UK / Euro Tour, Summer 2018

Always Travelling...

The short stay at home after the summer tour of the USA was a good time for catching up with sleep. However, with all the decision making to be done on my build back home, it became as hectic as ever.

I thank all of you who sent messages encouraging me to rest up. It didn’t work out like that, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Things are progressing nicely at my build and soon phase 1 will be completed and I will have more room to at last organise and correlate my archive and get on with all the other projects on hold.

This UK/Euro tour which we started on Sunday the 29th is a logistic nightmare. The first two weeks involved a lot of travel. After driving east across England and parking in the multi storey car park, I took a flight from Luton Airport to Glasgow for our opening show at an open air venue known as The Bandstand.

Panoramic view has done something to James' arm. Eek!

This was followed by three days of production rehearsals in Glasgow for the upcoming shows that are all outdoors. This involves some talented people controlling the screens. We have been a band that have only ever had sound and lights, so this was new for us. 

On Friday the 3rd of August, we traveled from Glasgow in Scotland by train down to York and were driven to Leeds for a show in the city centre. After the show we travelled on down to Maidstone in Kent and arrived at our hotel rooms at around 6am. The rooms faced south and the weather had been very hot with the drapes open wide all day. Consequently, it was too hot to sleep.

This was the first show with KT Tunstall and Simple Minds. After the show we travelled again through the night to Cardiff in Wales with another show that night in Merthyr Tydfil and a train the following day to Belgium. The combined distance travelled to these shows in a handful of days was approximately 1500 miles. This was followed by two nights in London where I fit in a rehearsal with piano player and singer/songwriter Diane Birch. We were joined on guitar by Paul Stacey and Johnny Borrell from Razorlight on bass. We made a bloody good quartet and got some good grooves down. Later in the year, I may be working with Diane on her new album, which would be pretty cool.

In rehearsals with Diane Birch, Paul Stacey and Johnny Borrell.

That evening there was a promotional Razorlight party at the Cuckoo Club in Swallow Street in Mayfair. Razorlight played five songs and after that, it became swinging London with bad thumping repetitive so-called ‘dance music’ played way too loud with people shouting over it. I was in and out in a flash but still had time to sample the free booze. The evening ended with a hot chocolate at the Soho Sanctum Hotel bar being served with added love by Rita.

Currently, I am travelling on the train up to Manchester to do a show in Salford at the AJ Bell Stadium. Tomorrow we charter two aircrafts to take the band, crew and equipment to La Coruna in north-west Spain where we play the Noroeste Festival. The weather has been impossibly hot in Spain for quite a while, so it will be a dust bowl. I can’t wait.

We go on stage at 11.45pm. The following morning we travel back in the same chartered aircraft to Luton airport. The reason for parking my car at Luton Airport to begin with becomes clear. I drive back across country to spend another few days at home. Without my car, it would take far too long to get back. Maybe five or six hours by train.

Sod that!

I will write again after the next few days at home. We are about to stop at Stockport and in 14 minutes will disembark at Manchester Piccadilly and catch a taxi to Salford. 

My, how the summer is getting swallowed up in large travel bites.

M.D.C.

The Difficulties of Sleep and Travel

Using a tour bus is great. Literally ‘on the road’. One for the crew and one for the band. The night drives for me are generally ok but that depends on the duration of the drive.

At last - recognition!

If the drive is less than five hours I will wait for everyone to vacate the front lounge and settle in with my pillows and blanket and watch TV or a DVD. A few times it was just C.H. and me watching something.

If it’s more than five hours I will make it to my bunk with varying results. The added complication is that the entertainment centre on these buses is far too complicated to work easily. That’s if everything is working correctly to start with!

Tom, our driver on this one, had to set up the DVD player after a week or so (no lead connected because there was no lead from player to TV)!

Last night we got in to Des Moines at 05.30. Over the last few nights I had watched a few Deadwood programs from the first series, and at this point I knew of it but had never seen it. I am now up to episode ten of the first season. After, I dozed a little for a few hours and then managed to sleep at the hotel from 6am until 10am.

The beard didn't make it!

Very often arriving into a hotel room where the curtains don’t fit the windows can mean little if any sleep. There are solutions.

