won three consecutive matches in more than
two and a half years, and with the Seaweed and Clowns
both blowing 2-0, that makes for a great day in my book!
Saturday night was spent in my office drinking vodka and
diet cream soda (!!), listening to ‘Mightier Than
The Sword’, the two-disc Ronnie James Dio career
overview, and White Widdow’s excellent sophomore
disc ‘Serenade’ (due for release on September
23), leafing through the family photo albums and scanning
in some of my favourites before they are split down the
middle. I stumbled upon this rather silly pic of myself
with Robert Plant from the
Canterbury Fayre festival in 2003. Taken over the course
of a long day’s drinking on my part, it’s
hardly the most flattering shot of Percy or yours truly,
which is probably why I chose to forget all about it till
now, but it’s not every day that you get involved
in a gurning contest with such a legendary name in rock
music, is it?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 20th August
I love the fact my job brings me into contact
with some truly fascinating people. I’d spent the
last few days emailing the legendary singer Arthur Brown,
best known for his chart-topping 1968 hit ‘Fire’,
with a view to a phone interview that finally took place
last night. As we nailed down a mutually agreeable time,
Brown (who was spending a few days in Texas ahead of an
imminent UK tour with Focus) enquired: “To avoid
CIA coverage, can we speak Hindi?” And as I prepared
to replace the receiver, having uttered all the usual
pleasantries about thinking him for his time etc, he emitted
a howl of: “Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaaah!” that (I’m
guessing) sounded a bit like the mating call of a wounded
mouse. Strange fella…
How fuggin’ exciting! I’ve received a watermarked
promo of the hotly-awaited Machine Head album, ‘Unto
The Locust’. After a first spin I can only breathlessly
echo the pant-wetting comments already plastered all over
Facebook by my colleagues Alex Milas, Jerry Ewing and
Vanessa Thorpe. As the world will discover on October
24, this album simply **crushes**…
Equally cool (to me, at least), Edsel Records have mailed
a package that contains expanded two-on-one editions of
the first eight Doobie Brothers albums (1971’s ‘The
Doobie Brothers’ through to 1978’s ‘Minute
By Minute’), none of which I’ve owned on CD
before. Oh yessssssss!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 19th August
A splendid time was had at last night’s
show from Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell, the much-travelled
and very persistent Brit guitarist who has played with
Bad Company, Humble Pie, Paul Samson’s Empire and
Adrian Smith & Project among many other acts. Being
a ‘free’ unplugged concert, the location –
a West End pub called Porterhouse – was crammed
with office worker-types that didn’t seem to realise
(or indeed really care) that a rock band had been engaged
to play some music for them, which was bit weird. I found
it quite hard to ‘zone out’ the constant buzz
of chatter, but the music was great. Colwell was backed
by Paul Guerin of the Quireboys and an Irish lead singer
named Ronan who had a superb and extremely versatile set
on tonsils. Then, again he needed them as besides some
very creditable material from Colwell’s album ‘Guitars,
Beers & Tears’ the set included material voiced
by Paul Rodgers (Bad Co’s ‘Feel Like Making
Love’, ‘Seagull’ and ‘Shooting
Star’, plus ‘All Right Now’ by Free),
Spike (‘Seven O’Clock’ by the QBs),
Chris Robinson (the Crowes’ ‘She Talks To
Angels’), Bon Scott (‘Highway To Hell’
by AC/DC), Rod Stewart (The Faces’ ‘Ooh La-la’),
Dan Baird (‘Keep Your Hands To Yourself’ by
the Georgia Satellites) and even Bruce Stringbean (‘Better
Days’). ’Twas a first-rate evening…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 18th August
I’m walking with a bit of a limp. I’d
felt my right calf go ‘ping!’ during last
week’s CPFC Fitter fans, but it felt okay again
the following day and 48 hours later I was out jogging
once again. Problem sorted? Sadly, no. As we played five-a-side
during Week Eight the same muscle went once more, only
three times more painfully than during the last session.
Ho hum. Perhaps I’m not cut out for such a life
of physical exertion after all…
Afterwards, as I sat in my office with a packet of frozen
peas clamped to the offending limb, I blasted out a couple
of brand new releases from Europe. ‘Live! At Shepherd’s
Bush, London’ is an excellent-sounding audio/DVD
package of a fairly recent gig that I attended at the
Empire (See Diary, February 20). There’s also a
wonderfully packaged Book/CD/DVD entitled ‘Live
Look At Eden’ which offers 140 pages of photographs
by Denis O’Regan, plus selected tracks from the
band’s last world tour and a DVD of their performance
at the iTunes Festival, also in London. Oh, Mr Tempest
and company… you are spoiling us!
