...... of mice ..... and men.
Well, where do I start?
It was Club Night with the clock just approaching 7.30 p.m.
The guest group's equipment had been delivered in good time by Jos, their bass guitarist, the stage was set, the concert room was full, Have Mersey were at Heathrow Airport...... errr pardon?? .... HAVE MERSEY WERE AT HEATHROW AIRPORT?? .. OH S..H..I..T!!
The day started early for the lads with the bad news that all flights from Amsterdam were facing substantial delays due to fog.The revised time for their flight meant they would arrive at Newcastle Airport at about 10 pm.
In desperation they ran around trying to make alternative arrangements and eventually discovered that, if they got the bus from Maastricht to Amsterdam, and a train from Amsterdam to Paris, they could get a flight from Paris to Teesside, arriving at about 6pm., where we could collect them and bring them straight to the club. It meant paying for another set of air tickets but the guys were prepared to do that so that no-one would be disappointed.
So far so good - except that, due to further delays, they arrived in Heathrow too late to catch the link to Teesside and were obliged to transfer to the link to Newcastle. The irony of it all was that they eventually got to Newcastle at - you guessed it - 10pm. - meaning that all the extra trouble and expense they had gone to had achieved achieved bugger all.
As the saying goes ...some you win, some you lose.
We do, however, appreciate the effort the guys made to attend and we look forward to welcoming them next year when we plan to hijack an Arriva bus and get Kenny and Alan to drive to Holland and pick them up.
So there we had it.
Half an hour to Showtime, a room packed to capacity, and no entertainment.
What do we do now?
If all the world is a stage, where does the audience sit?
What hair colour does Colin the Orchestra put on his driving licence?
Why does sour cream have an expiry date?
Find the answer to these and many other questions in the next thrilling installment which will follow shortly ..........
Part 2 - The Saga continues ......
....So there we were - 30 mins to curtain up and, Have Mersey, our guest group were still stuck in Heathrow Airport.
Now if there is one thing I have learned to appreciate since Alan L and I started Vintage Sixties Live, it is the depth and variety of talent from the Sixties who are still around and are still "up for it".Occasionally, we do have to resort to threats of violence, or infusion of artificial substances (nothing stronger than Phyllosan or Sanatogen) but, at the end of the day as the saying goes - "once a turn always a turn".
Having said that, providing three hours of live entertainment at 30mins notice is a bit of a tall order, even for our lot.We need not have worried though. A quick look around the assembled throng told us all we needed to know. Scattered around the audience were some of the top acts from Clubland's hey day, and when we asked "Is there a turn in the house?" we were delighted at the response.
What followed was one of the most spectacular and, for me, most satisfying evenings of entertainment I think I have ever seen.
This one night totally justified our reasons for starting the project in the first place, and illustrated exactly why it has been, and continues to be, so successful.
Thanks everyone. We really do appreciate your support.
Thanks to Have Mersey for trying their best to beat both the weather and the EU transport system.We hope you enjoy the rest of your visit.
Thanks to the audience for being so patient and understanding.
Thanks to guys who provided the musical support - some of them playing for three hours with hardly a break. Mark, Bill F, Colin the Orchestra, Billy Baker, Brian Luke.
Thanks to all of the featured acts who performed so willingly and so brilliantly.
Big Jim, Alan L, Kenny, Paula, Alan W, Pete "Van der Volk" Lodge, Robin, Alan Burnigill, Brian Jones, Mike Gutteridge, Marie, Billy Barr, "Awesome" Angie, Jackie Carey, Leo, Colin Ibbertson,and of course me.
A big thank you also to Tudhoe Victory Club Management and bar staff for being so co-operative and also for being so beautiful - (that's the bar maids not the management).
We had a blast - Let's do it all again next month - Vintage Sixties Live - November 8th - Tudhoe Victory Club - "B there or B square"