The wardrobes contains hangers with a pair of grips on them. These can be utilised to hold ill fitting curtains together. However, balancing on wobbling chairs at 05.30 trying to maintain a sleep mode can be arduous.

Also, the temperature of the rooms and the foolishness of the bedding can be time consuming to adjust. This results in trying to sleep in a mood of frustration and sheer incomprehension.

By this time, in Minneapolis, sleep seemed not impossible but the roadworks started up and the maids and guests start their day. These activities could be described as ‘unfortunate’.

The reason we are in the U.S.A. is to perform our songs the best we can. This we have done to the best of our abilities. However, in the Comerica Park in Detroit, the sun beat down upon us mercilessly and it was a great trauma for us. I resorted to an ice cold towel around my neck that ended up over my head for the last five songs. Almost impossible.

The Def Leppard’s have been very kind and chatty. The other act on these few shows we never saw.

The Wrigley Field show was great and our own shows have been truly great. We have all shared various problems during the shows and this is par for the course.

The last two shows at the State Theatre in Minneapolis and the Opera House in St. Louis were first class.

So tonight is the last of our own shows here in Ames, IA. Tomorrow we fly into Denver for another show with the Def’s at the Coors Field.

It seems there are plans afoot for another tour of the U.S.A. next year. It could be in the late spring so please come see us again. There seems to be a complete change to the set list in the air!!

Thank you for your understanding of these unusual ways of life that we lead. And remember: DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR PLASTIC IS?

See you again soon!

M.D.C.

Heat vs. Drummer

'A good looking 'Vette' parked outside the stunning Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee

.'

As I settle into the touring routine of bus, sleep, hotel, sleep, gig, shower, I find myself getting stronger. It takes a while.

The heat is still playing it’s part, but as long as I rehydrate and get at least one banana a day to help with the mineral intake quota, I settle and there are no muscle quivers when trying to sleep.

I once talked to my old friend John McEnroe about these essentials and he was an adamant banana consumer for the very same reasons. It was a pity to miss him at the Arroyo Seco show in Pasadena. I am however enjoying his commentary at the Wimbledon Championships in London. It was great to see him doing a summary with his youngest brother Patrick McEnroe one afternoon. Patrick was a great doubles player and captain of the United States Davis Cup Team.

'Resting spotlight. Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee'

The shows have been varied and we had to miss the Hard Rock show in Northfields on the 7th of July. Chrissie had laryngitis and couldn’t sing. After the doctor's prescription, recovery was swift. She has a way of singing in an adjusted way to compensate for reaching to various notes. I find it fascinating. She is a great singer and after all these years I still become transfixed by these places she can inhabit.

We got back up to speed and had some great shows. As I sit in my very comfortable room here in Birmingham, Michigan, last night's show that already feels like a week ago was one of the best yet. An all standing affair with winged balconies. This is my favourite type of venue because there was no box attached to the room like theatres have. I was in the room.

'A great gig to play. 20 Monroe Live, Grand Rapids.'

The previous night's travel after our show in Milwaukee got us in to Grand Rapids at just after 5am. It was a 250 yard drag to the room at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and I couldn’t sleep because the light came flooding in at 5.40. I went for a walk by the river and got some fuel on board with an excellent breakfast. I ended up with two hours sleep.

I slept in the warm stairwell of the gig on a concrete floor for an hour. It did the trick and straightened my back out to great effect. A great show. Last night I slept eleven hours because the room is quiet and the curtains work! So now a couple of shows in Detroit and Chicago with the Defs.

Thanks for your interest. I will log back in soon. Take care out there!

M.D.C. 

Hot Hot Hot

Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium is best played acoustically. It really isn’t good for a rock band. Not unlike the Royal Albert Hall in London, as soon as the sound gets over a certain volume, it is not good for the band or the audience. 

It was a tough show. We got lost a few times but it’s about how we find our way back to the song that never fails to amaze me.

