Howdy from the US !!

So, here we are, near the end of the US tour, and this is the first time that i've blogged, should have done this weeks ago !!

We arrived into Austin, Texas, two days before the show, to give us a chance to get rid of jetlag. Spent those two days just doing a bit of sightseeing, and preparing for the shows ahead. First show was great. Remembered this one being good from last year, so it was a great start. Next it was onto the bus, and on to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for two nights. First time here, and it was a great couple of days. Quite a chilled out start to the tour, we were all warming up slowly, and pacing ourselves.

Back into Texas for the next one, Tyler, to be precise. Got to admit, loved Texas. rocking crowd, and again "Fat Bottomed Girls " went down a bomb. THE song of the US tour again. New Orleans was next, best show i never did !!! Met Kevin and Robert, our bus and truck drivers, and they had an ice daiquiri, and went and got a LARGE one. Was so drunk, that i don't even remember the show !! Note to self.... NOT AGAIN !!!! Woke up on the bus in Richardson, Texas, when we should have been in Waco. Turns out that the show was cancelled, because the venue went bankrupted over night, so no show !!! Turns out that the venue has since reopened , so we got an unexpected day off. The Richardson gig was one of my favourites, lots of fun. Houston House Of Blues was next, one of favourites from last year. A really cool vibe in this venue, and a rocking good show too. Had a couple of beers in a bar across the street from the venue, and sat down at the front of the bus on the way out, chatting to Kevin, til the wee small hours ..

Next port of call was Texarkana, Texas. I have never seen streets so deserted during the day in my life !!! But come showtime, the venue was packed. 14 people left the show, because i took off my t-shirt , didn't think that i looked that bad !!!! that made us laugh. On to Norman Oklahoma, and The Riverwind Casino. A 90 minute power set, which was rocking, and then we went out to have some beers on the casino floor. Great fun people watching. Wichita Kansas next , and an old ballroom, which caused a headache to Andy and Brad, our lighting guys, due to the height of the ceiling. They got it sorted, as always. Fun show. Had a couple of days off in Denver, so we went out one night to a line dancing bar, which was fun !!! aspen was next, and it was COLD . Lack of oxygen was fun again, back the show was all good.Funniest moment of the tour happened here. Word got back to us that a couple in the audience were thrown out, after having sex at the back in their seats ... Brilliant !!! Heading up to Beaver Creek, we almost hit a herd of dear... scary stuff on a mountain road in a blizzard !! Billy and i did a funny TV interview in Beaver for the show, near the ski lift, was great fun. The interviewer then asked us to do the weather, which we did, in our own unique style ...... another fun show, and a really interesting drive back down the mountain in another blizzard... Lincoln, Nebraska, and Steve's 30th birthday. We presented him with a lovely birthday cake onstage, which later , on the bus, and after much beer , we had a cake fight with, it wasn't pretty ... Davenport , Iowa, and a near disaster !!! The show went without a hitch, but on the loud out, a pice of the lighting truss fell off the hydraulic lift, and severed the main gas and water pipes. We had to evacuate the building until the fire department arrived, and we all had to watch helplessly as all the equipment got soaked on the stage. Miraculously , the next day everything worked when unloaded in Joliet, Illinois, at the next gig. This venue is stunning. We played it two years ago, and also the staff are so nice. Great gig again , as it was the last time.

Hello again folks. So, the UK shows are over until mid May, and the US beckons, our longest tour to date in one country, just under 11 weeks. How did the last 2 UK shows go ?? well .. read on....

Glasgow was the first show, and always a nerve - racking night for all involved, being the home town and all. Playing to your Aunties is nearly what it's like, as this is the show that all the families want to come to. Backstage is like a family& friends reunion/ creche, chaos but fun.

The venue was completely sold out, which is a fantastic feeling normally, but in your home town it always feels special. And what a night it was. If there is such a thing as a perfect show, then this one felt like that. Everything was just right, and it was a magical night for all involved. "Barcelona" got another standing ovation, and from there the audience just seem to have more and more fun.

