| Tour Diary |
London Calling
I’d arranged to text my mate John from PCF once we’d left Portsmouth as he
said we could stay with him after the gig. He was out watching Eddie & The
Hotrods so wouldn’t be home until late anyway so we could come up at
whatever time we liked. We got to Guildford and pulled off the A3 for some
food. Once we were done, I texted him to say we'd be round at about quarter
past midnight. He was just catching the tube home so would be arriving at
about the same time. We headed round the M25 and, just a few miles from
our exit, got held up in a massive traffic jam. Living in rural Scotland for 8
years makes you forget that traffic is pretty dreadful and even midnight on the
M25 isn’t exempt from huge queues. 4 lanes down to one we go and
eventually arrive at John and Kat’s flat at about 00.40. John was just arriving
home as we walked up so it all worked out well though, I have to say, he was
slightly worse for wear! We sat up for a while having a chat over a beer but it
was late and we were both tired so decided to catch up more in the morning.
So, John reckoned that he would sing and play guitar, Jel was still happy to
play bass, and I’d be on drums. Sounds great! John had booked us in to a
rehearsal studio from 2 til 5 so the three of us could run through the set for that
night. Just as we were leaving his flat, John received a call from Jel saying
that he couldn’t make it. I won’t go into details as it’s personal but, suffice to
say, it was important enough for us to understand why he was cancelling.
John and myself decided that we would go ahead anyway, without a bass. So,
off we went to Balham to rehearse. John hadn’t sung for a long time and I
hadn’t played drums for 3 years (almost to the day) so things were slightly
rusty and I got tired pretty quickly and John’s voice sounded pretty hoarse after
a few songs. It was also obvious that we were missing the bass lines from
most of the songs, so decided that we wouldn’t be playing that night. I would
still go ahead and play my set though, so at least all wasn’t lost.
I drove us to Deptford in the van and, on John’s advice, decided to follow the
sat-nav. He knew a route that would take us back to Balham and along to
Deptford, but was intrigued to see where we would be taken by this new-
fangled technology. Our route took us through Croydon, Streatham and
Crystal Palace, not a way that John knew, and we arrived at the Bird’s Nest in
good time and without getting held up once.
The venue was a nice old pub and seemed to be full of local characters and
had a warm, friendly feel. John explained to the landlord that Proud City
Fathers wouldn’t be playing, and he seemed ok with just me playing a set. We
were sat having a chat and a drink and a guy came up saying that he should
introduce himself. I’d seen him sitting at the bar when we first arrived, but
thought nothing of it. He turned out to be an old mate from school, Rob. It was
great to see him, I think the last time we met was about 25 years ago, before
everyone moved out of the south. We had a good chat about the old days and
where all our old friends were now.
After the gig, we chatted to Rob some more, then headed back to Sutton to
drop John home. We had decided the day before that we would leave after
the gig and get as far north as we could. To dodge the M25 traffic, we would
have to have got up very early, and I sometimes can’t sleep properly if I know I
have to get up, I’m not sure why that is.
At 11pm, we said goodbye to John and Kat and headed up the road, blasting
out Killing Joke, The Mob and Brian Curran on the stereo. I would have been
happy to get past Birmingham, again, to avoid Monday morning traffic but we
actually managed to get back to Moffat, just over the Scottish border, before
sleeping for a few hours and starting that long, boring drive from there to
Aberdeen (to pick up the dog and cat), and eventually the last hour's drive
north to our house.
All in all, it was a fantastic tour! Our mileage from when we left for Edinburgh 3
weeks previously, including coming back home again in between, heading to
Plymouth via Elgin and driving about on the days off was 3391.
I’d leave now and do it all over again, if I could……
I’d arranged to text my mate John from PCF once we’d left Portsmouth as he
said we could stay with him after the gig. He was out watching Eddie & The
Hotrods so wouldn’t be home until late anyway so we could come up at
whatever time we liked. We got to Guildford and pulled off the A3 for some
food. Once we were done, I texted him to say we'd be round at about quarter
past midnight. He was just catching the tube home so would be arriving at
about the same time. We headed round the M25 and, just a few miles from
our exit, got held up in a massive traffic jam. Living in rural Scotland for 8
years makes you forget that traffic is pretty dreadful and even midnight on the
M25 isn’t exempt from huge queues. 4 lanes down to one we go and
eventually arrive at John and Kat’s flat at about 00.40. John was just arriving
home as we walked up so it all worked out well though, I have to say, he was
slightly worse for wear! We sat up for a while having a chat over a beer but it
was late and we were both tired so decided to catch up more in the morning.
