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Friday
30th January
A
fascinating thread at the Crystal Palace message board is claiming
with pretty good authority that ‘piped crowd noises’
are now being piped into the (Not So) Happy Valley on match
days to compensate for the deathly silences. I can only speculate
that Steve Augeri must be a Ch***ton fan. Hahaha…
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Thursday 29th January
How
tragic. During the last 24 hours two of my musical heroes have
died. Though I saw him onstage many times, I never got to meet
Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell. I did, however, conduct
a highly memorable interview with him for a Classic Rock cover
story in 2003. It was a retrospective piece about the original
band’s final album, 1977’s Street Survivors’,
and the plane crash that claimed the lives of singer Ronnie
Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his backing vocalist and
sister Cassie, also the band’s assistant road manager
Dean Kilpatrick. Powell, who became a Christian in the wake
of the disaster, had been relentlessly bullied by Skynyrd’s
leader Van Zant. In the interview, with refreshing candour,
Billy was willing to transport himself back to the Mississippi
swamp in which the group’s private 21-ton, 1947 Convair
240 turbo-prop plane had plunged. Lying dazed and wounded in
the twilight, his knee-jerk reaction was pretty darned astonishing.
“You
want the truth? I’ve never shared this with anybody,”
he told me. “As time went by I’d kinda forgiven
Ronnie for [knocking out] my teeth, but right before the plane
crash I was getting really fed up with it all. The strangest
memory of my life is that when that plane came down, I wasn’t
knocked unconscious like all the rest. One of my first thoughts
was, ‘Thank God it’s over – I don’t
have to get beaten up anymore’.
“Even
without asking anyone, I knew in my heart that Ronnie was dead.
And it was a relief,” he continued. “It didn’t
last long; of course, I wanted the beating to stop, but not
like it did. I knew that Steve was dead, too, but I didn’t
know about Cassie. It took three years for all the survivors
to collect our thoughts and get over the bitterness. Although
both pilots [Walter McCreary and William Gray] paid with their
lives, it took a long time for me to stop being mad at them.”
Farewell
also to John Martyn, a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist
whose records I’ve been gradually accumulating for quite
a while. Given the quality of recordings like ‘Solid Air’
(1973), ‘Grace And Danger’ (1980) and ‘Well
Kept Secret’ (1982), it’s a crying shame that his
40-year career seems to be referenced for having worked with
Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and David Gilmour. As summed up by
a well-wishing poster at the Classic Rock website: “A
down to earth guy with more talent in his pinky than all the
Lily Allens put together”.
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Wednesday
28th January
Obviously
I’m gutted that Palace lost 1-0 in last night’s
south London derby, in the process handing Clowntown Pathetic
their first league triumph in 19 attempts – that’s
four months! Given our own atrocious recent form and the win-less
sequence of our opponents, the evening’s result as always
on the cards. Aside from the fact that I wouldn’t give
Charlton a single sheet of my own used toilet paper, let alone
thirty hard-earned notes, it’s why I stayed at home and
listened to the web commentary instead. Luckily, all of the
other teams involved in the relegation scrap picked up useful
points, so the Clowns still look doomed. But a Palace victory
would have slammed down their coffin’s lid and banged
in the first few nails…
Oddly,
I find myself even more choked by the news that Thunder are
splitting up again due to the pressure of “various activities
outside of the band”. A farewell tour takes place in July.
Frontman Danny Bowes tells the Classic Rock website: “I
was pretty much fried at the end of last year. I came to the
conclusion I can’t continue to sing in the band, run the
label, manage the band, the online shop, oversee the website,
and work as an agent.” I’ll be there at Shepherd’s
Bush on July 11 to wave a fond farewell.
There’s
at least one ray of sunshine: Lemon Recordings have just furnished
me with finished copies of the Heavy Metal Kids’ first
two albums, neither of which I’ve owned on CD before.
These new editions of a self-titled debut from 1974 and the
following year’s ‘Anvil Chorus’ contain bonus
material and feature sleeve notes written by yours truly. The
live version of ‘The Cops Are Coming’ that’s
added to ‘Anvil Chorus’ is especially riotous.
