In Conclusion...

So we made it.....over 7000 miles covering the length and breadth of the country and we're all still in one piece. It seems like we've played everywhere; from the pokey Victorian theaters blessed with glorious histories to the contemporary art centres and their excellent facilities such as hot water and mirrors.

It seems, in retrospect, that we started in the blustery winds of Scotland, enjoyable but every so often thrown off guard and we ended in the sunshine of East England, confident, skillful, yet ready to sunbathe for at least six and a half days. I've learnt many things on this tour...not to be afraid of people from Scotland, Brummie's can effectively communicate given the right encouragement and my bladder can withstand the most insane pressure for at least 45 minutes. My thanks to a certain someone for the advice not to 'wee behind a curtain as the stage slopes and it will head towards the audience'.

I tip my cowboy hat to all that came to the show and that have followed us on this blogsite. It was always nice to see a friendly face; in fact, with the credit crunch biting, it was nice to see any face at all. The older generation certainly stood up to the recent economic climate, supporting a music style that could easily disappear if not supported. I may dye my hair purple in support to you.

Although I can't speak for the others, I sense it has given us all a renewed vigour to pursue our own creative projects. Lee is building himself a home studio in which no small measure of genius will flow.....Dave always has a handful of projects on the go but shall be certainly donning his producer hat aplenty this year as well as getting his own band on the road.....Cosy is off to Sweden with his folk-rock band (his kit already en route hence the change of kit colours for Lowestoft)....Willy is USA bound to promote his great album and hopefully record more....and me? Well, I'm planning on concentrating on updating blog sites, this having already taken me the best part of a morning.

To the next time,

Rich x x

Lowestoft- last night

The last date of the 2009 tour was in Lowestoft. It was hard enough to get going again after 2 nights off, but what made it complicated was the arrangements to get all the equipment back to Northamptonshire and to Southern Ireland. I'd hope to have my new van ready with the seats fitted so that Cozy, Lee, Richard and myself could travel together but we could get the extra seats fitted in time. So..
Richard drove his car with Lee and Cozy on board while Sue and I tooke the van. The satnav took us off the beaten track through deepest Suffolk and we eventually arrived about 15 minutes after the others. It was a sunny afternoon, but very cold in the easterly wind as we went to look at the sea. (when you live as far from the sea as I do, one takes every opportunity)
After a quick soundcheck we were ready to go. Once the show started it was apparent that Nina was struggling with her voice. More than 30 shows in less than six weeks, with all the travelling and all kinds of weather had taken its toll.
We had to cut one song and Nina changed some vocal lines to minimise the effect. During the interval we arranged to change a couple of things and the second half passed without the audience noticing that anything was different. It was a good end to a good tour. All seven of the touring party got on well with no personality clashes; we turned up on time every time, got on well with the theatre management in all the venues and performed before many thousand Patsy fans.
We had a few equipment problems but nothing that the audience could hear (except when the mixing desk desk locked up and muted every channel at the Harlow show. Nina solved that one by singing unaccompanied until the PA was reset- to huge applause from the audience.
Anyway, once the house had cleared we set about packing everything away, only this time we needed to separate the equipment to go into different vans for the journey home. Once everything was loaded we said our goodbyes- until the next time!

Bromsgrove- Thursday

It was a miserable journey through rain and spray up the M1, along the M6 and down the M42 to Bromsgrove. We arrived at our normal time to discover that we couldn't get in until 4.30 as the theatre was being used as a cinema. I sat in the dressing room and finished my book while the others went down into the town.
Chris the techie was very helpful once we were able to unload and we set up and soundchecked in double quick time.
The audience soon got into the swing of things and joined in when asked (some nights they don't wait to be asked)and we had a good show.
Friday and Saturday night's shows have fallen victim to the recession so I was dropped off on the way through to Northampton as I will be taking my own van on the last night of the show. Mike, Willie and Nina will take the other van back to Ireland via South Wales and I will bring all our equipment back to Northampton.
With one day to go we've travelled over 7000 miles in about six weeks and I didn't realise how tired I was until I had a day off.

Harlow- Wednesday

One to forget. A host of technical and other problems meant that we were very stressed when we went on stage. The audience were very enthusiastic, even when we lost our PA just before the interval. Nina won the audience over by singing "Amazing grace" unacompanied while Mike reset the mixing desk and she received one of the loudest cheers of the tour so far.
The rest of the evening passed without incident and the audience went home happy. We loaded the van and drove around town looking for a takeaway. (No-one had a chance to eat pre-show) I can honestly say that the meal we ate was the worst we've encountered in many a long tour. It was so bad we had to stop at South Mimms to buy more food and coffee to take away the taste.
Definitely one to forget

Rotherham- Tuesday

An enjoyable show at the Civic Theatre, which is a converted church just off the town centre. Steve, Andy and Sam looked after us and made us very welcome. John flew over from Belfast to see the show again, as did Pat McClusky and his wife Sandra. Pat was our special guest singer at the show in Dudley, when Willie was unavailable due to other commitments.
When the show was over and we'd packed everything away, Sam excelled herself by directing us to a chippy along the road to the M18. We'd never have found it without her directions. Thanks Sam.

