News and Reviews: 16th May 2019
Wed 15 May 2019....I went to two events tonight.6.45pm to 8pm
FOOD : Bigger Than The Plate - private view - V & A Museum , London SW7.
From gastronomic experiments to urban farming, this exhibition brings together the politics and pleasure of food to ask how the collective choices we make can lead to a more sustainable, just and delicious food future.
Around 500 guests are here at this famous venue.
As expected it was not as glamourous as some of the previous private views here.
I spotted Jackie St Clair and Basia Briggs here.
At 7.15pm we had a couple of speeches.
Complimentary prosecco, wines, beers and canapés for all guests.
www.vam.ac.uk
Visit their website here for more info...it is on until 20 October 2019.
then
ERIC CLAPTON plays the second of three shows at The Royal Albert Hall.
Eric has been swopping the setlist about these days from his Japan shows.The opening RAH show
did not include "Badge" or "Wonderful Tonight" or "Cocaine" but it did include a mega encore of "Purple Rain".
Eric Clapton announces his return to the Royal Albert Hall for a series of concerts in May 2019.
The three shows will be his only UK performances for 2019. Eric will be accompanied by his band members Chris Stainton, Nathan East, Doyle Bramhall and Sonny Emory.
All three shows sold out by Dec 2018 even though best seats are £150 each.
Having first performed at the Royal Albert Hall with The Yardbirds in 1964, Eric Clapton has played at the venue more than 200 times including farewell and reunion gigs with Cream and numerous residencies.
I have seen Eric solo over 25 times since 1976 plus all four Cream re-union concerts at The Royal Albert Hall in 2005.
Eric is now aged 74.
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The venue is totally rammed solid sold out tonight.
ERIC CLAPTON and band arrive on stage at 8.35pm and play for 1 hour 45 mins.
Eric is standing on his usual stage rug.
The band are top notch and include two female backing singers.
Eric does not do much talking on stage but he lets the guitar talk for him.
He gets a delicious tone on his guitar all throughout the show.
It is nice he is changing the setlist around a bit.
His life long love of the blues is still there for sure.
The regulars run down the front on cue for the opening bars of "Layla".
For the encore he was joined by the support act, Jimmie Vaughan.
A great show.
Full Eric Clapton setlist played tonight...
Motherless Children (Blind Willie Johnson cover)
Pretending
Key to the Highway (Charles Segar cover)
I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon cover)
I Shot the Sheriff (The Wailers cover)
Driftin' Blues (Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers cover) (acoustic)
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Jimmy Cox cover) (acoustic)
Tears in Heaven (acoustic)
Alberta (Bob Dylan cover) (acoustic)
Running On Faith (acoustic)
Tearing Us Apart
Holy Mother
Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover)
Little Queen of Spades (Robert Johnson cover)
Layla (Derek and the Dominos song)
Encore:
Before You Accuse Me (Bo Diddley cover) (with Jimmie Vaughan)
Tuesday 14 May 2019.
JACK WHITEHALL live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
Comedian Jack Whitehall plays a "work in progress" show to test new material for his UK arena tour.
His upcoming tour in Nov/Dec includes FOUR nights at The 02 Arena.
Jack recently hosted The Brit Awards and this Friday 17 May he fills in as host on The Graham Norton show
while Graham is covering Eurovision....Peter Crouch and Sam Fender are among his guests...
Jack now aged 30, comes under "posh boy" comedian tag due to stints at private school and boarding school.
His father was an agent for Judi Dench, Colin Firth, and Richard Griffiths, and wrote the memoir Shark-Infested Waters.
He had two godfathers — Nigel Havers and the late Richard Griffiths, both actors.
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Jack Whitehall arrived on stage at 8.05pm for five minutes and to introduce the support act.
He was dressed in full mime costume and joked this would feature in his new stage show.
Tom Lucy arrived on stage at 8.10pm for his 20 mins set which was decent enough.
Jack Whitehall arrived on stage at 9.45pm for his 75 mins set.
It is stalls seated tonight , so a full house of around 1200.
He started off by firing a few t-shirts into the crowd.
Lots of funny bits throughout his enjoyable show.
Topics covered included...
Brexit
English blokes drinking habits
Doing a gig for Prince Charles birthday at Kensington Palace
Strange American hotel signs
Why so many different types of milk
Vegan and Eco types
His agent advising him to stop talking about Waitrose and talk about "The Lidl" instead.