_
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Monday
26th January
Jeeeezus,
what a sensational voice. Last night was spent at the Borderline,
marvelling at the charisma and singing power of a fascinating
lady called Beth Hart. I last saw Miss Hart at the Fly three
months ago, and it’s hard to elaborate upon my ravings
following that show (see Diary, 7.10.08). This time around there
was no Led Zeppelin cover (at the Fly she had belted out ‘Whole
Lotta Love’), but seeing her on a bigger stage, commanding
the attention of a larger audience, only served to reinforce
my suspicion that Hart is destined to become a major star. She
sings with an almost unparalleled raw emotion. She swears like
a trooper. And when she leaps up from her keyboard – few
artists would have the bravery to introduce themselves with
an unaccompanied version of a song they’d written the
week before – to seize the microphone and gyrate at the
front of the stage, it’s easy to see why Hart is so frequently
compared to Janis Joplin.
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Sunday
25th January
[Sighs
deeply]. Crystal Palace are out of the FA Cup… again.
Despite his promise to name a strong side for the trip to Watford,
I feel that boss Neil Warnock must shoulder some of the blame
for the Vicarage Road debacle. Matt Lawrence once again had
an **awful** game, and after gifting the home side the opening
goal things went from bad to worse. The Eagles, who somehow
made a dismal Watford side look like world-beaters, didn’t
even start to compete till they were 4-1 down. That the game
finished 4-3 flattered the visitors; had Warnock changed things
around earlier, and the lineman not ruled out what looked like
a perfectly legit Palace goal, the outcome might have been very
different indeed. Then again, conceding eight goals in two games
suggests there is a very big problem indeed.
P.S. Twatford have just rubbed salt into the wound by drawing
Chelski at home in the next round of the Cup. Bollox.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
24th January
Aw,
listen, I don’t know if this is true… but I kinda
hope so. It’s being reported that David Bowie is to revive
his Ziggy Stardust character, so famously killed off (without
informing his Spiders From Mars band-mates) at the Hammersmith
Odeon in 1973. We already know that Bowie is working on new
material in Berlin, the where he created the ‘Low’,
‘Lodger’ and ‘Heroes’ albums. Is it
possible that Ziggy might play guitar again? I hope so!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
23rd January
Yesterday
was pretty productive. During the afternoon I took a train to
Surrey to met Jeff Scott Soto for an interview. As anyone that
saw my Classic Rock review of his latest album, ‘Beautiful
Mess’, will know, it’s a sensational, daring record.
Over a tasty flavoured vodka mixture of some kind we discussed
what the rock fraternity will make of an album as funky and
soulful as ‘BM’, also his controversial departure
from Journey. Still smarting from the latter, JSS said more
on the subject that I had expected he might and was extremely
funny on the subject of working with Yngwie Malmsteen –
clearly not an experience he relished, though the liaison did
fulfil its goal of getting Soto noticed.
After
the JSS interview I headed to Camden for a gig by King’s
X. In an email, Phil Ashcroft of Fireworks magazine had called
the previous night’s performance in Wolverhampton “the
best gig I’ve seen in years.” With perfect lights,
sound and connection between band and audience, the Texan trio’s
performance at the Electric Ballroom was similarly inspiring.
Deep, dark and hypnotic – though sometimes feverishly
uplifting – King’s X has the chemistry than only
a band that has been together for three decades, through good
and bad, is capable of summoning; it’s really possible
to close your eyes and get lost in their intoxicating grooves.
“I’ve been bugging our management for 20 years to
do a DVD in London – it’s my favourite place to
play,” bassist Dug Pinnick told the enthusiastic gathering.
You’ll see the cinematic results when they’re released
later this year.
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Thursday
22nd January
Floridians
Shinedown are among the best new(-ish) bands out there right
now, so having been unable to attend last year’s well-received
support slot with Disturbed there was no way I would miss the
band’s European debut as a headlining act. In London,
demand for tickets had been so extreme that the show was upgraded
from the Underworld to the Islington Academy – a wise
call as the place was packed.
A
publicist working for opening act The Crave had asked me to
check out her charges. ‘Good but not great’ was
my verdict. There are a lot of young bands out there playing
the music of their parents, and though the Sussex-based combo
seem to have a decent repertoire, it sorely lacks something
that might constitute a hit song. My appreciation of them wasn’t
helped when the guy next to me turned to his girlfriend and
said: “These guys are like a poor man’s McFly”
before heading to the bar. Ouch! As low blows go, that’s
pretty hard to beat.