I’ve bought myself a Blackberry. With its free messaging
service for fellow BB users I figured it would be useful
for communicating with my two sons, who both have the
same phones. Now all I’ve got to do is figure out
how the bloody thing works. Puzzlingly, when I swapped
over the SIM card I realised that all of my texts had
been erased, except the two exultant offerings sent by
Joe Elliott when Crystal Palace relegated Sheffield Wednesday…
back in May 2010! And if any of my BB-wielding fans can
explain how to get onto the internet and collect my emails,
there are a few pints of foaming ale to be claimed.
What is world coming to? Everybody knows that the French
are partial to urinating in the streets, but the news
that actor Gerard Depardieu (the increasingly porksome
star of the Green Card movie) revolted fellow passengers
by taking a oui oui in the gangway of a plane takes things
to new, cochon-like lows. Oi! Froggy, use the lavatory
next time, you plum!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 17th August
It was a bittersweet moment. With the rest
of the Ling Clan set to relocate to Manchester at the
start of next week, last night’s clash between Crystal
Palace and Coventry was the last time that I’ll
take Eddie to Selhurst Park for quite a while. The Eagles
made it a memorable night, dominating the contest with
some lovely passing moves yet somehow contriving to go
behind just after the break thanks to a rare gaffe from
’keeper Speroni. Frustration built but just as 90
minutes expired, CPFC’s persistence paid off with
an equaliser by Shaun Scannell, followed by an even more
dramatic winner six minutes into injury time! The Home
Of Football – and both Lings! – went absolutely
bonkers! The Eagles soar up to sixth! Yes……!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 16th August
Yesterday evening’s interview with Pat
McManus was great fun; upon arrival I sat in the bar of
his hotel and chinwagged for best part of an hour, catching
up on old times with Pat and his wife Sallie, before finding
a quiet corner in which to spend an equal amount of time
raking over the minutiae of Mama’s Boys and their
history. The time just few by! Can’t wait to write
the story.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 15th August
In advance of a face to face interview with
their former guitarist Pat McManus, who is here in London
for a few days, I’m spinning a few of my old Mama’s
Boys vinyl platters. What an absolutely amazing record
1985’s ‘Power And Passion’ was. All
these years later, I remain incredulous that the sublime
boogie of ‘Needle In The Groove’ didn’t
provide the three Irish brothers with the hit they deserved.
‘Growing Up The Hard Way’, the one they made
two years later with current Airrace man Keith Murrell
on lead vocals, has also withstood the test of time.
Save for a lunchtime break when I took Eddie to McDonalds
(Arnie was away at a sleepover), my Sunday was spent chained
to a hot PC. Later on, as I flicked through the new issue
of Classic Rock, I was stunned to see an advertisement
for a gig by Air Supply at the Jazz Café on September
15. Best known for the über-ballad ‘All Out
Of Love’, a song that makes Bread sound like Meshuggah,
the Aussie soft-rock duo are a bit of a guilty pleasure
of mine, and I’ve never seen them before.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 14th August
Hang out the bunting and crack open the nearest
cold six-pack: Having walloped India by an innings and
242 runs, England’s cricketers are now officially
the world’s number one test mach side. After beating
the Aussies home and away, then making the Indians look
like part-timers, the title is very much deserved. As
I sit here in my office grooving along to Universal Records’
re-mastered, expanded re-issues of Thin Lizzy’s
‘Black Rose’ and ‘Bad Reputation’
albums (my thanks for which go to my long-time boozing
buddy Steve Hammonds – a top fella for a Br***ton
fan) and still basking the in the glory of CPFC’s
fine 2-0 home victory over Burnley, the world is a happier
place than it’s been during the last few weeks.
[Edit: Funnily enough I've just been doing a phone
interview with Mark Thompson-Smith, singer of the band
Big Life, who it turns out supports... Burnley! Great
timing, hahaha!].
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 13th August
To say that England are in firm control of
the Third Test would be an understatement akin to the
revelation that one or two anal dickheads inhabit the
Status Quo message board. I was sorry that Cook missed
out on his triple-century at Edgbaston, but with England
declaring on a whopping 707-7, followed by Sehweg going
for a king pair, India are staring right down the barrel
of a humiliating defeat.
