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NOVEMBER 6th .. Michael Schenker Fest at Birmingham. I’ve just got back home at 1.30 am, buzzing from the gig and the coffee so i’ll be up for a while yet. Another great benefit of retirement, it really doesn’t matter what time or even if i get to bed tonight.

I’ve seen the Schenkerfest twice now, this time all 4 vocalists performed. Gary Barden was the first MSG vocalist and i can remember watching the band at a packed out City Hall in Sheffield, probably in 1981. Barden, Schenker, Raymond, Glen and Cozy Powell .. what a band. That band was fantastic, and we were all so young .. my mates and i were still a teenagers it was that long ago. If it wasn’t for the fact that none of us barely had any money i could even convince myself that life was great back then. So Barden brings back all the great memories and the first two MSG albums were the best. Unfortunately time hasn’t been kind to Barden’s voice .. he hasn’t really got a voice left to be honest so he can’t do justice to all that great material.

Graham Bonnett was in MSG for a very short time .. thrown out of the band for exposing himself to the audience. I always find that funny, maybe i shouldn’t but it makes me laugh. Assault Attack was an awful album but Dancer was good tonight .. or maybe my good mood got the better of me. McCauley did a lot of UFO material this time round, which is a shame because his MSG material is really good. And Doogie White is brilliant, a Ronnie James Dio clone maybe but brilliant nonetheless. It’s a bit silly when all 4 guys are on stage singing but i don’t particularly buy tickets for a gig expecting a serious night out .. it was silly, it was fun. I enjoyed singing, cheering and clapping along and i’ve got a big silly smile on my big silly face.

Michael Schenker was awesome. I was lucky enough to be standing in front of him for Rock Bottom and my buddy Martin thought his playing was that good, it was like listening to Strangers in the Night. I’m not so sure but Schenker is definitely one of the very best !!

OCTOBER 29th .. Saxon & FM at the Roundhouse

OCTOBER 1st .. A couple of weeks ago my ex wife Linda visited, staying over for the weekend. In return she invited me to her house in the Lake District which by all accounts is a beautiful part of England. Unfortunately the invitation coincided with the final Soft Cell concert. Over a coffee at Costa Linda told my eldest daughter that “ your Dad can’t visit us cos he’s got Soft Cell “. I was fascinated by the reaction of my 28 year old daughter as the expression on her face changed completely and she quite obviously shuffled further away. I told her that Soft Cell wasn’t a fuckin’ disease but a synthpop duo from the North of England !!

On the day everything was running perfectly .. Worlds End pub, Poppies fish n’ chips, Camden Market to buy a couple of bootlegs and back to the Worlds End for another beer and to celebrate our Ryder Cup victory. Cue the tube train to the O2 .. my buddy Martin, with complete disregard for his age and the 6 pints of strong lager that he’d downed sprinted towards the tube and leapt through the open doorway. Seconds later I bounced off the closing door. Even though a helpful bystander had put his foot in the door to prevent it from shutting it refused to automatically re open and the tube left me behind. No matter, I made my way to the O2 keeping a lookout for Martin just in case he was waiting at the change of lines. In fact I didn’t see him again until the concert began, he had spent the best part of an hour travelling up and down the Northern line looking for me. I’m really pleased that I’ve got a mate who cares that much but a little concerned that he didn’t expect a 56 year old man who had previously lived and worked in London for several years to make his own way to the O2. In fact it seemed to be the unlikeliest possibility that he had imagined !!

And so to Soft Cell’s swansong .. The concert was excellent, Dave Ball is a genius and Marc Almond was born to be a showman. We enjoyed a superb blend of clever pop songs, sleaze and driving synth beats spread over several hours. Very surprised, but extremely pleased to hear What & Where The Heart Is. The stage show was also out of the top drawer. I’m an old fuckin’ Rocker but I know a class act when I see one.

#soft cell

SEPTEMBER 29th .. The tickets for the From The Jam gig at Rock City have arrived. November and December are traditionally among the busiest times of the year for watching gigs and if things go to plan it looks like this year will follow the pattern.

#fromthejam

SEPTEMBER 21st .. Sham 69 are playing in Wolverhampton on November 23rd. I’ve been to the venue before and I doubt that it will be sold out but I bought the tickets today. They are being supported by the Angelic Upstarts

SEPTEMBER 20th .. As expected The Stranglers have announced a tour in March. After checking that the dates don’t clash I’m okay to tack on two more UFO shows and we will also see The Stranglers at Rock City and Brixton.