So, John reckoned that he would sing and play guitar, Jel was still happy to
play bass, and I’d be on drums. Sounds great! John had booked us in to a
rehearsal studio from 2 til 5 so the three of us could run through the set for that
night. Just as we were leaving his flat, John received a call from Jel saying
that he couldn’t make it. I won’t go into details as it’s personal but, suffice to
say, it was important enough for us to understand why he was cancelling.
John and myself decided that we would go ahead anyway, without a bass. So,
off we went to Balham to rehearse. John hadn’t sung for a long time and I
hadn’t played drums for 3 years (almost to the day) so things were slightly
rusty and I got tired pretty quickly and John’s voice sounded pretty hoarse after
a few songs. It was also obvious that we were missing the bass lines from
most of the songs, so decided that we wouldn’t be playing that night. I would
still go ahead and play my set though, so at least all wasn’t lost.
I drove us to Deptford in the van and, on John’s advice, decided to follow the
sat-nav. He knew a route that would take us back to Balham and along to
Deptford, but was intrigued to see where we would be taken by this new-
fangled technology. Our route took us through Croydon, Streatham and
Crystal Palace, not a way that John knew, and we arrived at the Bird’s Nest in
good time and without getting held up once.
The venue was a nice old pub and seemed to be full of local characters and
had a warm, friendly feel. John explained to the landlord that Proud City
Fathers wouldn’t be playing, and he seemed ok with just me playing a set. We
were sat having a chat and a drink and a guy came up saying that he should
introduce himself. I’d seen him sitting at the bar when we first arrived, but
thought nothing of it. He turned out to be an old mate from school, Rob. It was
great to see him, I think the last time we met was about 25 years ago, before
everyone moved out of the south. We had a good chat about the old days and
where all our old friends were now.
After the gig, we chatted to Rob some more, then headed back to Sutton to
drop John home. We had decided the day before that we would leave after
the gig and get as far north as we could. To dodge the M25 traffic, we would
have to have got up very early, and I sometimes can’t sleep properly if I know I
have to get up, I’m not sure why that is.
At 11pm, we said goodbye to John and Kat and headed up the road, blasting
out Killing Joke, The Mob and Brian Curran on the stereo. I would have been
happy to get past Birmingham, again, to avoid Monday morning traffic but we
actually managed to get back to Moffat, just over the Scottish border, before
sleeping for a few hours and starting that long, boring drive from there to
Aberdeen (to pick up the dog and cat), and eventually the last hour's drive
north to our house.
All in all, it was a fantastic tour! Our mileage from when we left for Edinburgh 3
weeks previously, including coming back home again in between, heading to
Plymouth via Elgin and driving about on the days off was 3391.
I’d leave now and do it all over again, if I could……
The idea for tonight’s gig was for me
to support PCF as I had done whilst
on tour the previous year and at my
first gig in 2011. It was starting to
become a yearly ritual. This time
round it wasn’t to be.
to support PCF as I had done whilst
on tour the previous year and at my
first gig in 2011. It was starting to
become a yearly ritual. This time
round it wasn’t to be.
First off, the drummer Paul couldn’t make it as he now lives in Ipswich and
couldn’t get into town on a Sunday night as he had work the next day. He and
John were more than happy for me to fill in on drums so it wasn’t really an
issue.
Next to drop was Alan, the singer. I think he felt it wasn’t worth it as it wasn’t
a full band, which I can kind of understand.
couldn’t get into town on a Sunday night as he had work the next day. He and
John were more than happy for me to fill in on drums so it wasn’t really an
issue.
Next to drop was Alan, the singer. I think he felt it wasn’t worth it as it wasn’t
a full band, which I can kind of understand.
The gig went well and there was a small,
but appreciative, crowd, some of whom
gave and took some witty banter
between songs. It was a relaxing, fun
gig and ended the tour off well.
but appreciative, crowd, some of whom
gave and took some witty banter
between songs. It was a relaxing, fun
gig and ended the tour off well.
| Copyright Mark Ayling 2018 |