I took a break from the 5 Live commentary to conduct a
phone interview with Steve Newman, the guitarist, singer,
songwriter and namesake of the band Newman, for the new
issue of Classic Rock Presents AOR. Newman’s seventh
album, ‘Under Southern Skies’, is a robust
and crisp slice of melodic hard rock, coloured with a
slightly pomp-esque feel, and Steve is one the genre’s
all-round good guys. But when he admitted that he almost
became a footballer instead of a musician, having been
invited to a trial for Br***ton & Homo Albion, I almost
hung up the receiver in disgust. C’mon, it’s
hardly the ideal icebreaker for an Eagles diehard such
as myself…
Talking of which, after a quick jog through the park with
Bob The Dog, Eddie and I will be off to Selhurst Park
for the first home game of the season. Even at the ripe
old age of 32 (cough…), I still feel a tingle of
excitement on a match day.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 12th August
The past 24 hours have been a bit of a boogie-fest.
The postman has delivered a finished copy of Spider’s
double-anthology ‘The Singles Collection 1976-1986’,
released by Lemon Recordings and featuring sleeve
notes from yours truly. Collated by Steve Leslie,
it’s a fine piece of work that I hope will perhaps
cause some to reassess the band’s legacy –
Disc Two offers an especially strong collection of material.
It would also be nice if Lemon Recordings gave consideration
to awarding a belated second chance to the band’s
excellent third album, 1986’s ‘Raise The Banner’,
which remains a collector’s item after the label
charged with releasing it went bust.
During the evening I was among the 310 lucky punters to
witness a super-intimate performance given by Status Quo
for listeners of Radio 2. It was highly amusing to witness
staff at BBC Radio Theatre handing out free earplugs before
the show’s commencement. Introduced by host Johnny
Walker and scheduled to play for exactly an hour, Quo
crammed in three songs from the new ‘Quid Quo Pro’.
Some moaning minnies at the Quo forum have laid into the
band’s playing and singing, but they sounded great
to me. From up in the balcony alongside my chums Andy
Beare, Noel Buckley and Mark Taylor, Andy Bown’s
keys were virtually inaudible… great! Once the show
went off air Walker suggested that Quo could have played
an encore. They stubbornly declined to do so… which
I thought stank. It was pretty shocking to see the band
play a gig that didn’t include ‘Rocking All
Over The World’ or ‘Bye Bye Johnny’,
but then again as my friend Colin Harkness, Spider’s
rhythm guitarist/singer, pointed out by text: The first
rule of rock ‘n’ roll is always to leave them
wanting more.
Here’s the set-list: ‘Caroline’, ‘Somethin’
’Bout You Baby I Like’, ‘Rain’,
‘Rock ‘N’ Roll And You’, ‘Two
Way Traffic’, ‘Let’s Rock’, Medley:
‘Mean Girl’/‘Softer Ride’/‘Beginning
Of The End’, , Medley: ‘What You’re
Proposin’’/‘Down The Dustpipe’/‘Little
Lady’/‘Red Skies’/‘Dear John’/‘Big
Fat Mama’, ‘In The Army Now’, ‘Roll
Over Lay Down’, ‘Down Down’ and ‘Whatever
You Want’.
I was sorry to learn of the death of ex-Warrant frontman
Jani Lane, an extremely gifted songwriter but a troubled
dude. 47 years old? Sheesh, that’s young. I hope
that he finds peace.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 11th August
Despite a few aching muscles this morning,
week #7 of CPFC Fitter Fans was probably the best session
for far. We played five-a-side football opposite the club’s
training ground in Beckenham – great fun! Barring
messing around in the park with my sons, I hadn’t
kicked a ball in anger in… ooooh… maybe ten
years. Felt a tweak in my right calf 20 minutes before
the end of an hour-long workout which brought out the
competitive edge in my pal Steve ‘No Relation’
Way, who scored several quality goals and even performed
Speroni-esque heroics during his turn between the sticks.
Me? I’ve never been a good footballer; I just enjoy
playing the game. At 10 stone 13 lbs (I was 11.06 during
the first week) I’m probably the fittest and lightest
that I’ve been in my adult life; I was proud of
the fact that I ran from start to finish and never gave
up a tackle in midfield, also for setting up some chances
for other more gifted (and indeed extroverted) players.
