Monday 30th June
I’m a wee bit behind everybody else due
to spending Saturday watching some real live music on
Clapham Common, and Sunday recovering from alcoholic abuse
and the longer than expected journey home afterwards –
I had tried walking to Brixton from where I knew I could
get a bus to Catford but got completely and utterly lost
and ended up walking as far as the Oval, before finding
a route home – but I’ve been catching up with
Metallica at Glastonbury on the Beeb’s iPlayer.
Despite the controversial build-up the San Francisco vets
tore the place a new rectum (just like the Quo did a few
years ago – let’s not forget that). I loved
the part where guitarist James Hetfield playfully dedicated
‘Sad But True’ to “all of the British
heavy metal bands that have been dreaming and still dream
of playing this stage” – a barbed comment
that could have been directed at a number of high profile
detractors including Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, Rob
Halford of Judas Priest or indeed both.
This evening I’m looking forward to seeing my old
mate Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway from Napalm Death,
who I’m led to believe will be in attendance at
a playback party in Camden for Flood Of Red’s new
album, ‘Throw’. Besides being a godfather
of my two sons, Barney is every bit as bonkers about footie
as myself. I wonder who’ll be the first to bring
up the subject of Palace doing the double over his beloved
Aston Vanilla in 2013/14? Chortle.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 29th June
In spite of the weather I had a fabulous day
at the Calling Festival on Clapham Common. Arrived in
time for a couple of ciders in the VIP guest bar, before
being informed that booze was free in the press area (though
not till 7pm – boo!). Almost the first person that
I bumped into was Luke Morley from Thunder, and several
mins later I chatted with Peter Shoulder, looking very
young with his new haircut, who like myself was sheltering
from the rain beneath the VIP canvas.
Richie Sambora’s ‘Stranger In This Town’
is a Desert Island Disc for me, but despite beginning
and ending his set with Bon Jovi tunes (‘Lay Your
Hands On Me’ and ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’
respectively) Richie’s portion of the show was a
bit of a letdown. Sure, we got the title track of ‘Stranger
In This Town’ but Sambora’s six-piece line-up
included three guitarists, including himself and the fast-rising
Orianthi – none of whom could be heard very distinctly
during a lacklustre and slightly faltering 45-min display.
RS was still sporting the same Dolly Parton T-shirt he’d
worn the previous night whilst guesting with Dolly at
the O2 Arena… I wouldn’t have been surprised
had he not even gone to bed since then (you get my drift,
I’m sure).
Had Sambora sought a masterclass in the art of being a
frontman, one look at Danny Bowes would’ve shown
him how it’s *really* done. Bowes, and Thunder,
had the crowd in the palm of their collective hands from
the opening chords of ‘Dirty Love’ to a cowbell-festooned
au revoir of ‘I Love You More Than Rock ‘N’
Roll’. During ‘Low Life In High Places’,
when the first of numerous singalongs is slightly disjointed,
Bowes grinned and shrugged: “Angelic… but
quiet!” and took things up several notches to the
next level. There are few better live bands than Thunder.
In fact, were you to put me up against a wall with a firing
squad ahead and demand that I named my ten favourite rock
groups of all time, Thunder’s name would almost
certainly be on that list. Here’s what they played:
‘Dirty Love’, ‘River Of Pain’,
‘Higher Ground’, ‘Low Life In High Places’,
‘Back Street Symphony’, ‘The Devil Made
Me Do It’, ‘Love Walked In’ and ‘‘I
Love You More Than Rock ‘N’ Roll’.
Sadly, I didn’t get to see Joe Bonamassa who I’m
told played an absolutely blinding hard rock set. Instead,
Mr Beare and I were escourted by my CR pal Peter Makowski
into Aerosmith’s inner sanctum where we spent quite
some time chatting with Joe Perry, and managed to get
this very cool photograph taken with JP and Richie Sambora…
doncha think the latter looks a little like Mike Myers?
Hehe.