Offering
an 80-minute set largely culled from their third and latest
disc ‘The Sound Of Madness’ (an album that featured
in my own Best Of 2008 list), Shinedown arrived to send the
Academy barmy. With staring, make-up enhanced eyes and floppy
dark hair, Brent Smith looks for all the world like a young
version of Ozzy Osbourne. Though his overbearing attempts to
curry favour with the audience soon become irksome, he’s
a likable, engaging frontman that really knows how to work a
room. Having slimmed down to a four-piece shortly before the
tour when ex-Silvertide guitarist Nick Perri departed, Zack
Myers coped manfully with the extra demands. This is without
doubt a band that could become humongous stars in Britain…
should it decide to spare the time for the roadwork. Here’s
the set-list: ‘Cry For Help’, ‘Heroes’,
‘Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide’, ‘If You Only
Knew’, ‘Left Out’, ‘Burning Bright’,
‘The Crow And The Butterfly’, ‘Sound Of Madness’,
‘Save Me’, ‘45’, ‘Devour’
and encores of ‘Second Chance’ and ‘Fly From
The Inside’.
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Wednesday
21st January
Several
emails have arrived following my mention of the Michael Schenker
Group’s London instore signing session for the ‘One
Night At Budokan’ album. Dave Clark, an ex-pat Brit who
now resides in Canada, wrote to point out that Graham Bonnet
was present at the Virgin Megastore bash, adding that the ex-Rainbow
singer “quickly legged it out of public view when a punter
threatened him saying that he wanted Gary Barden back in the
band.” I don’t remember that, but it was a hectic
event with fans queuing down Oxford Street to collect their
signatures. Signings at the Virgin Megastore were always vastly
over-subscribed. I was lucky enough to be fourth in the line
for the famous one thrown by Kiss
for the ‘Creatures Of The Night’ album. Other especially
memorable instores I attended include Bon
Jovi, Queensrÿche, Manowar
and W.A.S.P. at the much-missed Shades Records in St Anne’s
Court. Great days indeed…
_
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Monday
19th January
Most
of my past 24 hours have been spent with the office death deck
volume levels set at ‘stun’ as the new Michael Schenker
Group re-masters blare. I love writing sleeve
notes but it was extra special to have been commissioned
for ‘Michael Schenker Group’, ‘MSG’
and ‘One Night At Budokan’, all of which now come
with a slew of audio extras. The classic first album has been
bolstered by a five-track demo recorded before a formative line-up
hooked up with producer Roger Glover, the second one adds six
live songs from Manchester Apollo in 1980, while the compilers
have rummaged through the vaults and relocated ‘Tales
Of Mystery’ and Cozy Powell’s drum extravaganza
for ‘…Budokan’, thus restoring the show’s
original running order. And a re-mastering from Pete Mew of
Abbey Road has fattened out and honed the sound like never before.
Hearing ‘One Night At Budokan’ again brought back
hallowed memories of the original band at its peak, including
the first gigs at Hammersmith Odeon and a London in-store signing
session for the double-live record’s domestic release.
My gatefold vinyl edition still bears its prized signatures
of Messrs Schenker, Powell and Chris Glen, vocalist Gary Barden
and rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond having fled for pastures greener
and less stressful. Conversely, hearing Barden – who,
let us not forget, hails from Tunbridge Wells – declaring
his love for “the best football team in the world…
UNITED!” at the Apollo during an intro for ‘Feels
Like A Good Thing’ very nearly turned my stomach.
_
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Sunday
18th January
After
the ignominy of watching Palace capitulating at home to Ipswich
Town – the final score of 4-1 hugely flattering the visitors,
to be fair – I needed to be cheered up. A gig by John
Otway at a London venue I’d never visited before –
the Half Moon, in Putney – was just the cure. One of the
last great English eccentrics, Aylesbury-born Otway is still
basking in the glory of his 1977 novelty hit ‘Really Free’,
a 45 vinyl of which yours truly purchased as a kid. His concerts
are notoriously riotous. “Welcome to the last show of
my 2008 tour,” he announced to get things underway, adding
with a grin: “I’ve still got some T-shirts to sell.”
Amazingly (and at the time, I thought, foolishly), the music
began with ‘Really Free’, quickly followed by its
only marginally less celebrated B-side ‘Beware Of The
Flowers ‘Cos I’m Sure They’re Gonna Get You,
Yeah’. It all goes downhill from here, I wrongly assumed.
Otway isn’t the greatest of singers but he is a court
jester and raconteur par excellence, with a neat line in rapier-like
self-deprecating wit. After a version of the Sensational Alex
Harvey Band-popularised ‘Delilah’, which had made
him the face of breakfast cereal Weetabix in a nationwide advert
campaign, he cheerfully deadpanned: “[That one got to]
Number 186 in the charts – you put it there.”