Looking forward to next week’s session…
Whilst transcribing an interview with Toby Hitchcock,
the lead singer of Pride Of Lions who is about to release
an absolutely fantastic solo record titled ‘Mercury’s
Down’ that was written and produced by Erik Mårtensson
of W.E.T./Eclipse fame, I kept an ear on proceedings in
the Third Test between England and India. After bowling
out the tourists for just 224, then notching 84 runs without
the loss of a wicket, Strauss’ men now stand on
the precipice of being crowned as the world’s Number
One test match side. I hope they retain as firm a grip
on today’s proceedings. Meanwhile, a rather naff-looking
video for Toby Hitchcock’s song ‘This Is The
Moment’ can be viewed here.
The fellas in The Treatment are extremely happy. Mötley
Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx has been tweeting about his
love of the band’s new single, ‘Drink,
F**k, Fight’. What an honour.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 10th August
I was saddened to read an announcement that
Jon Lord is taking a break
from performing music to fight an unspecified form of
cancer. Having interviewed him on several occasions I’m
happy to confirm the consensus of opinion that the former
Deep Purple/Whitesnake/PAL keyboard player is one of the
true gentlemen of rock music. “I fully expect to
be back in good shape next year,” says Lord, 70,
in a posting at his site. My fingers and toes are crossed.
Last night passed relatively peacefully here in London,
though there were skirmishes in Manchester, the midlands
and across the country. Clearly, this is no longer about
protesting the death of a man shot by police, it’s
an exercise in bare-faced opportunism: the latest manifestation
of a generation that wants something for nothing and will
stop at nothing to get it. You want that plasma TV? Just
f**king take it!! So f**k the idea of the police and their
water cannons. Rubber bullets would provide better food
for thought. This is just mindless vandalism and criminality,
let’s nip it in the bud.
Talking of which, Selhurst Park was closed down early
yesterday, apparently due to the threat of riots. I was
intrigued to learn on one of the CPFC forums that last
nite between 300 and 500 Scumwall and Clowntown supporters
buried their differences to defend Eltham High Street.
Perhaps more surprisingly still, in a further recreation
of the Blitz Spirit, 200 Scumwall fans also gathered to
‘police’ certain areas in Bermondsey from
undesirable elements (well, I suppose you could call them
marginally less desirable than MFC thugs…), even
going so far as to protect local shopkeepers while Old
Bill did nothing. A Millwall fan called ‘blue2’
has appealed for Palace supporters to put old rivalries
on hold and join them in their quest to “claim back
our streets”, adding with uncharacteristic wit,
that his club will be changing its infamous terrace anthem
to: “No one loots [instead of ‘likes’]
us… we don’t care.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 9th August
For the third consecutive evening, many of
London’s streets were taken over by rioters. Only
this time the disturbances spread south of the river,
towards Ling Towers. As I ate my tea, Sky News was broadcasting
helicopter-filmed footage of cars ablaze in a usually
quiet side-street adjacent to a previous residence in
Lewisham. As the evening drew on the noise of emergency
vehicle sirens and overhead choppers could be heard here
in Catford. Luckily, that’s as bad as things got
in this locale but still I felt a certain gnawing tension
in the pit of my stomach, which was ratcheted up when
a good friend texted to say she was terrified that her
office in Croydon – a short bus-ride away –
had been razed to the ground by arsonists (I pray to God
that it isn’t so). In no mood to go to bed just
yet, I sat in my office and tried to focus my attention
on Deep Purple’s rather excellent ‘Phoenix
Rising’ documentary on DVD before going back to
Sky News till almost 2am. Images of burning buildings
in Croydon, raided department stores in Clapham Junction,
looters in Hackney and snowballing regional skirmishes,
along with the likely cancellation of tomorrow’s
League Cup game between Palace and Crawley Town (also,
more significantly, the Wembley Stadium friendly between
England and Holland) made me more grateful than ever for
the presence of Bob The Dog.
[Edit: A reason to be cheerful: Radio 2 have just invited
me to “a live and exclusive Status Quo performance
for the In Concert show” which takes place over
at Broadcasting House. I can think of far, far worse ways
to spend a Thursday evening!]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 8th August
“Hmmmm… the house is looking pretty
bare,” I thought. “Better go and buy some
records.” So as the future ex-wife continued packaging
up prior to the rest of Clan Ling’s relocation to
Manchester, for the first time in many, many months I
visited the Orpington Record Fair. Returned with an Audrey
Horne CD (‘No Hay Banda’) that I didn’t
already own. Also picked up a collection of Carly Simon’s
re-recorded greatest hits called ‘Never Been Gone’,
a concert from the Supersuckers (‘Live At The Tractor
Tavern, Seattle’) and purely on the grounds that
it looked so darned ludicrous I splashed out a quid on
a 1989 LP from Nitro, the US glamsters that were fronted
by Lita Ford’s (now ex-) husband Jim Gillette, with
guitar contributions from Michael Angelo. I bet it’s
bloody terrible! The only other vinyl that seemed desirable
and reasonably priced was a Colin Blunstone solo album
from 1976, entitled ‘Planes’, that features
guest appearances from Rod Argent, Russ Ballard and John
Verity among others.