Truthfully, my expectations of Aerosmith weren’t
great but Andy and I ventured back out into the crowd
carrying a bag loaded down with free tins of beer and
a quarter bottle of dark rum as we waited the arrival
of the headliners, a group I hadn’t bothered seeing
live since the 1990s. Blimey… they were superb.
Perry had shown us the set-list backstage but it wasn’t
until hearing them crank out one stone-cold classic after
another that the full extent of their greatness sank in.
What a truly wonderful way to pass a night in drizzly
ol’ Sarf London.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_
Saturday 28th June
Wouldn’t you just know it… in a few
hours I shall be heading across Sarf London to Clapham
Common for the Calling Festival and the weather’s
overcast and grim, with heavy showers predicted. For me
day is all about seeing Thunder (the band – not
the meteorological phenomenon!) with their guest member
Peter Shoulder of The Union, who is depping for the ailing
Ben Matthews. That should be interesting. I’ve also
been invited to a meet & greet with one half of Aerosmith’s
Toxic Twins, guitarist Joe Perry, as part of the promotion
for his new autobiography. Very cool…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 27th June
How exciting! The morning began with a pair of
phone interviews… Tony banks and Mike Rutherford
of Genesis – like you do. Before finishing the day
I placed a call to New York City, the legendary Handsome
Dick Manitoba of influential New York proto-punks the
Dictators. “Call me Richard,” he insisted.
“Nobody calls me Dick unless they’re pissed
with me.” We had a fantastic and very lively chat
about the group’s first UK shows in a whopping 37
years (their last visit to Britain was at the Roundhouse
in 1977). Ross The Boss, once of Manowar, remains a part
of the current line-up but it seems that there’s
no love lost between Richard and Andy Shernoff, the band’s
co-founding guitarist and principle writer. “I’m
very glad Andy isn’t a part of this band anymore,”
the singer told me, “it means we can have fun onstage
again.” Ouch! Really looking forward to seeing them
in London on August 7.
In the evening, once the kids had turned in, I watched
and enjoyed Louise Mensch’s Sky Arts documentary
on AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson. How many times did Jonno
call her “me darlin’”? It was great
to see him bladdered and telling it like it is in her
interview. A lovely bloke, so modest and down to earth!
He was exactly the same when
I met him ten years ago.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 26th June
OM-fucking-G. Those melodic hard rock icons Survivor
are coming to the UK at last, including a gig at Shepherd’s
Bush Empire on October 13. I am almost lost for words.
If it they play this
song, I will quite literally swoon.
Must admit, I’ve been a bit slow in latching onto
Rival Sons, cover stars of the new issue of the current
(Summer) issue of Classic Rock. They’re certainly
an interesting bunch, and Dave Everley’s excellent
story is a great read… it made me request a copy
of the newest album, ‘Great Western Valkyrie’
– kindly supplied by my pal Dan Tobin on gatefold
vinyl. I’ve spun the thing four or maybe five time
and its undeniably their best work. But does it merit
the fuss that’s being made over them? I’m
afraid that’s still just a ‘maybe’…
And is it just me that keeps expecting ‘Open My
Eyes’ to segue into Zeppelin’s ‘Your
Time Is Gonna Come’ each time I hear it?
The finishing line for the bumper issue #200 of Classic
Rock is *finally* within sight but now the staffers are
being asked to name our favourite album released in the
magazine’s lifespan (i.e. since Nov 1998). Now let
me see… what year was ‘Brave New World’
by Iron Maiden? Opeth’s ‘Blackwater Park’
and ‘Watershed’ are both contenders, no doubt.
To these ears Steven Wilson’s ‘The Raven That
Refused To Sing’ is by far the best record of recent
years, but is it *THE* finest within the timeframe? Hmmmm.
‘Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory’ by
Dream Theater would sneak in. And then there’s FM’s
‘Metropolis’, ‘You Are Here’ by
UFO and the brilliance of It Bites’ ‘The Tall
Ships’. Magnum and Skynyrd have been on a bit of
a run... Oh shit, I predict a sleepless night.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 25th June
How splendid! Mr Big are to play Koko on October
17, and their singer Eric Martin drops by the Underworld
on December 12 as part of an unplugged trek. Put me down
for both of those! Fellow fans should check out this
fabulous YouTube clip of a full Mr Big gig from 1992.