Apparently
unhindered by an obligation to perform his own material, Otway
also riotously covered The Osmonds’ ‘Crazy Horses’,
‘You Ain’t Seen Nuthin’ Yet’ by Bachman-Turner
Overdrive and Eddie & The Hot-Rods’ ‘Do Anything
You Wanna Do’. Only somebody this delightfully incongruous
could have used an experience like helping his daughter with
her chemistry homework to re-write The Trammps’ ‘Disco
Inferno’ as a tribute to the Bunsen Burner, notching another
even bigger hit in the process. Other highlights included Otway
careering around the stage using a bent coat-hanger as a hands-free
microphone holder (anything Madonna can do, John achieves on
a gazillionth of the budget), a well-scripted audience call
and response during a Stylophone-enhanced rendition of The Animals’
‘House Of The Rising Sun’, plummeting babies (a
la Michael Jackson) during ‘Rumpelstiltskin’, the
use of a step ladder as a stage prop (!!!!) and a series of
marvellous gags that I suspect might become tiring in the long
run (though my friends Steve Way and his missus Jan, regulars
at the man’s gigs, assure me they do not). You owe it
to yourself to see John Otway – at least once.
_
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Saturday
17th January
I’ve
just been reading Metal Hammer’s coverage of the Hard
Rock Hell festival and chortled aloud at its mention of Tigertailz.
Fan Jennie from Stoke told Hammer’s reporter: “Tigertailz
were up there with the best glam bands of the 80s. Well, they
didn’t top Poison – I told them that, but they didn’t
mind signing my T-shirt anyway.” That’s a conversation
I’d love to have overheard! Jennie from Stoke: “Okay,
you ain’t as good as Poison, but can I have your autograph
anyway…?” I love it when fans meet their idols and
end up burbling a load of nonsense. It reminded me of the occasion
when an old girlfriend and I attended a show by Winger in the
glamorous city of Peterborough. Spotted in the crowd during
Kiss Of The Gypsy’s support spot by Kip’s tour manager,
we were invited into the dressing room to say a quick ‘hi’.
The first thing my starstruck companion could think of to say
was: “I liked your photos in Playgirl…”. Cue
end of our spontaneous meet ‘n’ greet, hahaha.
_
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Friday
16th January
Something
for the weekend, sir? Well, how about this (excuse me as I leap
about the room)… The original, fabled line-up of Mott
The Hoople – frontman/keyboard player Ian Hunter, guitarist
Mick Ralphs, organist Verden Allen, bassist Overend Watts and
drummer Dale Griffin – has officially announced its intention
to play two special reunion shows, at London’s Hammersmith
Apollo on October 2/3. The dates will be the band’s first
gigs together in more than 35 years. I’m absolutely stunned,
not to mention thrilled.
Only
marginally less surprising, this morning I received an email
from Jim Lyttle. With the help of the guys from GMT the erstwhile
Rogue
Male leader has recorded an album called ‘Nail It’
and is in the process of assembling a new line-up with a view
to hitting the road. I saw the feisty, punk-metalheads several
times at the Marquee back in the mid-80s; this could be interesting…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
15th January
Football
has finally stepped over the line. Not only are Manchester City
trying to sign Brazilian ace Kaka for a world record transfer
fee of £100 million, they want pay him £500,000
per week – yeah, you read that right – to play for
them. Frankly, such a deal would be obscene. Whatever happened
to small boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts, etc? Meanwhile,
back on Planet Earth my beloved Crystal Palace progressed to
the Fourth Round of the FA Cup after strolling past a disappointing
Leicester City side in last night’s replay at Selhurst
Park. An awayday to Twatford now awaits. Gosh… I can barely
contain my expectation.
P.S. I had to laugh at something I’ve seen on the internet:
Morrissey has hinted he is set to quit music. That’s absolutely
priceless. I wasn’t even aware the talentless oaf had
ever actually made any.
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Wednesday
14th January
How
on earth does Steven Wilson do it? The singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer
always has something or another on the go, whether it’s
Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Blackfield or his other projects. Last
night I attended a playback party for Wilson’s solo debut,
‘Insurgentes’, exiting Metropolis Studios in a state
of disbelief at the man’s sheer levels of consistency.