Cozy Dixon- man of mystery

Every now and then we catch a glimpse of a mysterious figure dressed in a striped sweatshirt. Could it be Cozy Dixon- man of mystery.
We saw him at Cannock making a getaway with a bag of swag, and later we saw him in Dudley trying to play the drums with his feet.

Is this the same Cozy Dixon who was seen polishing his drum kit in his hotel room?

Richard Arterton- man of music

Our keyboard player Richard also plays guitar in a band called Similar Jones. He treated us to a version of an REM number at Lee's Dad's wake last week. He also played bass on a couple of songs before ending up on drums. Is there no end to this man's talent?

Christchurch- Sunday

We had a sunny and trouble free trip down to the south coast. The hardest part was finding the venue. Justin from the theatre crew guided us through the one way systen to the stage door and after unloading and setting up we went for a stroll down to the harbour cum marina. It was a lovely afternoon, so different from the day before.
The audience numbers were down a bit ( They've had a lot of different shows there in the last couple of weeks) but we played well (even though I managed to wear the wrong shirt for the second half- it must be my age or I'm going colour blind)
Monday is another day off as it's a bank holiday. I wonder if I can get the grass cut?

Cromer- Saturday

What a wet and miserable bank holiday! We had to cope with torrential rain and a traffic jam on the way to Cromer, but managed to arrive in reasonable time. Alex and Nathan, the Theatre staff were on hand to help us unload and move our kit down to the end of the pier. Many thanks to them for that.
We decided to use the house PA but our own monitors (something we've done several times on the tour so far). All seemed well until the PA went off during the first number. The audience took it all in good humour and we restarted the show and had a trouble free show after that.
We got away in good time but struggled to find our way home in the thick fog that covered Norfolk. The satnav came in useful once again.
What is it about the seaside and bank holiday weekends?

Nina Dusky

Here are a few pictures of Nina that were taken at the Shrewsbury concert- the one where the camera was left behind.

Good Friday- day off

Good Friday was a day off so I arranged to collect my camera from Shrewsbury. It took a bit of arranging but the Theatre Severn management kindly sent my camera to another venue in the town for me to collect. Sue and I drove over and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours exploring the town with all its ancient wooden framed buildings. A lovely town and one I'd happily return to to explore further.
Here's a photo or two from the camera showing the venue.

Dunstable- Thursday

Who'd a thought it? The best night of the tour so far. A good sized audience, all enthusiastically clapping cheering and signing along to all the songs. AND the band played a blinder! Who could want for anything more?
Thanks to Steve and Nathan for the backstage assistance. And what a backstage! We backed the van in, unloaded what we needed and left the van parked next to the stage. How impressive is that?
Richard's mum came to see the show for the third time, along with Richard's partner Honey and other members of his family. He's got a cold or manflu or something so having such a good audience response made him feel so much better.
Spare a thought for Nina's husband who travelled up from South Wales to see the show, but was caught up in the worst gridlock for years as everyone and his uncle tried to get away for the weekend. They all chose to drive down the M4 & M5 and he didn't arrive at the theatre until after the show ended!
Day off today followed by Cromer Pier Pavilion on Saturday and the Regent in Christchurch on Sunday. Hope the weather brings the crowds out.
Oh, and the grass still needs cutting.

St Helens- Wednesday

A frustrating day for us all. First of all there was the phone calls to try and locate my camera. They have it but it's going to be an extra journey to collect it. We tried to work out if we could divert to Shrewsbury on the way to St Helens but it wasn't possible in the time we had.
Then we were told by the agent that we couldn't gain access to the venue until 5.00 which was a blessing in disguise. We've done the show so many times that we can almost set up in our sleep. However the traffic on the M6 was terrible again and while we arrived at the venue on time (having driven down a one way street the wrong way) Mike was caught up in an accident and didn't arrive until an hour before the show. We had a quick sound check and played the show before a small but very enthusiastic audience. Thanks go to Mike, Mike, Mike, Tony and Jordan for making us very welcome.
We then set off on a trip around St Helens looking for a takeaway and found one after about ten minutes driving in circles. Then we went looking for a petrol station and finally we set off for home.
After the traffic chaos following the Shrewsbury concert where it took an hour to drive from Spaghetti junction to the M42, with traffic from the M5 and M6 funnelling into one lane, and then to drive along for mile after mile with no work being carried out......!!!!
Anyway, we left the M6 at junction 15 and took the A50 to the M1 and home. I was glad to let Richard drive that stretch and I had a doze in the passenger seat.
This was the toughest day of the tour so far. Nothing specific, just a load of frustration really.