The Rock Candy Records re-issues of the first three Strangeways
albums are here. As if the mighty ‘Native Sons’
wasn’t enough of a pant-wetting audio experience,
Jon Astley’s 2011 re-master makes it sound better
still. Whilst watching Palace’s game in Peterborough
at the weekend I was hugely amused to have received a
text from Tony Liddle, who sang on the group’s self-titled
1986 debut, hailing my good self as a “genius wordsmith”
on the strength of my sleeve
notes. Hehehe, thanks a lot Tone. The cheque’s
in the mail…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 7th August
On the plus side, my eldest lad Eddie has finally
seen his first ever terrace surge – his face a mixture
of terror, fascination and elation as Shaun Scannell’s
lob prompted crazy scenes from CPFC’s travelling
support. Palace took more than 3,000 fans up to yesterday’s
game up at Peterborough United, and the atmosphere in
the away end was just like old times. Regrettably, the
sheer volume that we created did not galvanise the team,
who capitulated during the second half, conceding the
midfield to their opponents and leaking two goals to an
ordinary-looking Posh side. I tried not to let Eddie know
how crushed I felt; this had been a very winnable game
in what looks like being another tough season. Following
a few pre-match ciders consumed at a riverside pub, a
bottle of wine and some crisps ‘n’ dips during
the train journey home at least took the edge off my disappointment.
F**k the diet for a day…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 6th August
Iron Maiden’s gig at the O2 Arena was very
special indeed. Since the returns of Bruce Dickinson and
Adrian Smith in 1999, Maiden have exceeded all expectations
with a run of truly fantastic records. Their appeal is
now genuinely multi-generational. Last night, as the band
broke into ‘Running Free’, Dickinson roared:
“This is a song from 1979. Who wasn’t even
alive in 1979?” The volume of the audience’s
response said it all.
Introducing their new singer Marc Hudson, DragonForce
had got the night off to a good start, their five-song,
40-minute set showcasing an unheard tune called ‘Cry
Thunder’ that will appear next year on a new album.
It started off in a bit of a Celtic vein before going
all anthemic – quite a departure for DF, which at
this point can probably only be a good thing.
It was a fascinating night for people-watching, especially
in the row of seats occupied by the press. I’d love
to know the identity of the fella that had his nose glued
to a book about Chairman Mao right till the exact second
the lights dimmed (even as everyone else in the O2 was
going bonkers to Maiden’s intro tape of ‘Doctor
Doctor’ by UFO), slumping back into his seat again
after just four songs and leaving before the end –
that’ll be a nice, objective review, then…
On the other hand, I was busy experiencing one of those
‘this-is-what-I-do-it-for’ moments, just as
I expect to feel tomorrow at 2.55 as Crystal Palace run
out onto the pitch to commence a new season.
Up on the stage the band couldn’t have been more
energetic – somebody really should fit Janick Gers
with a pedometer; the guitarist must cover miles in his
little corner of the playing area. Meanwhile, Dickinson
was in buoyant form; “It’s nice to gloat a
little, after all the album [‘The Final Frontier’]
did go to Number One in 25 countries,” he grinned.
No wonder that Maiden played so much of it, or indeed
the dearth of complaints at hearing five of its selections.
Here’s the set-list: ‘Satellite 15…
The Final Frontier’, ‘El Dorado’, ‘2
Minutes To Midnight’, ‘The Talisman’,
‘Coming Home’, ‘Dance Of Death’,
‘The Trooper’, ‘The Wicker Man’,
‘Blood Brothers’, ‘When The Wild Wind
Blows’, ‘The Evil Of Man U (Goes On And On)’,
‘Fear Of The Dark’ and ‘Iron Maiden’,
plus ‘The Number Of The Beast’, ‘Hallowed
Be Thy Name’ and ‘Running Free’.