Great news… the Quo’s manager Simon Porter
has signed off the text for the Frantic Four coffee table
book with “virtually nothing in the way of amendments
and the comment that he ‘thinks that it’s
great’”, I’m told. I was allowed to
write the ending the way I wanted. That’s made my
day!
Though Jeff Scott Soto was on at the Borderline –
another of those annoying gig clashes! – last night
was spent at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, my fave London
venue, for a third sighting of the wonderful Royal Southern
Brotherhood. With its top balcony closed off and plenty
of empty seats in the stalls and on Level 1, the Empire
was too big for a band with just two full-length studio
records to their name, the most recent of which being
the newly released ‘Heartsoulblood’. But by
heck, save for the lame bass and drum solos really took
the wind out of the band's metaphorical sail?, they put
on a good show. Frontman Cyril Neville looked dapper at
the front of the stage whilst adding extra percussion
and with Devon Allman and Mike Zito showing off their
differing styles as guitarists, there was always something
to hold the attention. At encore time support act Laurence
Jones returned to the stage to jam on ‘One Way Out’,
the Elmore James standard popularised by the Allmans on
‘Eat A Peach’. Soulful, groove laden, rootsy
Southern rawk really doesn’t get much better.
The set-list ran as follows: ‘Fired Up’,
‘Moonlight Over The Mississippi’, ‘Groove
On’, ‘World Blues’, ‘Back To You’,
‘Sugar Sweet’, ‘Could Get Dangerous’,
‘Shoulda Known’, ‘She’s My Lady’,
‘Running Water’, ‘Ritual’ and
‘Rock And Roll’, followed by ‘One Way
Out’ and the Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 24th June
Well, that's a first. I switched off from the
sheer tedium of already homebound England’s final
World Cup game with Costa Rica to channel hop to the nail
biting climax of the test match against Sri Lanka. England
had looked like surviving to claim an unlikely draw till
Jimmy Anderson edged a simple catch with just two balls
so go. FFS!
Shaking my head sadly, I headed off to the Beaverwood
in Chislehurst to take a look at Moreland & Arbuckle,
the up ‘n’ coming roots-swamp-blues rockers
from Wichita, Kansas. I’d heard incredible reports
of their previous show at the Beaverwood but on this occasion
the football worked against them. With the crowd smaller
than expected the vibe was a bit flat, and I found the
first of their two sets a little workmanlike and unremarkable.
After a short beer break they returned and things got
much, much better. ‘The Devil In Me’ saw lead
singer Dustin Arbuckle abandoning his harmonica, an instrument
I’ve ever had too much time for, in favour of a
traditional bass guitar – for a large chunk of the
show guitarist Aaron Moreland had played an unusually
looking gizmo fashioned from a cigar box that allowed
him to perform the low-end parts along with searing slide
leads… at times the bearded man mountain Moreland
played both simultaneously, which was really something
to behold. They played songs from all of their records
and even introduced a brand new tune (I didn’t catch
the title, sorry) and ran through Muddy Waters’
‘Long Distance Call’… by the end of
their 105-minute display I was beginning to understand
what the fuss is all about.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 23rd June
Resisting the temptation to hang out with my
gimp mask-sporting birthday boy pal Jerry Ewing in the
Crobar I opted for a night in, catching up on some telly.
Aw, what a sad ending to the final episode of Wallander.
I also loved the conclusion to Channel 4’s Fargo
– another truly fantastic series. Martin Freeman
as a serious actor, why knew? And Billy Bob Thornton was
just superb!