Several months before beginning the sessions Wilson –
who is known for appreciating various diverse strands of music
– informed me in a Classic Rock interview that he would
most likely tap into his post-punk heritage. Conceived with
a cast list that includes King Crimson/Peter Gabriel bassist
Tony Levin, Dream Theater’s keyboardist Jordan Rudess
and PT sticksman Gavin Harrison, alongside Japanese Koto player
Michiyo Yagi, British guitarist Sand Snowman, jazz flautist
and saxophonist Theo Travis, ‘Insurgentes’ does
touch upon some of those elements but it’s w-a-a-a-a-ay
more diverse. At one extreme it’s edgy and dark, characterised
by echo-laden, clanking guitars. Its other dense, industrial-flavoured
moments are juxtaposed by blasts of ambient noise and orchestral
and acoustic interludes. Although ‘Insurgentes’
has already gone on sale in limited edition format (its 3,500
pieces now fetching anything up to £250 on eBay), I’d
resisted the temptation to check it out before the playback
session. I’m glad I did so: Hearing in it an astonishingly
clear 5.1 mix, glass of dry white wine in hand, was absolutely
perfect.
Whether
it’s Nightwish previewing ‘Dark Passion Play’
before the European press at Abbey Road, PT’s own playback
of their last album, ‘Fear Of A Blank Planet’ at
the same legendary studio or the London premiere of Opeth’s
‘Watershed’, when a group invites you to experience
their new record in 5.1, it speaks volumes. The message it sends
out is: ‘This is more than something we’ve banged
together in our bedrooms on ProTools; what we’re making
here is an artistic statement’. Christ, I’m beginning
to sound like a pseud, so let’s leave it there. All I’ll
say is that ‘Insurgentes’ (available through Kscope
on March 9) is a fascinating, multi-layered piece of music that
only Steven Wilson could have created.
And,
yes, I did ask the obvious question – whether there will
be any live dates. “There’s a window in my schedule,”
Steven told me, shortly before heading off to play guitar on
some dates with Blackfield partner Aviv Geffen. Work on a new
Porcupine Tree album is also underway. “It would involve
finding other musicians to be in my band,” Wilson continued.
“I’d like to do it, but it will all depend on how
the album is received and whether or not the demand is there.”
_
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Tuesday
13th January
This
afternoon, once the Classic Rock news pages are done ‘n’
dusted, I shall head to central London to hear Steven Wilson’s
debut solo album, ‘Insurgentes’. Haven’t had
a drink in more than week, so might even allow myself a glass
or two of white wine.
On
a domestic note, youngest son Arnie has now populated the aquarium
that we bought for his recent birthday. Benevolently, he gave
all the other members of Clan Ling their own fish (secretly,
I believe this was a ploy so we would take over the task of
feeding them). Mine is red and a shade of black that looks blue
(in the right light). I have taken the liberty of naming him
after Waysted’s very own one-man off license, Fin.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
12th January
Just
home from the Record & Tape Exchange, and I’m worried.
Should a doctor or psychiatrist happen read this (yeah, that’s
likely!), maybe they could email me privately to recommend a
cure for my own bizarre form of obsessive compulsive disorder.
Not too long ago, during a phase of appreciating singer-songwriters,
I picked up and enjoyed Carly Simon’s ‘Greatest
Hits’. One thing lead to another and this afternoon as
I file away Miss Simon’s ‘Greatest Hits Live’
I discover that I now own 14 of her records. Woaah… how
did that happen?! Less shamefully, I’ve also accumulated
a half-dozen by her ex-husband, James Taylor, and one by their
son Ben. Dare I even count the Joni Mitchell ones? Probably
not. Most worrisome of all, a year after Zakk Wylde recommended
Elton John’s 1973’s ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road’ to me, my collection is now clogged up by 31 LPs
and CDs bearing Reg’s name. WTF?!
Today’s
other purchases include an album by a band called The Wage Of
Sin. I bought it because it had been produced by GN’R
guitarist Bumblefoot, a top fella who I had the pleasure of
interviewing last year, failing to realise the band was all-female;
not that it mattered when I pressed ‘Play’ and a
bunch of At The Gates-influenced dervishes assaulted my eardrums!!
Also picked up Chuck Berry’s The Autobiography for a modest
sum, on the grounds that Time Out had called it “the pop
book of the decade”, and of course for the fact that Berry
claims to have invented rock ‘n’ roll.
_
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Sunday
11th January
What
about Charlton losing 2-0 at home to Nottingham Florist, eh?
