Memories from the British Tour, 2017

   On Friday the 13th I drove up to Manchester and followed the route my family had driven many times through the 50’s and 60's. Back then, there were no motorways in the west, so the A49 was the way to go. This journey was made in various cars through the years, but the first car I remember well was an Austin 7 Ruby.

  It must have been quite old but could still manage to travel at 47mph downhill with the wind behind it. The journey would take five or six hours or so, which translated to about a week and a half for an eight year old boy! It smelled bad and the constant cigarette smoke from the front of the car would often result in me throwing up over my brother!

The Austin 7 Ruby

 It was interesting to see the names as I passed familiar spots along the journey like, Prees Heath and the swing bridge at Warrington that allowed the smaller ships or barges full of goods to haul inland onto Manchester and probably Birmingham. This was part of the Manchester ship Canal. Today the journey was done amongst a lot more traffic in barely three hours.

  I drove back that night negotiating my way on the A49 to south of the M6 road works and arrived home in two hours fifty minutes.

  The following day was Portsmouth on the South Coast. In the early 70's my band Karakorum had played the Tricorn Club, which was run by the legendary radio DJ John Peel. In the afternoon, he arrived at the top of the tall car park block where the Tricorn Club was in his short wheel base Land Rover. We played football with him - a bit of a kick about before load in.

  During our show at around 10pm that night, Marc Bolan and Mickey Finn had walked past us to come and see John. They had finished the screaming teeny bop show with

T. Rex at around 9pm and were now going out to enjoy the evening with Peel.

  The next day was a gig in Birmingham, and in the late afternoon across the canal from the back of our gig was a band playing in a pub. They were knocking out Zeppelin and Sabbath songs, and were great. Chrissie was diggin' it and it was a nice distraction that killed the time very well. Just by the sound of it you knew you were in Birmingham! 

Photo by Alan Bayley

 The 17th took me to Liverpool and then the final show on the 18th to the Oxford New Theatre. This is where I had seen the very first Bad Company show in 1974. I had been staying at guitarist Mick Ralph's house in London whilst his flat mate (keyboard player Morgan Fisher) was off touring with Mott the Hoople in the States. It was a welcomed relief from sleeping rough in a van at the time.

 On the 18^th, my old friend and photographer Alan Bayley had come to take some pictures of me. It was high time I had some promo shots for my drum manufacturer DW, and other general shots. Alan takes care of the preparation of my old pictures for the PRETENDERMC.COM photo archive site. We had a photo session at sound check and then he took some live shots of me.

 These are the sort of memories that remain with me during the closing dates on the British tour. 

Now off to Dubai and on to the Antipodean Tour.  We had played well and consistently in the UK but little did I know of what was to follow.

                                                                               M.D.C.

Goodbye Dubai

  Monday 23rd October

   Five days after the last British date, I drove to Heathrow to stay the night at the airport before our lunchtime flight to Dubai. After the seven hour Qantas flight that passed us through a quick afternoon and evening, we arrived close to midnight into the heat of the emirate. It didn't start well for me.

  Upon arrival at the hotel, my main bag was not in the back of any of our ground transportation vehicles. It turned out that I had not put it behind the vehicle and had taken a very cavalier attitude to the loading of said luggage. It had disappeared. I went back the airport the following morning to have a search for it and check with left or lost luggage, etc. I was dropped off by taxi at the wrong terminal and took a train to the correct one.

No sign at all.

  At the very end of that day, our tour manager had a call from a hotel the other side of Dubai. He asked if a black Patagonia bag was anything to do with our party, having seen the number on the tag. YES. The bag arrived just after midnight.

  In the intense afternoon heat of the 26th of October we did a sound check at the Irish Village outdoor gig. We had played the venue before and the procedure was not a surprise to us. Opening the show was the lovely Heather Small from the band M People followed by the guys from Aswad. We closed the show.