England’s World Cup campaign isn’t going too
well (slight understatement), but at least Glenn Hughes
is lucky enough to be in Brazil and experiencing things
first hand. Check out this photo emailed by the California
Breed man with the message: “England’s first
game… win, lose or draw... We celebrate the beautiful
game!” Jammy git! (But then again, he is a Wolves
fan and must be used to defeat… hehehe).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_
Sunday 22nd June
Phew… Thank God for the air con, Winger’s
gig was hotter than hell. It was Kip’s 53rd birthday
and the show had a real air of celebration. After those
awe-inspiring versions of ‘Miles Away’ and
‘Headed For A Heartbreak’ I may need the electric
sander to remove my undergarments! I was critical of the
band’s disappointingly tepid new album, ‘Better
Days Comin’’, but the two songs they pulled
from it both worked well in a live environment. There
was perhaps a little too much between song chatter, and
the drum and guitar solos interrupted the show’s
flow, but Reb Beach is a really underrated riffmeister,
and Kip offered a cool display of the spontaneous way
the band comes up with its material, inviting the guitarist
to churn out something new for our delectation…
“Okay Reb, write us a riff!” For the final
song, a riotous cover of the Van Halen classic ‘Ain’t
Talkin’ ’Bout Love’ the band invited
a lucky fan called Pete from London out of the crowd to
play bass – a nice touch! Here’s the set-list:
‘Midnight Driver Of A Love Machine’, ‘Easy
Come Easy Go’, ‘Hungry’, ‘Pull
Me Under’, ‘Down Incognito’, ‘Deal
With The Devil’, ‘Stone Cold Killer’,
‘Rat Race’, Drum Solo, ‘Miles Away’,
‘Headed For A Heartbreak’, ‘Can’t
Get Enuff’, ‘Blind Revolution Mad’,
‘Madalaine’, Guitar Solo, ‘Seventeen’
and ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love’.
I’ve just transcribed my recent chat with George
Thorogood. Though it was conducted by phone George remembered
our last encounter in a dressing room at Shepherd’s
Bush Empire from almost a year ago, signing off with the
words: “It’s always a pleasure to be interviewed
by you. If you’re ever in the States and come to
another of my shows, please take the time to come backstage
and say hi… we’ll talk about rock and roll
again.” If only all rock stars were such gents.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 21st June
Beware all the single ladeeez of Wembley Stadium.
Eddie has just left Ling Towers for some hideous all day
affair called the Capital FM Summertime Ball with his
best friend Johnny. The bill looks *beyond dreadful*...
Miley Cyris, Cheryl Cole, Jessie J, Rita Ora, but it’s
his first unaccompanied gig and it was great to see him
so thrilled about music (in the loosest possible sense).
If he comes back bladdered I’ll skin him alive.
Me? I’m off to the Islington Academy to see one
of my all-time favourite groups… Winger.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 20th June
The result of last night’s World Cup game:
Uruguay 2, England 1. Barring a miracle that, quite frankly,
they wouldn’t deserve, Hodgson’s squad will
ne back in their own beds before you know it. Despite
logging on to find a playful email from a Scotman (Fish)
that said: remember drink doesn't solve anything :-)
I feel better this morning. I’m a more of a
‘club’ than a ‘country’ man, and
nobody died. I do feel very sorry for Eddie, though. The
poor blighter couldn’t sleep with the disappointment
of it all. Then again it his first major tournament. He
will learn. :-(
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 19th June
Obscure fact of the day: Eric Bloom from Blue
Öyster Cult is a big fan of The Antiques Roadshow.
He tells me: “I just love the idea of someone going
to a street fair, picking up an ashtray, finding out that
it’s Chinese and getting fifty grand for it.”
[When I posted this on my Facebook page, Phil Ashcroft
came up with the response of the day: 'Fireplace Of Unknown
Origin'... brilliant!]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 18th June
There's huge excitement here at Ling Towers as
the new Premier League fixtures are announced. Palace
are away to the Gooners on the opening day (that means
beers with Bruce Osborne, Gerry Rassool and Clive Aspinall!),
and at home to Swansea as the curtain comes down. It could
have been a lot, lot worse! And, best of all, we are away
to WBA for the final Firefest – Yesssssssss! Kieran
Dargan… the first round is on me!!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 17th June
Classic Rock asked me at attend last night’s
Golden Gods Awards, the honours ceremony of their sister
title Metal Hammer. My brief was simple: ‘Here’s
an AAA pass, go along and see what you can bring back’.