The two bands couldn’t have planned it better for us !!

SEPTEMBER 19th .. Show tickets and train tickets all sorted for Soft Cell, the final show at the O2 on September 30th.

#soft cell

My first sighting of UFO would have been on TOTP or TOGWT in 1979. Their performance of Doctor Doctor inspired me to go out and buy the single which happened to be pressed on coloured vinyl and housed in a terrific picture sleeve with the band in full headbanging action.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the UFO I had seen on the TV was not the UFO that had made the record. Michael Schenker, a name that meant nothing to me, was already lost to the band and what was to be regarded as the classic UFO line up was over before I’d ever had the chance to see them.

The follow up single Shoot Shoot was released and once again I snapped it up. This time it was an EP and one of the tracks was the brilliant Only You Can Rock Me which I got totally hooked on. So UFO could do no wrong and as a 16 year old I made the huge financial decision to buy the Strangers In The Night double live album. Of course it was a brilliant move and I was introduced to 10 more superb tracks including Rock Bottom and almost 40 years later I’m still playing the album on a regular basis.

Strangers In The Night is a stellar album, taking the best material that UFO had to offer and capturing them at the peak of their powers. Phil Mogg has an excellent Rock voice and Schenker is pure brilliance .. the speed, power and precision are to be expected but his guitar work has such great melody, I’m sure that’s why he stands out from the crowd.

Phil Mogg has announced that after The Last Orders tour is done he will be calling it a day and I for one am looking forward to being in the crowd for that final gig and raising a glass in appreciation.

#ufo #phil mogg #michael schenker #strangers in the night

SEPTEMBER 11th .. Good news, Saxon tickets for the London gig on October 19th have arrived. The bad news is that Dave Meniketti and therefore Y&T won’t be there as he has hurt his back. FM will be replacing them.

This also puts paid to the idea of visiting Madrid in October to see Saxon & Y&T

#saxon #y&t

SEPTEMBER 7th .. Great news as we secured tickets for Ozzy/ Judas Priest at the O2 Arena next year

#ozzy osbourne #judas priest

SEPTEMBER 3rd .. Booked tickets for UFO at Rock City in March. I’ll be going to that one with Sam.

Ozzy Osbourne announced that his 2019 UK tour will be his last tour in the UK. He will be touring with Judas Priest early next year so I will be trying to book some tickets later in the week. I don’t care for the trend that is developing, just cos I’ve retired doesn’t mean that all my bands should be following suit !!

#ozzy osbourne #judas priest

AUGUST 31st .. U.F.O. 50th Anniversary Last Orders Tour. Woo Hoo, tickets booked for Phil Mogg’s last UK gig, standing at Shepherds Bush on April 4th .. fuckin awesome !!

#U.F.O #phil mogg

AUGUST 29th .. UFO have announced dates for their 50th anniversary tour. It kicks off in March 2019 .. hopefully we’ll see at least a couple of the gigs on Phil Mogg’s finale.

I saw OMD play in the grounds of Rockingham Castle last year. They unleashed an array of hit singles on us and we all sang every word of every song, bouncing around, clapping hands and waving our arms in unison having a great time. Between songs Andy McCluskey would have everybody laughing, it was a lovely evening.

The next day I logged onto Youtube to see if anybody had uploaded any clips of the gig. They had, and better still I could see myself dancing and I couldn’t believe how well I moved. I wasted no time in sending a text to my buddy apologising for making him look bad, not that I could see him cos he was just out of shot. Throughout the morning as my colleagues came into the office I showed them the clip, pointing myself out with so much admiration.

During lunch my mind went back to the previous evening, before OMD had took to the stage. I’d bought a pancake and had burnt my mouth on it and squirted syrup down my hoody much to the amusement of my buddy Martin. On the clip I was dancing around in my black T shirt but my memory told me that I was wearing a syrup stained hoody at the time. I tried to rationalise it as I must have removed the hoody. But I knew that I’d kept it on cos I was feeling the chill. I had to admit the truth .. the stocky, shaven headed, bespectacled guy that I had admired all day long wasn’t actually me.

#OMD #orchestral manoeuvres in the dark

AUGUST 15th ... Officially my last day of work. Consider me retired .. a man of leisure

AUGUST 19th ... Rewind South Festival at Henley On Thames headlined by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

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