Still beaming idiotically, I attended the after-show party
awhile. Fellow revellers included John Arch and Jim Matheos
(see Diary, Thursday). FM’s Merv Goldsworthy was
also present, along with the band’s stage manager
Steve Church, who informed me gleefully that earlier during
the evening his beloved Luton Town had stuffed QP-Haha
in a pre-season friendly. How hilarious! I almost texted
some abuse to Hoops fan Pete Jupp but luckily thought
better of it…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 5th August
I’m excited. Not only does a brand new
football season commence in a little over 24 hours –
eldest lad Eddie and I will be among the CPFC faithful
at the away game with newly promoted Peterborough –
I’ve also just spent a half-hour sifting through
my wardrobe in search of for the perfect apparel for tonight’s
Iron Maiden gig at the 02 Arena. F**k me, I didn’t
realise how many Maiden T-shirts I’ve collected
down the years! There must be at least 25, and that’s
without going through the entire collection. I’m
torn between a nice, snug grey number from the ‘Number
Of The Beast’ tour – haven’t been able
to wear that one for many, many years! – and a cool-looking
souvenir of The Holy Smokers gig, a secret show at the
Woughton Centre in Milton Keynes that kicked off the band's
1990 world tour. Maybe I’ll toss a coin!
[Edit: I’ve been asked to select and write about
six of Sammy Hagar’s definitive solo releases for
Classic Rock’s upcoming Chickenfoot Fan Pack magazine.
Am currently spinning my cherished red vinyl edition of
the live album ‘Loud And Clear’, which is
setting me up for what the Red Rocker would call a ‘Rock
‘N’ Roll Weekend’. Besides barnstorming,
anthemic moments such as ‘Turn Up The Music’
and ‘I’ve Done Everything For You’,
Hagar’s version of Donovan’s ‘Young
Girl Blues’ is absolutely fantastic; I’d almost
forgotten…].
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 4th August
As I sit here in my office soaking up the delights
of ‘Sympathetic Resonance’, the full-length
debut from Arch/Matheos, it’s teeming with rain.
Which is annoying, as I will no doubt be soaked to the
skin whilst heading off to central London for a face-to-face
rendezvous with the two men at the heart of its creation;
former Fates Warning singer John Arch and the band’s
current guitarist Jim Matheos. It’s a great album
– I love the epic track ‘Stained Glass Sky’.
Here’s hoping the conversation will be a little
more upbeat than this grim weather.
Wooo hooo – my ticket for tomorrow’s Iron
Maiden gig at the O2 Arena arrived last night on a bike
courier as I was at Selhurst Park for another Eagles Fitter
Fans session. Prior to the physical activities, which
felt particularly gruelling in the evening’s unbelievably
humid conditions, we were administered some handy advice
about the way that alcohol affects the diet (and indeed
the lifestyle) of the typical male. I was gobsmacked to
learn how little alcohol one can consume and be termed
a ‘habitual drinker’. Believe me, I don’t
take a drink every day – far from it; these days
it’s maybe around once a week – but the official
definition of a ‘binge’ session (three pints
of cider at three units a time) is scarcely comparable
to my own more liberal estimation of the term. I cannot
watch CPFC in a state of sobriety, and I doubt I ever
will…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 3rd August
Although yesterday was swelteringly hot, the
conditions didn’t prevent me from nipping out for
a late-afternoon run. During the evening, Eddie and I
jumped on a bus to Palace’s pre-season friendly
game at Bromley. Star names were a little thin on the
ground but both teams gave everything to their respective
causes and it was great to sit behind the Bromley goal
in the second half during a gorgeous crimson sunset, as
a young Eagles side stepped up their game, coming from
behind to win 2-1. Kicking towards us after the break,
CPFC’s second strike was marvellous to behold, Sekajja
passing the ball into the net past a despairing keeper
after being put through by Williams. I repeat: Some of
these kids play with absolutely no fear, and they deserve
a chance during the coming term…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 1st August
I’m writing a story on Machine Head and
their meteoric rise to fame with the ‘Burn My Eyes’
album back in 1994. As an employee of RAW Magazine I covered
them quite a lot on the way up, and going back to those
heady days made me nostalgic enough to pull the Oakland-based
band’s near-legendary six-song demo cassette from
the racks (it contains ‘Death Church’, ‘Old’,
‘The Rage To Overcome’, ‘A Nation On
Fire’, ‘(Intro) Real Lies’ and ‘Fuck
It All’ – the latter eventually re-christened
as ‘Block’). It’s great to see that,
after a period in which the band could have gone tits
up, Robb Flynn and Adam Duce are still going stronger
than ever as Machine Head. Given the crushing strength
of 2007’s ‘The Blackening’, I’m
looking forward to their newie, ‘Unto The Locust’,
which is due in September.
P.S. Here’s this month’s Playlist
and YouTube.
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