Shrewsbury- Tuesday

A good show at a brand new venue. Highly enjoyable and thanks to Steve and his crew for making it so.
We had a bit of a tour around Shrewsbury in order to find it because the postcode we'd been given was for the old venue and that closed in February, but the sight of the brand-new Theatre Severn across the bridge was impressive to say the least.
Our executive producer Sandy Kelly flew over from Ireland to see the show and she gave it the seal of approval. However, amid all the fuss we managed to leave the camera behind and so there won't be any photos for the next couple of shows.
To add insult to injury we were caught up in a traffic jam on the M6 and took over an hour to drive from Spaghetti Junction to the M42. Two lanes were coned off for road works and when we finally drove through there were no signs of activity!
Grrrrrr!

Monday- Lee's father's wake

Lee's father passed away a few days ago and the funeral service took place at the Crematorium, followed by a get together at a pub in Gayton, near Northampton.
The band turned up to offer Lee support and we played a few songs.
It was great to let rip and play some different songs and play different instruments. Willie played drums for most of the set but Richard (our keyboard player) demonstrated his versatility on guitar (& lead vocals), bass and drums. Mike played bass and I sang and played rhythmn guitar.
When not touring, Lee and Richard play in Fred Chase's band and he joined us on stage for a few songs
Marian (aka Nina) sang a great version of "River deep mountain high" and the set ended with Marian and Fred singing "Brown Eyed Girl"
I'm certain that Lee's dad would have enjoyed his send off.

Hunstanton- Sunday

We arrived in Hunstanton in mid-afternoon and the town was packed with visitors enjoying the first warm and sunny Sunday of the year.
Our drummer Cozy had another engagement so Willie and Chris shared drumming duties again.
Thanks to Jason & Frankie for helping with the setup and doing the lights.
Day off on Monday.

More Camberley pictures

South Shields- Friday

It was a long drive. There were traffic holdups and the roads were very busy so we didn't arrive until about 4.45 (about an hour later than we anticipated)
Ali and her team were very helpful in getting the gear into the theatre and we set up in good time and then did the sound check without the customary one hour wait.
The weather was bright but cold and the theatre was right next to the Tyne. I took some photos and watched a woman negotiate the cobblestones in her 4-inch stilettos as she entered the theatre. The show was amost a sell out and everyone was determined to have a good time, singing along to all the songs and joining in the banter.
My friend Bernea came to see the show and loved every minute. I must admit we were rocking!
We had a long drive back home but it's much easier at night when the roads are clearer.
Unfortunately we had to cancel Saturday's show due to poor ticket sales but each of us can use the time well. The grass needs cutting.

Camberley- Thursday

Another cold and foggy start but bright and sunny afternoon as we drove down the M1, M25 and M3 to Camberley. Our sat-nav sent us to the wrong street but we soon got that sorted.
John and the team at the theatre were most helpful and as I recounted how we'd had some great lighting effects on the tour so far and that the pictures were on this blogsite his eyes lit up. The challenge was taken up and he rose to it with style.
Another good show with an enthusiastic audience. Thanks very much and we look to coming back some time.

Swindon- Wednesday

Spring is finally here. After a cold and misty start it brightened up as we drove to Swindon. Once again we made good time and had the gear on stage before Michael and the others arrived. There's no dedicated parking spot at the Wyvern Theatre so we had to pay £3.60 to park the van!
The show went really well. A bigger crowd, some girls night out parties and everyone intent on having a good time. It made all the difference. Cozy's brother Brian came to see the show and he enjoyed it. We're back on track.

Tewkesbury- Tuesday

Monday was a day off and I spent the day updating this blog, answering emails etc and just lazing around. We drove over to Tewskesbury and arrived in good time. Smiffy and his team made us very welcome and we were soon ready to play. One feature of any tour is the amount of time spent hanging around and this tour is no exception. We sat in the dressing room playing songs on my guitar and listening to CDs until curtain up.
I don't know if it was the day off, or Lee's bereavement but we were a little below par and nothing we tried lifted us. The crowd was quiet as well so it was all a bit subdued. If I recall correctly, the other Tuesday nights have been a bit quieter than the other nights, so maybe that's it.
Cozy played a different vintage drum kit for a change. This one is blue and white and may well be the kit used by Mud's drummer in the 1970s.
We made good time packing up- once again thanks to the stage crew for their help.
Next stop Swindon