   Right from the top of our set, cameras were raised high and photographing and filming ensued. This was over the top, as the usual notices were posted to please respect the band’s wishes for no photos or filming. The security did nothing at all to make it obvious that this was disrespectful. Some audience members even tried to help us by telling the more persistent offenders to stop. There is no doubt that there were some people who enjoyed annoying us. Then, even though it's a Muslim country, Chrissie let the persistence have it with both barrels, but it did no good. We did our best for just over an hour and then the organisers were going to drag us off. James held them off for a few seconds, then Chrissie walked off and we followed her. 

  I said 'Well done' to Chrissie, and a man not far from me gave me some grief. At first I ignored him. The situation was tense to say the least. I didn't know the man hurling abuse was the license holder for the gig!  

He followed me for some yards away from the stage with security guards flanking him. I didn't know who he was, and then he crossed the line and called me something I didn't like. I immediately spun round and lunged towards him. I couldn't work out why nobody was stopping him. By now our tour manager had stopped me from moving as the guy continued to abuse me. I wanted his name but wasn't clued in to the fact that our tour manager had tried to keep him sweet for the last 45 minutes. The license holder had done nothing to help the situation. A person in that position should have tried to do something constructive during the show, rather than behave like a stupid youth at the end of it. Now he was pushing towards me and goading me to be as stupid as he was and calling me more names.

  Pope Francis was reported recently as being critical of a mobile phone being held aloft at a mass in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The whole point is lift up your hearts, not your phones.

 In our musical performance, each show is unique. I certainly don't play each show the same. So, be there if you can and partake of the evening. Be a part of each song’s creation on the night. Spot the mistakes!

 After the show we had a long chat about it, but my main concern was getting out of the country. What would happen at the airport, etc.

The following day we uneventfully boarded the Qantas flight to Perth at 10am arriving in Perth WA in the early hours of the following day. An eleven hour flight.

 Another odd thing happened in Perth a few days later…

 M.D.C.

The Things You Find...

 

Martin doing a 'photobomb' before it was cool. 

Enter a witty caption or a possible scenario below, as we have no idea what is going on in this photograph.😂

Hammersmith

 After the Nottingham gig I had traveled home to Herefordshire and took a day off at home. We were all now starting to feel the workload of the tour.

                                     

 Cardiff was just over an hour away for me by road, so after the gig despite the M4 motorway being closed I was home in no time. I love the little button in my car that say's 'take me home'! It's good for when the vehicle is forced to go 'off-piste' in an area that is unfamiliar, but it can be fooled and give false information. More on that later.

 The following day I crossed the country to the picturesque 'Centre of Learning' that is Cambridge. Like a lot of these gigs, I had played the Corn Exchange in the very early seventies. In the past, the Corn Exchange was where various cereal grains were used and traded as a commodity. By the 19th century, it all became centralised and the buildings were then used for other purposes (in this case, a concert venue).

 The gig was standing downstairs and consequently more raucous than most. Afterwards, I drove myself and Carwyn to the hotel near the legendary old Hammersmith Odeon. The name has changed here a few times over the years, but it will always be the Hammersmith Odeon to me and many others. 

 It's always a challenge to make the London shows as good as possible. It feels like a home gig, and at Hammersmith on the 8th of October 2017 we all felt we had played a blinder. It was a very fulfilling gig which was very satisfying for me, as my good friend Roger Taylor was in attendance. When any notable drummer is in the audience, especially Roger from the band Queen, it is extra special for me personally. All was well.

 We had a day off, then a drive down to Brighton to play the Dome (a gig set behind the Brighton Pavilion or the Royal Pavilion). This building was erected as the seaside residence of George Prince of Wales who became prince regent in 1811. The prince regent became George IV shortly after and employed his favoured architect John Nash to finish the building with an Indian Hindustan style. 

  After the Brighton gig I drove across England to Bristol. The show the following day was at the Colston Hall where I first played in 1971 with my band Karakorum. We supported the founding father of British blues, Alexis Korner. I had been introduced to him when I was at a gig in 1968 where he introduced me to the band Free. The bass player of that band was younger than me! Andy Fraser was 15 years old at the time. Paul Kossoff (gtr) Simon Kirke (dms) and Paul Rodgers on vocals. A great band with the greatest name.