Next was Dundee, the final UK date. This is another one of those cities, and venues, that we like to play. The dressing rooms are very comfortable, and great to chill out in. Everyone was very relaxed and full of fun at soundcheck, i think the feeling of euphoria from the previous night was still there. I had a lot of fun at this one, joking about with the audience between songs, and just felling quite relaxed on the stage. A fantastic singalong crowd here as always, and we finished on a real high, a great way to end this part of the UK leg of the tour.

I'm sitting right now at home, writing this, instead of packing my suitcase, as i head off to the hotel at the airport tomorrow night, and fly out to the States on Monday. Keep looking on here for stories form the US tour, i'm sure i'll have lots to tell ....

Ta Ta for now ....

Greetings bloggers.

Well here we are, in February already, how did that happen ??? The first few shows of the year have been really good, and everyone, band and crew, are incredibly focussed for the year ahead.

Anyway,back to the shows, here is a quick overview.....

First stop of the year was Exmouth. We left the day before, as it's a LONG way down !! The when we arrived at the venue, the crew were just finishing with the sound and lights, so went to my dressing room, dumped my bags, and went for a walk into town. The show was good, a busy night, which is always great at the start of a tour. They were all out of their seats pretty quickly and dancing. We were quite relieved to get the first half over, as we were all a bit nervous about remembering the songs !!!

Next day it was Barnstaple, where we haven't played for a while. Another packed house, and everyone was quite relaxed onstage, we have all found our feet again pretty quickly, which can be difficult sometimes, after a break. Great fun onstage at this. We were joking about and laughing at silly things , it's going to be one of those tours.

Next, on to Yeovil, 2 nights in one place, beautiful...

Two great shows here as always. I made a comment onstage last year about doing 2 nights, and the venue literally took me at my word, which was cool. It's great to book 2 nights in the same venue, and for it to be packed out, which this was. I was quite relaxed onstage at these 2, having nice banter with the audience between songs. It's great to be back on the road.....

Malvern New Theatre was next on the map, another venue we haven't played for 2 years. Andy couldn't hang the lighting rig from the ceiling, as it wouldn't support it, so he was inventive, and built it on the floor. I must say, it looked pretty cool. It's a lovely town this, and a very warm audience, who like to listen as well as boogy.

Next stop, Nottingham, scene of our first ever show. The audience here are always fantastic, as this show was no exception. The lights went down, and a massive cheer went up, all good.

Ruth was at this show, and "Barcelona" was another triumph.

Hull was the last of this little run,and the last show in England until May. Had a lot of fun onstage here, joking with the audience, and teasing them to go crazier and crazier, which they did, God bless em !!

Hello Paris :

We arrived in Paris the night before the show, and all went out for dinner and a couple of drinks, some of us drinking more than others ......

What a show !!!! The lights went down, and the roar of the crowd nearly lifted the roof off !! they were amazing, i couldn't hear myself onstage a lot of the time, because they were louder than us. "Barcelona" was the highlight of the show, and by the encore, we were all buzzing as much as the crowd. After the show, i was violently sick, and went on to the tour bus to Brussels not a well bunny....

When i woke up the following day in Brussels, i still felt terrible, spent most of the day being sick, but was determined to be well enough to enjoy the show. And i thought the audience in Paris were loud.... These guys were off the scale !!! and one point a chant of GARY GARY went up, which made me chuckle a bit. The adrenaline got pumped me up for this one, it was an awesome night, and i collapsed into my hotel bed at the end a very happy man indeed.

That's all for the moment, until next time, stay safe.... TA TA.....

Howdy folks, and Happy New Year !!
A new year, and a new tour beckons, but what about the final 2009 dates i hear you ask, well we have to back in time for that ..........