Heading to the Louiseville Palace in Kentucky

For the first time in 40 years I lost it on Tattooed Love Boys. For some inexplicable reason I stuck in a bar of 3/4 in a 4/4 section which turned the snare beat on it’s head. The song has a 4 bar base but on the verses the 2nd bar is in 3/4. So the section has count of 15. Still with me?
Basically I shuffled! It doesn’t help when I feel disconnected with regard to my sound. Nuff said!

We travelled the following day to Louisville, Kentucky and played the Palace which turned out to be a great night.

During the afternoon out the back of the venue I saw a Cooper’s hawk catching a starling. These events are a privilege to witness should you be aware enough to know these activities take place in an urban environment as well as in the countryside.

I took a hot bath in my room after the show and we drove through the early hours to Cincinnati. I need these two days to relax and rest.

My computer had arrived back from it’s travels after I had left it on a flight and I spent the following day catching up on the usual digital work.

The FIFA World Cup

The heat on this tour has taken at least four pounds off my usual weight loss, but all is good on that count as long as I sleep and get enough of the right food at the right time.

In a tense last 16 game in the World Cup, we beat Columbia on penalties to go through to a quarter final game against Sweden on Friday the 6th of July. So we are still in it. We just
need to win the next three games, that’s all! Then we can bring home the World Cup trophy.

The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. Uruguay won (check out my blog from when we played in Montevideo earlier this year). FYI, The Jules Rimet Trophy was used until 1974. England won it in 1966.

The latest trophy is imaginatively called the FIFA World Cup Trophy and is made of 18 karat gold with a malachite base. It weighs 6.1 kilograms and is 36.8 centimetres high.

We don’t call this game soccer. It’s called football because we kick the ball with the foot. The Football Association (FA) was formed in England in 1863. American football became popular in the early 20th century with changes brought about by a man named Walter Camp of Yale University and a Hopkins school graduate who is considered to be the father of American football.

More later.

M.D.C.

From West to East

Looking down on Aspen, Colorado. Heading to Philly.

 After the Mountain Winery show I got a message from the former Pretender Robbie McIntosh containing the drunken outtakes by Orson Wells advertising the Paul Masson Wines (made from the grapes grown at this winery). Orson was such an arrogant drunk but quite funny to watch. Always good to hear from Robbie.

We flew east to Philly and I left my computer on the plane and didn’t notice until I unpacked. Disaster! Desktop not backed up! Horror! It was located after several sleepless nights. Should be reunited in Cincinnati.

At the Count Basie show I felt disconnected sound wise and it was hard work for me.
In such theatres the stage is a box attached to the room. I’m at the back so deep in the box. The band is along the joint of the two boxes, and I’m behind that awful Perspex, and behind the line of the amps. I never used to be in this position in the earlier years. Enough said.

It was great to have the All Mighty Senators doing our show at the Fillmore in Silver Spring M.D. A great night with an all standing floor! Although we joined our bus in Philly we took a flight to Atlanta and I had a glass corner room on the 26th floor at the Loews Hotel. The World Cup football was now into the last 16, so come on England. This was our first show with Journey and my friends in Def Leppard, it was at the new Sun Trust ball park. We did our 45 minutes and rocked out. It was hot and it was a joy to see the Defs after our show. Joe Elliot loves Mott the Hoople who I had worked with in 2009 and 2013. Joe would come on and sing a verse on All the Young Dudes. Jimmy Page was a regular at those gigs too! Unfortunately, we lost Pete Overend Watts and Terry ‘Buffin’ Griffin since those shows. Mick Ralphs has since suffered a stroke and I visit him when I can. Life is a day at most. Grab it. Feel it.

So far the whiskers are still on the road!

We traveled by bus to Nashville and gained an hour so, a regular night’s sleep! But man it’s hot now here in Nashville and It’s only 11am. I’m looking forward to seeing Emmylou Harris tonight. I believe she is one of our guests. She’s such a wonderful and gracious lady.
Brazil 2 Mexico 0. Mexico are going home although they caused some great and pleasant upsets!

So the Ryman Auditorium tonight. Love the room.

I will write again soon when I get my computer back! This is sent from my iPhone! None of this back in Jimmy and Pete’s day!!!

M.D.C.

Sent from my iPhone

 

Orson Welles Paul Masson outtakes

If You’re Going to San Francisco...

