Terminal 5 & Nassau Coliseum

 This latest North American tour was one of the hardest ever. After rehearsals in Reno primarily to put a show together for the Royal Albert Hall on April 10^th, we kicked off well but it wasn’t long before I caught something from the cold arenas we were playing, and soon we were all sick. Even the normally bullet proof voice that Chrissie possesses was in trouble. We ended up cancelling five shows overall. This is unprecedented in our history. I battled on against the cold drafts that distracted me and covered up best I could, resorting to wearing my robe whilst playing. Even with heaters behind me it was hard work.

 We ended up getting back to 85% for the Terminal 5 show in Manhattan on April the 3rd. When we arrived for the sound check for that one, we walked into the gig to see our sound man Pete Bartlett on Bass, my drum tech Davey Latter on drums, and John McEnroe on guitar playing ‘Purple Haze’!! It was a great way to start proceedings in NYC.

Photo: Valerie Simadis

  I had invited the legendary Seymour Stein who signed us to his Sire Records label all those years ago along with The Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna (well three out of four ain’t bad). He was in attendance above stage left. He also hung out with us backstage after the show along with my good friends Johnny Mc, eminent photographer Bob Gruen, my former record breaking DJ friend Anita Gevinson and many more. It was a night to remember, especially as I may have been the only one who was aware that exactly thirty seven years earlier Chrissie was arrested by the cops in Memphis, TN (and thrown in clink for the night!!).

  On the 5th of April, we flew up to Manchester, NH for the

penultimate Stevie show.

Photo: Valerie Simadis

We were now all feeling a lot better after our illnesses and psychological trauma of letting down the fans. On the return flight to the Nassau Coliseum the weather was very bad and our flight was delayed for two hours. After a further delay, our trusty tour manager booked a private jet to get us to the show on time. The aircraft was small and the captain looked sober so we took off into the ‘whiteout’ for forty minutes and arrived safely just in time for a brief sound check.

After Chrissie and Stevie did the duet, which was the third song in the set, Stevie invited us lads onto the stage to take a bow because it was the final North American show. Stevie is truly a great girl. It was a pleasure kissing her in front of 10,000 people and thanking her band(and of course a special thank you to Ricky Peterson who helped us out on keyboards for a few shows.) Stevie loved my 24 karat ‘Vans’ I had worn for the shows!!
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Then it was back to the hotel for three hours sleep before our flight to the UK.
A special thank you to all our fans that came out to see us in North America on this troublesome tour. My humblest apologies for the cancelled shows and all your inconvenience, but over thirty nine years to have only ever cancelled a total of seven shows, I guess it’s a good average.We will always do our best for you.

Big love and thank you.
M.D.C.

Down Time

From the morning of Thursday the 16th of March, I had felt the onset of a cold. The gigs were fine but I was feeling the cold breeze from behind me during the performances, some of which were ice hockey arenas with a huge block of ice in the room!

I gradually got worse and by the show in Raleigh on the 19th, I was doing all I could to keep from going under. Hot baths and showers were the order of the day, but by Orlando on the 21st it had become very tricky. I was so cold that night I wore my robe during the show, something I had never done before. 

I remember that night as we came off stage telling Chrissie to 'cover up'. When you come off stage you always feel invincible and bullet proof, but that is the time the cold/virus/infection can jump on you. Sure enough, the following night Chrissie was too ill to sing and we haven’t done a show since (despite attempting a soundcheck).

So I have spent a lot of time staring at a pile of bubbles in the bath and contemplating the next gig. It’s a strange and unsettling feeling being on tour and not being able to play. It results in too much time in hotel rooms going nuts.

Now Chrissie has a confirmation of her infection and with regards to her latest blog, I’m sure we can pull through this unprecedented period of inactivity on the road.Mark my words, It’s a lot harder for the singer than the drummer to busk it. 

Thank you all for your understanding and support. 

MDC

New Orleans

 As the little jet rose swiftly away from the runway at Louis Armstrong International Airport, I looked back at New Orleans and could quite easily pick out where we had stayed and the memories of last nights mayhem with the boys in Bourbon Street. 
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As you can see in the photo the evening started with tremendous promise, but the following morning in the sunshine with the prospect of two flights ahead of us, the story of what transpired shortly after I left my band of merry men became groaningly obvious. Some of our number were ‘never againing’ again.

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 Lately the shows have been very enjoyable and I look forward to the show tonight in Columbus, Ohio.

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  On other matters, my computer had died a few days before and now here in Columbus I had time to go to a store to extract much needed info. from the desktop and install in my new device. 

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It is currently snowing heavily. I hope the roads don’t freeze tonight for our eight hour drive S.E. to Raleigh.

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------------------------------               Take care on the roads . . . . .                        

    M.D.C. ---     --------- --------------

                                              

Portland,Oregon

Memories of Portland, OR. where I stretched my legs around the Japanese gardens!

 

 The boys and I decided to do some of our own shows as a trio.

 So we did some promo shots and then thought...nah!, all those screaming girls and the smell of urine as we played.....nah! And the name...3P....nah! 
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                                                                                                       M.D.C

Temecula, CA

 At last we are in the land of palm trees here in San Diego. The show was a lot of fun last night and my gold 'Vans' seem to be holding up OK. I love the old buildings here in San Diego. The contrast in architectural periods is evident, it's wonderful still to see.

 Tonight we play the first of our own shows at the Pechanga Theatre in Temecula, CA. This will be 1 of 5 shows that are in place to give us a chance to run the songs we will play at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We play the Royal Albert Hall the 10th of April, just 72 hours after we land back in the UK. There will be songs in the show we have never played before and some we haven't played for a very long time. Will we remember how to play these songs? I guess we will find out tonight!! I'm looking forward to whatever happens. 

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M.D.C.

Doughnuts!

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 Took the Mustang for a trot on the roof of the car park during a snowstorm.Well, I'm taking it back in the morning and I do love a doughnut whilst going for a spin in between the lamp stands! Of course I turned off the traction control!!
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M.D.C.

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Rehearsals in Reno

  Rehearsals are nearing completion here in Reno, NV and we are just about ready to start the second leg of this 15 week tour of the USA.

 I have a new drum kit built by DW Drums whom I have to congratulate for delivering on time. The kit is very similar to the Eddie Ryan drum kit I brought over in 1980. On the top of the bass drum is the Hereford flag with the lion (passant guardant), the River Wye, and of course the Hereford bull. It is repeated on the bottom of the bass drum front with my initials and the date in roman numerals. 
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Quick quiz for you:

Q. Have you noticed that my initials are Roman numerals? What number do they represent? 
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M.D.C.