Blurgh...

Oh what a night
Late December back in...2009 actually

Last night we supported Ned's Atomic Dustbin at the rather splendid O2 Shepherds Bush Empire. I still think of the venue as the BBC TV theatre, a place I first visited in 1979 to watch my friend, Edward Mitchell, appear on Crackerjack. He lost Take A Letter and by way of condolence had to sit of Keith "Orville" Harris's knee. When Keith squeezed him, he had to open his mouth, and out would come Cuddles the Monkey's voice. What Keith squeezed is uncertain and the mind boggles as lil' Ed was never quite the same afterwards. Anyway, I'm wandering, which ain't too surprising as I'm still quite drunk. Worrying...? Well, yes potentially, as it's 10am, but then again IT"S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

The gig was magnificent! We played well, the venue staff were fantastic, photos were shot by the lovely Sarah (thank you), FOH sound ROCKED by Cap'n Mathew Stokes (who when things are going well, dances, and he was dancing last night, which was reassuring), and equipment humped and stowed by Mike and Richard (road crew extraordinaire). Best of all, 2,000 lovely Ned's fans watched and cheered us on. It's a great shame that not everyone I'd like to have been there, could be...

Probably time for another photo.



Beneath this sign is where I spent a large part of the evening smoking. Other than that I, along with the other Daddies could be found reclining in here...



I'm now starting to feel sick, so I'll go. And leave you with a snap of what it looks like walking onto the stage, albeit during sound check...



...as well as a photo of two drunk lushes...



...nighty night!


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It's been a while...

...to be precise, ten whole months. That's nearly a year, and we don't have many of those to spunk away. I've decided to resurrect this blog, because I want to. Shall we say a general sense of catharsis prevails...

And I've got shit to post, so there! More soon...


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Lordy...

There is nothing at all right with this advert. Though it's strangely compelling to watch.



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One of The Willing...

Gin, gin, it's good for your heart. Well, it probably isn't, but quite frankly, I don't care. It's working for me right now.

So - to business. The image above is of Ian Wills' new album, or rather Wills and the Willing as they are known.

It's a fantastic record, some great songs and rather splendid production too, courtesy of Captain Sean 'knob-Topol' Genockey. I'm not quite sure when it's due for release, but I think it's soon. Immininet even.

The twenty-two handsome cover stars feature Mr. Wills, his band and premier league footballers Didier Drogba and Michael Essien. I'm not quite sure who they are. They may play for England, they may not. I went to a party at Chinawhite following the launch of Ian's single 'Skin'. Apparently there were numerous famous footballers there, though I hadn't a clue. I was more concerned about the price of the cocktails - thirty quid a pop! Naively, I offered to buy a round of drinks, then nearly collapsed when presented with a three figure bar bill.

The other hunks on the album cover are The Willing. These are people who contributed to the making of this record, either through studio wizzardry or by performing on tracks. I fall into the latter catagory, and consequently am one of the faces on the album cover. So are Messieurs John Hogg and Harry Collier.

Click on the picture to enlarge. Can you find us...?


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