London's Indigo2 was the next date after Manchester, and i can tell you, it was a bit nerve-wracking arriving at the stage door for this one. For the benefit of those of you who don't know, the Indigo2 is part of the o2 arena, which was the Millenium Dome in a previous life. It's huge inside, and of course, i had to have a walkabout. It was freezing !! it's basically a giant tent, so inside is the same temperature as outside, which happened to be -8 degrees !! The venue itself was warm. Steve had arranged for us to go to the Michael Jackson Exhibition, which was cool, if you are an MJ fan, then it's worth a look.
Had a bit of a drama, i found out to my horror that i had NO spirit gum remover, so organised for a motorcycle courier to pick some up from a chop in Covent Garden, and deliver it to me, panic over. What a great show this was. Thankfully it was busy, and the crowd soon warmed to the show. "Barcelona" with Ruth was again the highlight, and another standing ovation. We asked her if she was available for the other shows that weekend , the only other one she could do was Plymouth, so we arranged for her to come down in the afternoon again for a quick rehearsal.

Next day it was on to Southampton, and everybody was in the festive mood. Billy, Mal and I went out to do a bit of shopping, and had a great laugh, culminating in Billiy and I having a mock fight in Matalan, and Mal suggesting that we left. At the show, the venue management kept asking the audience to sit down, which annoyed me a bit, so at half time Steve asked for them to chill a bit, and all was well. Lots of fun was had by all.

Next, on to Plymouth, and we could see the finish line of 2009 !! It was bloody freezing again, so it was a day in the venue for me. Steve got a call from Ruth to say that her train had been cancelled, due to a guy jumping in front of the train before hers , horrific !!! She had to get a bus, and then a taxi, and arrived just at the end of soundcheck. Total time travelled: 8 hours, poor girl!!! But her journey was worthwhile, as "Barcelona" blew the roof off, which was great, as this was a capacity standing show, and a great way to end this little run.

A couple of days at home followed, then it was up to Aberdeen for 2 in a row, 22nd and 23rd. What can i say, god bless the Aberdonians !! If there is a town to have 2 festive shows, then this is it . The audience quickly got in the festive sprirt with us, and partied away quite happily, dancing and singing their hearts out both nights. Then it was back home in the wee small hours for Christmas.

The final show for 2009 was Stirling Castle, as part of Stirling's New Year party. We were top of the bill, and we all arrived about 6pm, as the roads were disasterous due to the snow and ice, but it was worth the journey. 4000 people standing out in the cold in the castle grounds, watching us do our stuff. We did a short set, and then after the bells, went on and did "Don't Stop Me Now" and " We Are The Champions". It was a fantastic way to finish 2009, really couldn't have asked for a better end . Right, well, there you have it, the last shows of 2009 in a nutshell. Who knows what 2010 has in store, you will have to keep looking on here, and i will update you when and where it happens, so it's ta ta for now.....

It's Christmas (nearly !!)

Well, it's December, and my plan of keeping the blog up to date has not gone well. Where did the year go ??? So much has happened since the US tour. That seems to be a lifetime ago now, and we're already gearing up for the next one !!

Anyway, time to play catch up, are you ready ?? Ok, let's begin....
After 10 days of rest, we were back on another plane to do our first shows in Denmark and Norway, which as always at the beginning of a tour, especially in a new territory, we were nervous about. but we needn't have worried. The Danes and the Norwegians love their Queen !! The tour was a short one, and we were on our way home before we knew it, with some more dates being looked at for next year.

Back to the UK we came for the Spring/Summer leg of the tour, a couple of personal highlights for me were Retrofest, at Loudon Caslte in Scotland, and BBC Proms in The Park, in Hyde Park, London. Before you can say rock and roll, we were on a plane to Holland, for a 3 week run there, one of the highlights being The Carre, in Amsterdam.

Returning from there, it was staright into the Autumn/Winter UK dates, starting in the Assembly Halls in Derby, and bringing us up to last weekend, with 2 packed shows in The Palace Theatre in Manchester, where we performed "Barcelona" for the first time, with a sensational soprano called Ruth Kerr. This got a standing ovation on both nights, which was quite emotional for us onstage, I can tell you !!

So there you have it folks, the 2009 Tour so far, abridged. Will keep on top of it now, as i'm now mobile internet friendly. I have begrudgingly joined the 21st Century !!

Ta Ta for now.........