Oh, how I laughed. It’s hard to see the Clowns avoiding
relegation now…
My
first live experience of 2009, last night’s Edguy gig,
was a lot of fun. In fairness I was really tempted to the Islington
Academy by their highly-rated support act, H.E.A.T. from Sweden,
who despite a stupidly early start that I almost missed due
to guest list queue confusion, did a first-rate job of warming
up an enormous crowd. Absent at last year’s Firefest appearance
for health reasons, Kenny Leckremo is an excellent frontman
and the sextet’s rousing seven song set – ‘There
For You’, ‘Late Night Lady’, ‘Straight
For Your Heart’, ‘Cry’, ‘Feel It Again’,
‘Never Let Go’ and ‘Keep On Dreaming’
– simply whizzed by. Had it not been for the hefty price-tag
of £20 I’d have even invested in a H.E.A.T. T-shirt…
are those things stitched with gold cotton or something??!!
Moving upstairs to regain my breath, an abysmal front-of-house
sound ruined my appreciation of ex-Angra vocalist Andre Matos.
With the other instruments completely swamped by double-kick
drums the Brazilian singer’s tunes were rendered all but
indistinguishable from one another, save for a cover of Journey’s
‘Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)’.
Yoiks!
A German with a sense of humour, whatever next?! Yes, Edguy
singer Tobias Sammet is pretty much one of a kind. Also the
brains behind the symphonic metal opera Avantasia, the hilarious
Sammet is a self-mocking and engagingly likable frontman. At
times it sounds like his voice has been Gaffer taped together
to withstand the last few days of a tough tour, but three nights
into Edguy’s newest bout of roadwork it’s obviously
meant to be this rugged. Whatever… for 95 minutes Sammet
rules the stage, cracking jokes and helming a first-rate set
of party-friendly melodic hard rock. Edguy might have shed a
few fans by slowing down and broadening out their sound –
indeed pockets of exaggerated cheers erupt when Sammet precedes
golden oldie ‘Until We Rise Again’ by asking: “Where
are the people that thought our last album was crap and we should
play some fast stuff?” – but the decision to base
this show on the last couple of albums is a no-brainer.
As
befitting the composer of a ridiculous song called ‘Lavatory
Love Machine’, Sammet doesn’t give a damn about
making a fool of himself. Later on, during a bout of audience
baiting, the frontman challenges the crowd: “Tomorrow
we leave for France. What do you think about France?”
[Cue chorus of boos, obviously].
“What
do you think about Bayern Munich?” [This time a bemused
silence].
Undeterred,
Tobias continues: “What did you think about the third
goal at Wembley?” [The disputed ‘Russian linesman’
one that tipped the 1966 World Cup final in England’s
favour – cheers from those that understood what he meant].
“What
do you think about driving on the wrong wide of the road?”
[Bemused silence once again].
“Okay…
what do you think about Scotland?” [The loudest response
of all… vociferous booing]. “Hahaha,” guffaws
a grinning Sammet. “I know how to make friends.”
Indeed
he does. Edguy are a whole lot of fun live; I hope they will
return before the year’s end, as predicted from the stage.
Meanwhile, here’s the set-list: ‘Dead Or Rock’,
‘Speedhoven’, ‘Nine Lives’, ‘Until
We Rise Again’, ‘The Pharaoh’, ‘Ministry
Of Saints’, Drum Solo, ‘Pride Of Creation’,
‘The Headless Game’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Superheroes’
and encores of ‘Out Of Control’, ‘Lavatory
Love Machine’, ‘King Of Fools’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
10th January
With
today's fixture postponed due to a frozen pitch, I’m relieved
to have declined my pal Steve Way’s kind offer of a lift
to Palace’s game in Plymouth. That’s a long way
to travel for a non-game of football (as a CPFC supporter I
should know; I’ve seen a few of those). So I’m becoming
a Nottingham Florist fan for the day instead. With Edguy and
HEAT due to play at the Islington Academy tonight, I couldn’t
have gone anyway. Yes… My name is Dave, I am a gigaholic,
and it has been 21 days since my last fix (Angel Witch at the
Underworld, to be precise).
Thanks
to Mik Gaffney of Proper Music Distribution for helping me through
this period of detox with a promo of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Still
Dangerous’ album (see Diary entry for 4th January). It’s
as good as Malcolm Dome suggested. Sound quality is great, with
a performance to match. My initial thought of: “This sounds
like a radio broadcast” set mental bells tolling. After
cross-referencing on my bootleg list I was dismayed to find
I already had a King Biscuit Flower Hour recording of a gig
at Philadelphia’s Tower Theater which took place on 26.11.77.
Fortunately, Messrs Dome and Gaffney were quick to put my mind
to rest; ‘Still Dangerous’ is sourced from a second
show at the same venue – they got this fact from guitarist
Scott Gorham’s mouth, so it must be so. The better news
still is that, according to Mik, his company has “lots
of exciting, officially-endorsed, previously unreleased new
Lizzy stuff in the pipeline”.