We spent seven nights at the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill, San Francisco. Getting acclimated to the eight hour time change, we ran up a couple of new songs for our sets across America at SIR studios where Norman the little dog kept us company. The Fairmont Hotel had bee hives near the gardens and I was witness to the honey harvest.

 

This hotel has quite a history. It was hit by the 1906 7.9 earthquake, but the structure survived and was rebuilt. In December 1961, Tony Bennett debuted the epic song ‘I left my heart in San Francisco’ in the Venetian Room. The room just reeks with the atmosphere of those days.

We did our first show at the Masonic three hundred yards away from the hotel and all
was well. It was a welcome change to hear the sound come together at sound check and the evening was great. We were lucky to have Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express opening
the show for us and I had a good ear full of that before I got changed and settled my anticipation of the evening. It’s all about good songs and Chuck has written quite a good selection over the years. After a few stretches and exercises I was warmed up and ready.

The following morning we flew from Oakland to Burbank and went straight to the Arroyo Seco Weekend in Pasadena. It was good to see Clem Burke at the show and swop a few stories.
After the show I saw a few friends and was happy to meet up with Jeff Goldblum and his wife Emilie. We had been on an adventure along with a couple hundred other guests cruising in the South China seas in 2016. Jeff and I had serenaded a few Proboscis Monkeys in the mangroves of Borneo with some old time songs. He was performing at the Arroyo Seco weekend but we had arrived to late to see him due to a delayed flight.

After Jack White and just before Neil Young finished his set we got out of there and I got an early night. The highlight of the day were the Specials who are from Coventry in England. Sadly, Brad died at the end of 2015. We had done some gigs with them in 1979 and they were just great guys to be around. It’s great to see them still doing it.

I was up at 5am to watch the 2nd England game in the World Cup against Panama. We beat them 6 - 1. Then as if by magic, I watched the F1 Grand Prix live from the Paul Ricard Circuit. The Englishman Lewis Hamilton won that one. A great start to the day and a flight from Burbank up to San Jose for our Mountain Winery show in Saratoga.

I sit in my dressing room writing this blog and realise what a privilege it is to do these performances and having done them with one band or another for the past fifty-one years.

Tomorrow we fly to Philly.

M.D.C.

Here We Go Again!

 At the end of April underneath the concrete of the Westway (a major carriageway heading west from Central London) we performed at a PETA gig in the newly appointed club Subteranea . It was surprisingly good even though it was a bit of a squash on the stage. It was both a promotion and a nod to Chrissie’s association with the organisation for the last 30 years. There were balconies above me either side so I could look the audience in the eye. It made a nice change. Everyone was pleased and I quickly disappeared back to my home in the ‘shire’.

 My time off consisted of a lot of physical work which helped keep me in shape. One job of many was shifting and scattering 6 tons of 20mm Hereford stone which helped lift my boots out of the Silurian clay/mud in the barnyard and give me a clean run to my new door. This was hard work but quite satisfying. After some final decisions on the barn build interior, there was a quick scramble to get my bag together, and in a few hours I was at the Heathrow airport hotel ready for next mornings flight to San Francisco.

 A few days previously, I had received a phone call from Johnny Borrell of the band Razorlight about getting some photos done for their new album that I had played on earlier in the year.

The photos were shot at the hotel at Heathrow, as (due to my flight in the morning), we needed an easily available location.

 Johnny told me the album was mixed and mastered and ready to go, so a few pictures were needed to put the finished package together for it’s release.

 

 The flight was uneventful and I dozed a little in between films. One notable film was Michael Caine narrating the film about the sixties called; ‘My Generation’. A must see.

 The sky was clear and blue as we flew over Hudson Bay and down past what was left of Mount St. Helens and on into the Bay Area. Today being the 16th of June and the 36th anniversary of James Honeyman-Scott’s untimely death, I looked down on the icebergs and continued to miss those days whilst enjoying every second of these.

The world cup tournament had started in Russia. This caused most games to be played in the morning hours here in the U.S.A. Good.

Mexico beat Germany 1-0 on the Sunday and England play their first game tomorrow (Monday 18^th).

All to play for.

M.D.C.