As usual, the backstage / production areas were full of
people running around like headless chickens, either that
or drinking and getting in the way (I never consume booze
at these events). The Steel Panther dudes reckoned I have
“bitchin’ hair” (at least mine’s
real… hehe). Michael Monroe, who had flown in from
Finland to collect the Inspiration award on behalf of
Hanoi Rocks, told me that the band could never reform.
“Why should I even need to?” he smiled, claiming
that his current solo group is “more of a band”
than the unit that Hanoi became during their second incarnation.
I had a very cool chat with Mikael Åkerfeldt from
Opeth, who was trying to keep tabs on his two daughters
amid the pandemonium, in addition to picking up the night’s
top honour, the Golden God. We laughed at the fact that
a few days earlier he’d taken his offspring to see
One Direction (!), and he seemed pleased when I voiced
my approval of the ’Peth’s forthcoming album,
‘Pale Communion’. “That kind of feedback
is great from someone who’s been there since…”
he began, before faltering, “someone who’s…”.
“You mean that an old bastard who’s loved
the band for ages?” I interrupted, putting the Swede
out his misery. “Exactly.” Haha.
Michael Schenker’s son Tyson has just sent a sneaky
photo that he took of me interviewing his dad after Schenker
accepted the night’s Icon gong from Aerosmith's
Joe Perry. We stood around and chatted awhile after the
tape went off. It was great to see Michael on such friendly,
lucid and happy form.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_
Monday 16th June
That’s a nice, lively way to begin the
day – a bloody great phone interview with Ian Anderson
at 9.30am. Start things as you mean to go on, eh?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 15th June
Naturally I’m gutted by yesterday’s
2-1 defeat to Italy. Hodgson’s men played a surprisingly
competitive game and on another day either they could
have won or claimed a draw. The second game, against Uruguay,
is now bigger than ever. Call me Mr Blind Optimism, but
I still think we’ll reach competition’s the
last 16.
Till then… work, work, work… I must knuckle
down and finish the final chapter of the Frantic Four
coffee book.
Oh, look what those cheeky Linglets have bought me for
Father’s Day, a cute T-shirt with the warning: “Coming
to a pub near you”. As a strict teetotaller, I’m
insulted beyond belief!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 14th June
As you’ll have gathered, there’s
no Download Festival for yours truly in 2014. Getting
away for a weekend is becoming harder and harder and over
the last few days the already tense atmosphere at Ling
Towers has escalated to painful proportions.
Luckily England’s World Cup campaign begins today
and I’ve plenty of work to keep me occupied / distracted,
having filled my Friday with three phone interviews –
Kansas drummer Phil Ehart, Gary Louis of The Jayhawks’,
the alt-country rockers whose albums ‘Hollywood
Town Hall’ and ‘Tomorrow The Green Grass’
are massive here at Ling Towers, and finally the living
legend that is Todd Rundgren.
Meanwhile, as the build-up towards tonight’s game
with Italy continues, the first three Led Zeppelin re-masters
have arrived! Back of the net!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 13th June
Back to the Islington Academy for the third time
in less than a week for the mighty Tesla. The Sacramento-based
quintet turned in a wonderfully paced set that was well
worth missing the opening night of the World Cup for!