P.S.
My heart went out to Cr***iano Ro***do upon hearing he’d
been involved in a nasty car accident a few days ago. Eyewitness
reports say the ManUre fuckbag was only lightly tapped by a
car from behind, causing his own vehicle to flip over and roll
ten times. It then span around on the spot for two minutes before
all the wheels fell off and it caught fire. All joking aside,
it’s a shame that Ro***do didn’t suffer more damage
than a prick of his über-inflated ego and the small matter
of £200K for a replacement 200 MPH Ferrari 555 GTB Fiorano.
That’s the trouble with allowing mental imbeciles to have
expensive toys.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
8th January
I
wish that Peter Mensch would make up his mind. The past 24 hours,
for those that can still be bothered with the will-Zep-tour-or-won’t-they?
merry go round, have been very confusing. First Mensch, who
manages Jimmy Page, informs the BBC’s 6 Music that “John
Paul Jones and Jimmy enjoy playing with each other, Jason Bonham
is a really good drummer so why not [take things further]? We
just need to find a singer.” Clearly on a roll, he
continued: “Jimmy Page has been playing guitar professionally
since he was 16 years old. Jimmy Page likes being a musician.
That’s what he does! He doesn’t want to be a race
car driver or a solicitor.”
Logging
on this morning, the whole thing seems to be off. “There
are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero,” barks
Mensch. “Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking
about it,” he tells MusicRadar. There can be no way
of knowing the time-frame in which these interviews were conducted,
but the tone of the second one seems to supersede anything that’s
gone before. "Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't
see them in 2007 [at the O2 Arena], you missed them. They tried
out a few singers, but no one worked out. It’s done. I
can’t be any clearer than that.” I wonder what
changed in such a short space of time?
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
7th January
You
join me as a punch the air with joy. Tickets for Palace’s
FA Cup replay with Leicester having already been purchased,
I had resigned myself to missing a listening party for Steven
Wilson’s debut solo album, ‘Insurgentes’,
that takes place next Tuesday. So imagine my delight at the
fixture being moved back by 24 hours due to the iciness of the
Selhurst Park playing surface (it’s f-f-f-freezing cold
in London right now). Cinders, you shall go to the ball…
I’m
equally chuffed by the news that FM have lined up a gig on March
19, though the sting in the tail is that I must trek to Wigan
– somewhere Ooop North, I believe – in order to
witness it. The show takes place at Winstanley College, where
the band’s webmaster is employed. So far I’ve no
news as to who (if anyone) will replace departed guitarist Andy
Barnett, but I’m reliably informed they are planning to
preview some material from their nervously awaited (by me, at
least…) reunion CD, possibly even reviving some vintage
tunes. The event is to be recorded and filmed for possible release.
Tix will soon be available from the official website, here.
Um… now where did I put that pink cloak?
By
the way, happy tenth birthday to my youngest son Arnie. You
should’ve seen the look of delight on his face when he
came into the living room to find his wish of owning a fish-tank,
albeit still with no fish, had come true. Better still, he seemed
to believe me for a moment when I claimed the tank actually
contained an expensive and highly prized new aquatic phenomenon…
invisible fish. Sadly it didn’t work, and he will choose
his own after school. Aaaah.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
6th January
Thanks
to site regular Adrian Smith (no relation) for bringing my attention
to an entertaining article
on the 30th anniversary of the NWOBHM that appeared several
days ago in the Guardian. It’s worth reading for the revelation
that Saxon used to turn up at their earliest gigs in a van still
bearing the trademark of its previous owner: Sid Cummings –
Tripe Dealer. No, I won’t make the obvious gag. And fair
play to Diamond Head’s Brian Tatler for the admission:
“I didn’t make any money from our albums. I lived
with my parents until I was 33. Then the money from Metallica
let me put a deposit on a house. It was the only way I could’ve
done that. God bless Metallica – and God bless the New
Wave of British Heavy Metal.” Cheers also to Stephen Robinson,
who saw my recent rant regarding the closure of the Astoria
and sent a relevant link that I can no longer locate, but which
claims that the venue is actually to be replaced once work on
the Crossrail project begins. Oh well, I’ll stop moaning
then. Just for a while…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
5th January
Anyone
else catch Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation In Three Parts,
a BBC4 documentary that was screened on Friday evening? Last
night, having recorded it on the Sky+, I found the time to sit
down and catch up. To be honest, I was left disappointed. Sure,
some cool vintage footage had been exhumed and the show managed
to touch upon prog’s humour without labouring the point.