Last Show 'Till Summer

'Flying to Philadelphia from Greenville, SC.'

With the overnight tour bus trips behind us, we flew into Philadelphia the one hour from Greenville and enjoyed our last travel day without a show. It wasn’t hard to do as the sun beamed over Philly. A good meal on Rittenhouse Square rounded off the evening and I got a great night’s sleep.

The following day was a 90 min. drive to the Count Basie Theatre and a great night. I took a hot bath back at the hotel and was ready for tomorrows gig at the Tower Theatre.
-

'The Pretenders SOLD OUT' Photo: James Walbourne

There was a Heavyweight Championship fight being held in Cardiff, Wales on that Saturday and the timing was perfect after sound check. It took a while to get a picture as my plans had been thwarted by last minute changes. I managed to see the last six rounds of Antony Joshua taking
a points win over the more than capable New Zealander Joseph Parker. Joshua chose to go the points win route and play it safe but it made the fight an uneventful affair.

'On stage at the Tower Theatre' Photo: Valerie Simadis

The fights coming up in this division are going to heat the whole thing up with the unpredictable Deontay Wilder and the 6 foot 9 inch former champion Tyson Fury coming into the mix. Those fights for Antony Joshua will be a lot more challenging.

The Tower Theatre has quite a history. David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars performed at the Tower after the building had been refurbished following ‘the fire’. That face lift managed to dredge it out of the doldrums of the $1 movie theatre years. A comparatively unknown Genesis played at the venue the same year as indeed the early Pretenders had eight years later. We performed an exceptional show and all was well with the world.
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'Martin gets his own dressing room!'

The following day we flew into the grey of Boston to play the Orpheum. The trip to Boston seemed to pass at a remarkable rate and suddenly, as we arrived, the show was over in a flash. Unfortunately, I suffered from a detachedness that made me question tempos and arrangements and I had to think about what I was doing instead of just doing it. These types of mental states can be hard to deal with but after a hot bath and 6 hours sleep I made my morning tea and had a fruit breakfast.

I woke up in Boston to a fresh fall of snow. After my feelings of reserve and of pacing myself through last nights show I had slept well and felt ready for our final show in Morristown, New Jersey. The stage that night was so cold for me, and I spent half of the show trying to cover up with a towel. I could have done with the heaters I had used on the Stevie tour a year ago in the ice hockey arenas.

As I reached the lobby of the hotel I learned two things. Firstly, we had one of our equipment vehicles in a small altercation with a tree during the drive south from Boston, and secondly, we were to catch the train south and not fly.

The train was a good time to catch up on some computer work, including writing out this blog! When the train joined the coast, the snow around the creeks and the harbours looked tranquil and were now flooded in the beauty of sunlight that subdued and hid the cold darkness of the water.
My train travel fruit plate arrived with the seemingly compulsory salt and pepper. WTF.

'Salt and pepper? WTF?!'

Full of fruit, we traveled into New Jersey and after a good show finished the tour.

We stayed close to JFK and got a few hours sleep before heading to the airport. I didn’t sleep on the plane and quickly got to my car. Within two hours, I was home.

Another tour was finished and the complications of accumulative jet lag and exhaustion took over. It took a difficult week to get to terms with my home and the work going on (or lack of it). Meetings were set and I had to crack the whip and press on with various other matters.

I will let you know what happens in due course. Be kind to yourselves and others.

M.D.C.

The '2nd Castlebar Festival of Music'

Martin Chambers and James Honeyman-Scott at the '2nd Castlebar Festival of Music' in Ireland, 

July 30-August 1st, 1981.

Special thanks to Carole Wardle for these excellent photos!

To read more about the festival, check out this article in the Mayo Advertiser.

http://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/86648/the-woodstock-of-the-west-remembered

Corvus Corax the Sentinel

                              

   
 In Santiago I had purchased a painting and an etching from a night street market. Since the artwork was awkward to carry it was now stored in one of the guitar flight cases. I would see it again at our last show in New Jersey before I flew home.

  
 I rarely buy this sort of stuff but I liked the modern painting and the etching of a Corvus Corax, a Raven which is a bird that is ever present in the conifer woods near my home. The raven is a creature that can tell you all that is going on in the surrounding area if you are patient enough to pay attention and learn to interpret their extensive vocabulary. Nothing gets past the sentinels posted by these family groups.