Amid a barrage of heyday-era tunes we also heard ‘So
Divine’ and ‘MP3’, two songs from the
fantastic new album ‘Simplicity’, before Tesla
slipped into a softer segment of the show with a soothing,
uplifting ‘What You Give’. Closing with four
belters from their 1986 debut ‘Mechanical Resonance’
they almost tore the roof off the Academy. Though usually
a remarkable asset, Jeff Keith’s voice became a
wee bit raspy during the closing stages – which
explains why the set was only marginally longer than 90
minutes – but, heck,
you sing like that for 30 years and you’re a lucky
guy. Mostly he sounded great, as did Frank Hannon and
Dave Rude, who play with such tone, clarity and precision
that it’s almost like having two Michael Schenkers
in the same band. Here’s what they played: ‘Live
Before I Die’, ‘Hang Tough’, ‘So
Divine’, ‘Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)’,
‘Mama's Fool?’ (including Hannon’s solo),
‘Into The Now’, ‘MP3’, ‘The
Way It Is’, ‘What You Give’, ‘Signs’,
‘Love Song’, ‘Getting’ Better’,
‘Modern Day Cowboy’, ‘Little Suzi’
and
sizzling encore of ‘Cuming Atcha Live’.
All this and a mid-afternoon phone interview with the
Quo’s Rick Parfitt, too, the contents of which will
appear in the Frantic Four coffee table book.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 12th June
One of the reasons that I love my job so much
is that it presents the opportunity to interview so many
of my musical heroes. And here’s another to tick
off on the bucket list – yesterday evening I spoke
to Eric Moore of The Godz, who’s now in his 60s.
These guys are so much more interesting and quotable than
their younger counterparts. On being unafraid of death:
“When you’re closer to the end than the beginning
you think about your demise much more clearly. And I know
that whichever place I end up, there’s gonna be
a great house band.” If you’ve never heard
The Gods then click this link
and do it NOW!
In the morning I had a great chat with Alan Lancaster
for the Frantic Four book. Nuff had just returned home
from the funeral of his good friend Doc Neeson the The
Angels and was in a talkative, reflective mood. I also
had a laughter-filled conversation with Glenn Hughes,
who was in a cab en route to LAX for a flight to Brazil
to watch England in the World Cup.
One of my questions *completely* flummoxed the lucky bastard,
much to the amusement of his wife, who was travelling
with him. You’ll have read the results in the bumper
Issue #200 of Classic Rock, which hits the stands on July
16.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 11th June
It was, quite simply, one of the most special
gigs I’ve ever attended. Last night the funk-rock
behemoth that is Dan Reed Network rolled through London
as part of an ongoing reunion tour. It’s wonderful
to have them back. How many rock concerts have you attended
which close in a Gospel singalong (to
‘Long Way To Go’)?! When two songs in, the
band stopped for a moment, the audience reacted with a
roar of appreciation that brought up goosebumps, a little
like the response to a 90th minute FA Cup winning goal.
The band were having a ball, re-enacting a fluffed chord
struck by guitarist Brion James
during ‘Ritual’ (“It’s a J Sharp!”
giggled the axeman) and throwing in snippets of unrehearsed
tunes such as ‘Taming The Wild Nights’, ‘Mix
It Up’, ‘Lover’ and ‘Doin’
The Love Thing’ as the audience called them out.
I was flattered beyond belief that Reed included my name
in a list of dedications that featured his former manager
Toni Medcalf, Andy Copping from Live Nation and my Classic
Rock colleague Paul ‘Gooner’ Elliott before
launching into ‘Rainbow Child’. File under
‘life highlights’. Better still, Reed revealed
that the band are “discussing making a new record
together next year” before correcting himself: “nobody
makes records anymore – we’ll be back with
some new digital files!” I can’t wait to hear
what they conjure up!! Here’s the set-list: ‘Cruise
Together’, ‘Under My Skin’, ‘Forgot
To Make Her Mine’, ‘Baby Now I’, ‘Rainbow
Child’, ‘Come Back Baby’, ‘Take
It Easy’, ‘Baby Don’t Fade’, ‘Ritual’,
‘Taming The Wild Nights (Excerpt)’, ‘Mix
It Up (Excerpt)’, ‘Lover (Excerpt)’,
‘Doin’ The Love Thing (Excerpt)’, ‘Stronger
Than Steel’, ‘The World Has A Heart Too’,
‘Seven Sisters Road’ and ‘Get To You’,
plus an encore of ‘Tiger In A Dress’ and ‘Long
Way To Go’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 10th June
It’s been yet another day of tape transcript
hell, though I stepped away from the routine of ‘stop,
rewind, play, stop, rewind, play’ to talk to Francis
Rossi and John Coghlan for the new coffee table book on
Status Quo’s Frantic Four line-up. As Rossi pointed
out, Spud can be a bit quiet in interview scenarios, but
he spoke at length about both tours, spilling his thoughts
on Rossi’s reservations on the first tour and telling
a couple of great historical anecdotes. Francis never
misses an opportunity to wind me up about my barnet. Before
hanging up he said: “Now don’t forget…
when you’ re planning your funeral you will need
a separate box for the hair. They’ll be able to
say, ‘There goes Dave, and there goes his hair’.”
