DAVE'S DIARY
This journal of the comings'n'goings and musings'n'enthusings of Dave Ling
will be updated daily - except after days of stress and nights of excess.
Tuesday 29th October
Opeth at the London Palladium... one of my all-time fave bands in a truly classic venue. This was a rather good night.
Saturday 26th October
Another priceless discovery made as we packed up the loft for the house move - my fave waistcoat from the 1980s. And yes, I did all my own needlework!
Friday 11th October
Although we were colleagues, I didn’t work alongside Tommy Udo in the conventional sense. Several years ago when I edited Metal Hammer’s extreme section, Subterranea, Tommy became a regular contributor. I adored his writing, his passion for the music and the man’s irreverent, über-cynical sense of humour – he had a bullshit detector like almost no other. When I joined Facebook after a messy divorce, those daily posts of his alternated between hysterical did-he-really-just-write-that laughter or pangs of deep, sympathetic sadness. My heart went out to Tommy in recent times when it appeared that the system had eaten him up and spat him out, his creativity supressed for a humdrum nine to five existence. A talent such as Tommy's deserved far better. He doted on his kids and I really hope that once the shock subsides they will be okay.
Tommy, it was both a pleasure and an honour to know you. Sleep well…
Sunday 6th October
A respectful farewell to an iconic figure: Ginger Baker was a brilliant musician and a fascinating character. I met Baker just the once, on the red carpet at the Classic Rock Awards in 2009 after, with typical bad grace, he collected a gong acknowledging his status as Pioneer. Truth be told, sticking the tape recorder under his nose and requesting a quote scared the living shit out of me. It was an extremely brief and monosyllabic encounter. The night had been “extraordinary”. When I asked how felt about receiving the award Ginger frowned and replied: “Um… amazed.” Was that in a good or a bad way? The eyes narrowed. “A bit of both.” We left it there, lol…
Saturday 5th October
Wet Sham 1, Eagles 2. A very long overdue victory at the Taxpayers' Stadium. VAR - I love you. Palace soar back to fourth in the table, London's top placed club. #EnjoyTheMoment
September 2019
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