'La Recoleta Cemetery'

 Upon leaving the gig in Montevideo the heavens opened up and a flashing and crashing storm lit up the whole sky through the night. We had an early start out to the airport the following day and the storm was still surrounding us. Due to the inclement weather, not many flights had managed to get into Montevideo so we were unable to catch our flight.  

 Having checked in, we just hung about for many hours. After about 7 hours it was more than obvious that plan B was to catch the late night flight direct to Córdoba. Originally we were to fly back to Santiago and then get a flight to Córdoba.

'At the Cemetery'

 The small Bombardier jet shook us all the way through the dark skies and got us to Córdoba at 23.20 hrs. We had a 13 hour day at the airport and the crew were scattered somewhere between Santiago and Montevideo. Luckily the following day off helped to get us all back together. The gig went well and before we knew it we were back at the hotel for a busy day tomorrow.

  The 10.15 flight took us to Buenos Aires and we were to play a show later in the day. I have never been a fan of flying on the day of a show. It makes me feel unbalanced but needs must, so the plan was to have a good lunch and a long walk after arriving at the Park Hyatt.

 

 Luckily, I had a friend who had lived in Buenos Aires and had given up an afternoon of riding horses to take me to a very cool restaurant. The weather was wonderful and after I walked around La Recoleta Cemetery. This beautiful cemetery was the final resting place of many presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners and poets. The black marble tomb of the much loved Eva Perón is comparatively modest but is still a rather large piece of prime real estate.

 I took a short siesta in the late afternoon and with no sound check we took to the stage.

 The following day was a 14-hour travel day via Panama again. We crossed the equator once again and lost two of our crew to drink at the airport. They spent the night in the airport and caught up with us in Puerto Rico the following day. I felt for them as I had bought the first round of margaritas but I made the flight ok so I didn’t feel to bad for too long.

M.D.C.

Crossing the Andes Mountains and On to Montevideo

              

  With a throbbing blue knuckle I enjoyed some staggering views of the Andes mountains and the grasslands of Argentina. After a few hours we flew over a little of the South Atlantic and into Montevideo.

Our hotel in Montevideo

  Descending from altitude above the Rio de la Plata, it is easy to understand it is the widest river estuary in the world at nearly 200 km at it’s widest point. The brown muddy Paraná River. drains a huge area into this massive estuary which slowly enters the South Atlantic. From my seat (1F) in front of the aircraft’s wing, it was a grand spectacle.

  This is also the site of an incident at the outbreak of World War II where the marauding German battleship Graf Spee had been looting and sinking the easy pickings of the South Atlantic cargo routes. The pocket battleship was later forced to blow itself up before engaging the gathering British warships at the entrance to the River Plate.

 The skeleton crew, having left the forlorn killing machine before it’s demise, it is alleged that the episode had been politically manipulated by the collusion between the British government and the neutral Uruguay government.

  The hotel was set between the airport and the old town of Montevideo but it took four hours for me to get a room. Both bands and crew were staying in this hotel and my initial room when I entered could have still been occupied. I didn’t hang about to find out. There was a room service tray half finished on the desk and the bedding was disturbed. I was offered another room that was fine but for the feedback noise coming from the bathroom. I retired to the bar and told them to let me know when all was sorted.

Uruguay won the first ever World Cup here in 1930! 

 Two hours later I went back to reception to find out if anything had been done. I rattled my sabre and within thirty minutes all was well. 

   The first World Cup tournament was held in Montevideo in 1930 and the Estadio Centenario where the final was held and where Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 was our venue for the evening. I had bought a football so we had a kick about on the pitch that was surrounded by the light blue seating. We were told not to, but we are musicians and sometimes are hard of hearing. After a few minutes we were told to ‘clear off’.

  It turned out to be a great gig despite me pulling a thigh muscle passing the ball to James Walbourne in the afternoon.

 Tomorrow we have two flights to get to Córdoba in Argentina. It was going to be a long day. What I didn’t know was how long!

M.D.C.