Dieting
Relationship break-ups
Airport security
Travelling abroad with his dad for their tv series
Monday 13 May 2019...6.15pm to 9.45pm...
29th PJ's Polo Party and start of the 2019 Polo Season , 52 Fulham Road, London SW3.
This very nice restaurant & bar is three minutes walk from South Kensington tube.
Over 200 guests at this annual event that i have been to each year for the past decade.
Many have come from the Polo Clubs on the outskirts of London.
Bill Wyman and Kenney Jones have turned up at previous years and we are lucky BILL WYMAN
and his wife are here tonight.
I got a nice photo with him and had a few words of chat....he is now aged 82...
At 8pm PJs owner and polo enthusiast Brian Stein made a speech and thanked us for coming.
Complimentary Taittinger champers, vodka cocktails, gin cocktails, wines and beers.
Lots of very tasty food too including cheeseburgers, buttermilk chicken, canapés, desserts etc.
A great evening.
www.pjsbarandgrill.co.uk
Visit the PJs website here for more info on their drinks and food menu.
www.polotimes.co.uk
Visit Polo Times website here to find out what's going on in the Polo world.
Monday 13 May 2019.
Happy Birthday to STEVIE WONDER who is 69 today.
Sunday 12 May 2019.
THE BEST OF ROCK MUSICALS live at Hammersmith Apollo, London.
Sir Tim Rice hosts and Christopher Biggins will introduce a few songs.
The Best of Rock Musicals will include songs from Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Evita, Chess, Aida, Rent, Tommy, We Will Rock You, Spring Awakening, The Rocky Horror Show, Next To Normal, The Little Shop of Horrors,Rock of Ages, Grease , Dear Evan Hansen and more...with many different theatrical singers.
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Tonight is a benefit show for The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust which was formed in 1997 by the Waller family in memory of their son and brother, Charlie, who took his own life whilst suffering from depression. The Trust offers support and education to those affected by depression and mental illness.
We are front circle for the show and i notice that one of the female toilets has been turned into a
'gender neutral' toilet...I wonder what Lemmy would have made of that.
The show was on for 2 hours 10 mins over two sets of 65 mins each.
There is a big screen announcing the title of each song and the musical it has come from.
For many songs there are 50 people on stage when you add singers, dancers, band, mini-orchestra and choir.
Basically each musical had one to four songs performed from it.
All the singers had strong powerful voices and there was some great dance routines.
Highlights for me included "Superstar", "Aquarius", "Grease" , "Time Warp", "Pinball Wizard" ,
"Don't Stop Believing", "Your Song", "I Wanna Rock " and a couple of Queen classics.
A very enjoyable show.
Highlights included...
PART ONE
Superstar from Jesus Christ Superstar (plus three other songs from this musical.
Aquarius from Hair (plus three other songs from this musical)
Grease and Grease Lightning
Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Show
Pinball Wizard from Tommy
Two songs from Evita
Four songs from Chess
PART TWO
I Wanna Rock - Rock of Ages
One song from Hairspray
One song from Dreamgirls
Singer Adam Pascal now aged 48, came on stage and sang three songs from Rent.
He is pleased to be on this famous stage as he said as a teenager he had posters of
Iron Maiden, Judas Priest,Def Leppard 'Live at Hammersmith Odeon' on his bedroom wall.
One song from Next to Normal
Three songs from Aida
One song from Billy Elliot
Your Song from Moulin Rouge
Who Wants To Live Forever? and We Are The Champions from We Will Rock You
One song from Dear Evan Hansen
Don't Stop Believing from Rock of Ages
Saturday 11 May 2019.
THE GLORIA'S live at The George & Dragon, Acton High Street, London W3...free entry...
The Glorias are a punk-rock-n-roll band from the Portsmouth area.
This pub is a good supporter of live punk rock bands as most of the gigs here are free entry
and just the odd one is charging £5 admission.
Nice to see so many of my West London punk rockin chums here including Del from The Satellites and
Chris Payne from The Members.
THE GLORIA'S arrived on stage at 10.20pm and played for around 60 mins.
The band feature Bill on guitar...he is in my band Gun Control as well.
Amazingly they open their set with a cover of one of Gun Controls songs "No Mercy" with changed lyrics.
Lots of catchy uptempo garage punk rock n roll tunes from their debut album were played tonight.