Sarcastic git! He’d only need half a box for his!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 9th June
So the phone rings.
“Hi Dave… are you ready to go with the
interview?”
“Absolutely, fire away.”
“Okay, he’s here. I’ll pass
you over.”
[The line goes silent for a moment].
“Right! ’Ow the bloody ’ell
did your lot finish above West ’Am in the Premier
League. Tell me that?”
Me: “It always helps when one’s team
does the double over their relegation rivals!”
I *love* a bit of banter with Steve Harris! Also
had a natter with Bruce Dickinson, too!
Still on the subject of Palace, the Eagles are being linked
with an attacking midfielder called Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
who played for Everton. A pretty good player from what
I understand. That’s encouraging!
And on a darker note, RIP the one and only Rik Mayall.
Thanks for the many, many laughs, you will be sadly missed.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 8th June
This
story about the D-Day veteran going AWOL from his
care home to attend the anniversary celebrations in Normandy
is quite possibly my favourite of 2014 (except for Palace
saying up, of course). I can even forgive the old coffin
dodger’s place of residence. Just.
Yesterday evening I managed to pull myself together from
the gruelling depths of hangover hell to speak to Alice
Cooper. During the previous week there had been quite
a few false starts, postponements and cancellations so
it was relief to finally hook up (albeit by phone). Alice
is a genuine hero of mine, one of the few stars that I’ve
been nervous to interview, but he’s very good at
putting people at ease and, of course, those witty anecdotes
and colourful soundbites, simply drip from the man’s
gob. Which is just as well, as I felt like dogshit on
a shovel.
And talking of which… England 0 Honduras 0. Yes,
you read that right. In their final World Cup dress rehearsal
Roy’s men drew a blank against lowly Honduras –
despite their opponents being reduced to ten men. I’m
starting to feel very worried indeed about Brazilia 2014.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 7th June
I cannot remember the last time I slept in till
1.30pm, but then again I didn’t get back to Ling
Mansions till what…? 6am?! It was light, certainly.
Andy Beare’s 50th birthday was done in style. Didn’t
realise how ‘refreshed’ I was till getting
off the night bus home from the Crobar. Two steps forwards,
one back / to the right / left / into a hedge / garden
/ drain / alleyway / car. A journey that would normally
have taken six or seven minutes required almost an hour.
Lucky there was no plod around. Happy b-day Mr B. Now…
how am I gonna get my shit together for the Alice Cooper
phoner in a couple of hours??!!
Earlier in the evening, before things got completely out
of hand, I stopped off at the Islington Academy for the
return of former Ozzy Osbourne/Badlands guitarist Jake
E Lee and his new group Red Dragon Cartel. I was surprised
by how little they played of their rather good self-titled
debut release, focussing instead on a whole heap of Badlands
tunes and a couple from the Ozzy days. Sadly, none of
the album's guests turned up; I’d wondered whether
Paul Di’Anno (who sang on ‘Wasted’)
might have been around. Lee proved that he can still shred
with the best on ‘Rumblin’ Train’, a
heavy ten-minute blues workout from the first Badlands
record. Despite getting off to a calamitous start in his
early shows with the group, former Harem Scarem drummer
Darren Smith is developing into a pretty decent frontman.