 Chris Thomas, who produced the first three Pretenders albums came to the Colston Hall in Bristol and had also been to the show in Hammersmith. He remarked that it was a great pleasure to see the evolution of the band over four decades. Chris holds a special place for us all and has been a good friend all these years. 

 Well, I am currently in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and I am on stage in two hours, so I will sign off for now.

  I will continue with the catch up of the British tour when I get to Perth in Western Australia in just over 24 hours.

 Thank you all for reading my timeline. See some of you soon in Australia!

M.D.C.

Edinburgh and Cardiff

  We, the band, had an enjoyable journey by train up to Scotland heading north via the East Coast route. We followed the sea for many miles bypassing many interesting villages around many estuaries. One of the villages was Berwick-upon-Tweed that is near the border. Eventually we turned west at Burnmouth and headed for Glasgow.

 The shows were fueled by people singing along and making the stage their own. There's nothing like a British tour. Edinburgh was much the same at the Usher Hall and we found ourselves trying to balance the set list for the venues and audiences. Not an easy balance at all.
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 It was in the evening of the day off in Edinburgh that I followed my feelings into a Hard Rock Café. It's not the sort of place I go into to be honest, but something tugged me and it wasn't just boredom. I thought there might be a guitar on the wall that I would know. 

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After a short talk with the manager about a warehouse full of celebrity guitars, I wondered why I was in this lonely place. Then I saw it.
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It was me old mucker Pete Farndon's pink Hamer bass confirmed by the words below:

Pete Farndon. The Pretenders. 
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Oddly enough it moved me back into the early eighties and it bothered me. Why? I'm not really sure. But I wasn't there long.

  Nottingham was an odd show but a lot of fun. Chrissie likened the show to playing on a cruise ship. We all agreed it was an accurate description a combination of the venue and the shape of the set list. A friend of mine who was in his mid twenties saw the show and said it was the best thing he had ever seen! Mind you, it was the first music show he had ever been to. Yeah, I know.
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 Next we played Cardiff in Wales, the home town of Carwyn Ellis. Cardiff is only an hour and a bit away from my home. Late at night, that is. For the show, I wore the red Doc Martens and the red Mott the Hoople 'Brain Capers' T shirt. Red for the dragon of Wales, but also for Verden Allen (Mott the Hoople's keyboard player, Hammond C3) who was in attendance that night. 
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Note of interest: Verden was in a band with Jimmy Cliff in the early 60's. When crossing the Alps in a van, Jimmy shouted for the drive to pull over and stop. Jimmy got out and rolled and danced in the snow. He had never seen snow before! Great, huh?
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A lot of memories hit me on this tour and the whole band felt quite exhausted as we headed to Hammersmith in London. Remember, James Walbourne was doing the opening spot as well with The Rails! Quality.

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M.D.C.

Newcastle

 Photo: Valerie Simadis

 Well it's been hectic touring Europe. On the Spanish leg we seemed to jump up into another gear and had everyone dancing in the aisles at the Madrid Opera house.
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 The festivals were fun especially in Ireland where I caught up with B.P. Fallon and spent a few hours talking and playing Tambourine on a track for him. A special guy.

  We are now in Newcastle in North East England starting our British Tour. The first show is tonight.

 
On the wall outside our dressing room of the roaring Newcastle City Hall is a poster of Mott the Hoople. I worked with them on a British tour almost exactly four years ago. 

This is the venue where Motörhead recorded the live album, 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'! So when I say it's a roaring gig, I mean roaring! The Geordies love their rock music!

More reports will follow as we head up to Scotland tomorrow to play Glasgow and Edinburgh.

I hope to see some of you soon.  

M.D.C.

 Fun at the Newcastle City Hall. Opening night of British Tour 2017. Left, Pete Bartlett, our front sound. And some chick!

Forty-eight Years Ago

 It was 1969 that I had last been at the Isle of Wight Festival, and on that day it was Pete Townshend sitting where I am sitting now. The Who were on stage in one hour. 

 On landing, the Who's helicopter rotor blade hit the corner of a canvas marquis and tore a huge strip out of the side. I hoped our landing would be less eventful.

I was ready to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival.  

 More reports from the Iberian Peninsula coming soon! 

M.D.C.