A couple of very nice covers played near the end , "Black Leather" (Sex Pistols) and
"Search and Destroy" (Iggy Pop & The Stooges).
A very enjoyable set.
Friday 11 May 2019.
FRANCIS ROSSI at The Beck Theatre, Hayes, Middlesex.
Legendary Status Quo lead singer Francis Rossi will share the extraordinary secrets from more than fifty years in rock’n’roll when he takes to the stage for an intimate evening of chat as part of a massive UK tour.
The 'I Talk Too Much' tour, will feature Francis - joined by Mick Wall - sharing some of the best Rock 'n' Roll stories ever, accrued during an extraordinary life on the road. Expect laughter, revelations, tales involving some of the giants of music, exclusive video clips, snatches of classic tunes and a great night out.
Rossi said: "This show is something new for me. It will be live and unscripted, so god knows what could happen! One thing's for sure though, it'll be a white-knuckle ride for me, but fans will get a real unvarnished insight into what’s happened over the years. I'll be taking a guitar along to demonstrate how some of those Quo classics came into being, and hopefully we'll take a few questions from the audience too. It's been quite a journey, there's a lot to share."
www.francisrossi.com
Visit his website here for more info and his tour dates for 2019 and by public demand many more added for 2020.
His autobiography "I Talk Too Much" is available for £13.97 from the Amazon link at the top of this page.
Status Quo have sold over 125 million albums which has included 24 x Top 10 chart placings in the UK.
They have also had 22 x Top 10 hit singles in the UK.
His Quo partner , Rick Parfitt sadly passed away on 24 Dec 2016.
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Always nice to be at this cosy all seated tiered venue on the outskirts of West London every now and then.
As i have seen over 6500 gigs since 1973 , there are many of my fave bands who i have seen
20 or 30 times. I have seen Status Quo around 50 times since 1974 which included Live Aid ,
a couple of times in Australia and those 'Frantic Four' reunion shows from a few years ago.
Status Quo were always one of the hardest working bands out there with massive tours every year.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s they would play multi-nights at Hammersmith Odeon rather than Wembley.
The show tonight was on for 1 hour 40 mins over two sets of 45 mins and 55 mins.
There was a big screen showing video clips behind them as they both sat on comfy chairs.
Francis is a natural raconteur who is honest, funny, engaging and happy to have banter with fans.
FIRST HALF INCLUDED...
Francis talking about events in the 1960s and 1970s.
Coming from a family ice-cream business.
Meeting Alan Lancaster to form a band when they were both just 13.
Getting a stint at Butlins with their first band.
Rick Parfitt joining the band in October 1967 and having their first hit soon after.
Francis playing acoustic versions of early stage tracks along with "Pictures of Matchstick Men"
and "In My Chair".
Putting to bed "Quo are only a three chord band" theory by explaining how some songs had nine
or more chords.
SECOND HALF INCLUDED...
Francis taking about events from 1980s onwards.
How they came to open Live Aid in 1985 with a show stealing performance.
How Rick and himself established themselves as a duo for all promo and interviews.
Getting his OBE with Rick at Buckingham Palace.
Their stint in Coronation Street and Francis playing the shows theme tune on his guitar.
Rick's heart attacks and his shock death.
Near the end there were 10 mins of questions from the audience.
Francis confirmed their would not be a Quo Christmas tour this year.
A finale with all the crowd singing along to "Caroline" was a perfect way to end the evening.
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After the show Francis signed copies of his book and new album with Hannah Rickard...strictly no other items.
It's great to see a rock legend like Francis up close and personal like this so well worth checking out his tour
dates as he definitely will be playing at a town near you.
Thursday 09 May 2019.
6pm to 6.45pm
THE HOUSE OF FINE ART - private view - Pall Mall Gallery , St James's, London SW1.
Around 70 or 80 guests here in this gallery space.
The House of Fine Art is pleased to present All I Ever Wanted Was Everything, a solo exhibition of
new sculpture and painting works by Amsterdam-based artist Joseph Klibansky.
Complimentary prosecco and wines for all guests.
www.thehouseoffineart.com
Visit the gallery website here for more info.
then
7pm to 8.45pm
OSCAR'S FIRST BOOK PRIZE at The May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, Mayfair, London W1.
Over 150 guests in the ballroom of this luxury five star hotel.
This award is for books aimed for children aged 5 and under.