But attempting to tell the history of such a prodigious and
fascinating genre in 90 minutes is, of course, quite pointless.
The programme’s makers managed to obtain interviews with
many of its biggest stars, including Mike Oldfield and Arthur
Brown, plus members of Genesis, Yes, ELP, Tull, Crimson, Soft
Machine and… er… Egg. That’s right, Egg –
a band that I’m personally very fond of, but whose words
hardly carry a great degree of resonance. Conversely, the show
barely mentioned Pink Floyd, arguably its flagship act. It was
almost as though Van Der Graaf Generator, Barclay James Harvest,
Gentle Giant, Camel, Atomic Rooster and Supertramp never even
existed. Equally glaring, the ‘second wave’ of prog
(Marillion, Pallas, IQ, Twelfth Night, Pendragon, etc) and the
plethora of relative youngsters that are currently breathing
new life into the music (including Dream Theater, Porcupine
Tree, The Mars Volta, Coheed And Cambria, Spock’s Beard,
Frost and Muse) were completely overlooked. To me, the show
smacked of the Beeb dabbling in something it didn’t really
understand, nor care about.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
4th January
January
4 is a date that I’ve never been especially fond of, well…
not since at least 1986, when Philip Parris Lynott ended up
departing this mortal coil. This afternoon I’ve been playing
some of Lynott’s best work, including Thin Lizzy’s
‘Jailbreak’ ‘Bad Reputation, ‘Johnny
The Fox’ and ‘Black Rose’ albums. Some of
the songs on those records still give me goosebumps, even though
I’ve hear them countless times. On a Lizzy-related note,
I’m dying to get hold of ‘Still Dangerous’,
the much-trumpeted, overdub-free release from 1977’s ‘Bad
Reputation’ tour that insiders have dubbed “the
real Live And Dangerous”. It’s due on March 2nd.
My good friend Malcolm Dome has already heard it and gives an
emphatic thumbs-up. The fact that it features ‘Soldier
Of Fortune’ and ‘Opium Trail’ in addition
to the group’s catalogue standards is enough to set me
salivating.
P.S.
Dammit. Should Palace manage to overcome Leicester in their
Cup Replay, an awayday to Twatford in the Fourth Round awaits.
How utterly underwhelming.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 3rd January
Brrrr….
I’m just back from freezing me nuts off during Palace’s
FA Cup trip to Leicester City. To be honest I’d expected
the Foxes, who are taking League 1 by storm, to have given the
shot-shy Eagles a sterner test, but although Warnock’s
men upped the ante towards the end a goalless draw was a fair
result for what was a sometimes horrendously dull game. With
hindsight our party probably should’ve stayed in the friendly
village pub we discovered en route to the Walkers Stadium, soaking
up the delicious heat of an open fire. Given CPFC’s dismal
recent record at this particular stage of the competition, and
some of the day’s more outrageous giant-killing exploits
– notably by Nottingham Florist and Hartlepool –
it’s a relief to be in the hat for the Fourth Round.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
1st January
You’ve
gotta love Kip Winger’s attacks on Lars Ulrich and Joe Elliott.
In a new interview at Metal Sludge, Winger was recently asked about
drummer Ulrich, famously seen throwing darts at a poster of Kip in
a Metallica promo video. “Lars is not really that talented,”
shrugs Kip in a bout of seasonal good cheer, “He’s got
a lot of fucking money, though, so I’m sure he’s happy.”
He goes on to say: “I actually felt sorry for him in Some Kind
Of Monster, seething with unmoved emotion over things that were still
unresolved. It was kind of sad to watch. But I do like Metallica,
they’re a good band.” And, responding to last summer’s
outburst from Elliott, in which the Def Leppard frontman vilified
such acts as Winger and Poison, Kip threw down the gauntlet, declaring:
“If Joe wants to meet me at an LA club of his choice with an
acoustic guitar, leave the Pro Tools at home and I’ll open up
a can of whoop-ass on him!” Utterly priceless stuff!
Sadly, it looks like Mott The Hoople’s 40th anniversary reunion
won’t be happening after all. In a posting at his website, Ian
Hunter responds to a question from fan David Crisfield by cryptically
stating: “I just had a look on the fridge door [where some people
keep their ‘to-do’ lists] and I’m afraid it’s
no longer there.” What a shame.
P.S. The brand new Playlist and YouTube
Of The Month are now up.
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