Jake had sgiven out mixed messages about the future of
RDC, though Smith revealed: “We are working on a
new record, so this is possibly the last time we'll get
to play some of these Badlands songs..” I’m
glad I was there to see it. Here’s the set-list:
‘The Ultimate Sin’, ‘Deceived’,
‘War Machine’, ‘High Wire’, ‘Shine
On’, ‘Shout It Out’, ‘In a Dream’,
‘Rumblin’ Train’, ‘Sun Red Sun’
and ‘Feeder’, followed by ‘Bark At The
Moon’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 6th June
Interviewing Michael Sadler from Saga is always
a pleasant experience. The Canadian band’s newie,
‘Sagacity’ (the title actually means actually
means wisdom and cleverness, something I didn’t
know until reading the accompanying biog), is a bit of
a grower. I wasn’t too keen upon first hearing,
truth told, which is pretty unusual as I’ve been
a fan for decades. I must’ve had my head somewhere
else that day – up my arse, maybe?
I knocked off work a couple of hours early to head to
Hammersmith for a drink with my old friend Caroline ‘Funky’
Gibbons, who’s over for her annual visit from Los
Angeles. We found a rather nice, quaint boozer down by
the banks of the Thames and proceeded to catch up over
old times until the bell rang for final orders. A very
pleasant evening indeed!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 5th June
The score of last night’s World Cup warm-up
in Miami: Ecuador 2 England 2. With another such game
to go before the tournament’s commencement there
were some positives to take away, but the defence is worryingly
rickety and porous.
Thanks to my friend Mark Palmer for sending a package
of finished CDs and vinyl from Nuclear Blast Records,
including the deluxe edition of the new Edguy (which is
bloody brilliant!) and Nightwish’s concert double
set, ‘Showtime, Storytime’. The latter is
a beautiful double-gatefold edition. Gorgeous!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 4th June
My ribs still ache a little in the wake of today’s
phone interview with UFO singer Phil Mogg. The guy really
should consider a parallel career as a stand up comedian.
The rain is really pissing me off… I can’t
run in this godawful weather so about to hit the office
exercise bike for the Special Edition of Blue Öyster
Cult’s 1978 live album, ‘Some Enchanted Evening’.
“Atlanta, Georgia, are you ready to rock and roll...?”
Hearing it again takes me back to my schooldays, though
in fairness I wouldn’t complain if I never heard
the song ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ again.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 3rd June
Episode II of Up With The Skylark And Chained
To The Desk… Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan wanted
to do his phone interview at 8.20am (UK time). With George
Thorogood calling at 9pm it felt like quite a long day,
especially as the Keith Emerson interview was a bit problematic
(to say the very least), but by heck it was productive.
Finished the Classic Rock news pages, wrote some reviews
for the new issue of Prog magazine and helped my dad to
fix the boys’ bedroom door, which had been torn
off its hinges during the latest fit of temper (oh yes…
life is never, ever dull here at Chateau Ling).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 2nd June
So… the latest working week starts with
a bang – phoners with Rick Wakeman and Europe’s
Joey Tempest at 9am and 10am respectively. That was the
plan, at least. However in the truest, purest Grumpy Old
Man fashion, Wakeman was getting irate at the internet
as I called, having been trying to purchase an item online
and realised he had mistakenly ordered three of them,
plus something completely different, upon reaching the
transaction’s checkout stage. Great entertainment
(for me, at least…). As was his interview, once
Wakeman’s comical temper tantrum had subsided.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 1st June
I’ve been having a bit of a prog-tastic
afternoon. Had forgotten how much I used to love ‘…And
Then There Were Three’ by Genesis. What an underrated
little gem of an album. Okay, ‘Snowbound’
is one to skip but I shall never tire of hearing ‘Burning
Rope’, ‘Deep In The Motherlode’ and
‘Many Too Many’. It was one of the first of
theirs that I bought, actually, and worked backwards.
So it holds a special place in my heart for that reason
alone.
BTW, the Playlist and YouTube
have been updated as usual.
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