PRINCESS BEATRICE made a nice speech and gave out the £5000 prize to the winner.
The winning book was ' How to be a Lion' by Ed Vere.
Complimentary prosecco, wines, beers, fish & chips, canapés, desserts for all guests.
then
9pm to 10pm
THE HOUSE OF FINE ART - after-party - The Cuckoo Club, Swallow Street, Mayfair, London W1.
This was the party after the gallery private view earlier.
The dj is playing some nice bass heavy dance tunes.
Hard to believe i saw Guns N Roses play a semi-acoustic secret gig at this 200 capacity club in 2006.
I had a couple of complimentary JD & cokes before the bar tab closed at 10pm.
Thursday 09 May 2019.
Sad news that FREDDIE STARR has died aged 76 at his home in Spain.
Freddie Starr was an English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat pop group the Midniters during the early 1960s, and came to prominence as a comedian in the 1970s and 1980s.
Back in his heyday The Sun newspaper ran a famous front page headline "Freddie Starr ate my hamster".
That was in 1986 when it actually was made into giant posters and t-shirts by The Sun.
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Happy Birthday to BILLY JOEL who is 70 today.
He will play Madison Square Gardens with special guests tonight.
I hope to see him at Wembley Stadium on 22 June 2019.
Wednesday 08 May 2019...7pm to 10pm...
Chesterton's Polo in The Park - launch party - Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel,
Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge, London SW1.
Always nice to be at this five star luxury hotel that is up the road from Harrods & Harvey Nichols.
Around 150 smartly dressed folks here that included a couple of faces...
Liz McClarnon: English Pop Singer (ex Atomic Kitten), Dancer & Television Presenter
Victoria Clay : Britain's Next Top Model - 5 ft 10 inches model who always looks stunning.
Several players from each of the Polo teams are here in their teams colours.
At 8pm there was a speech and they made the draw.
Complimentary Lanson champers, whiskey n mixers, gin n mixers, tequila n mixers , wines and
canapés for all guests.
A very nice event.
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Chestertons Polo in the Park is the only Polo event held in Inner London.
It is held at the stunning Hurlingham Park, Fulham on the weekend 07, 08, 09 June 2019.
Not only can you watch three matches of polo a day but tickets include the finest ingredients to make the perfect party.
Enjoy access to the Grandstand to watch the world’s best polo, The Grazing Paddock for restaurants and street food, Champagne Lanson Garden, iconic Mahiki and Polo Bars, Slingsby Cocktail Bar, PIMM’s Bus, Fever-Tree Bar and Garden, Luxury Shopping Village, Little Hooves Kids Club and Pitch Invasion (Sunday only).
www.polointheparklondon.com
Visit their website here for more info and to buy tickets.
Wednesday 08 May 2019.
AJAX 2 TOTTENHAM 3
Who could believe that after the Liverpool game last night we could have another incredible comeback.
Spurs come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and to go through on the away goals rule.
It will be an all-Premier League final in Madrid on 1 June after Lucas Moura completed his hat-trick, five minutes into stoppage time, with pretty much the last kick of the game.
Ajax players slump to the ground in disbelief at the final whistle.
And Spurs did it all without Harry Kane...amazing.
Tuesday 07 May 2019.
SAM FENDER + A FESTIVAL, A PARADE live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
Sam Fender plays the second of two sold out shows at Shepherds Bush Empire.
Following a hectic year of touring and becoming one of the hottest new names in the industry,
BRITs Critics' Choice winner (previous winners include Adele, Sam Smith), plays his biggest UK tour to date.
Two nights here even though his debut album "Hypersonic Missiles" is not out until 09 Aug 2019.
He has just announced an even bigger tour of the UK for later in the year including Brixton Academy.
Pretty amazing how this 23 year old can sell so many gig tickets when his
only hit single "Play God" got to a lowly 89 in the UK charts.
Sam Fender has been named the face of Topman's new Suit Your Self tailoring campaign. The BRIT Awards Critic's Choice winner models some of Topman's most popular styles including the Skinny Suit, the Check Three-Piece and the Classic Tux, and comments in the video campaign 'I like wearing a suit on a special occasion, 'cause I like to feel like a bobby dazzler'.
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A FESTIVAL, A PARADE arrive on stage at 8.15pm and play for 30 mins.
The headliner has quite a cool name but what about the support band???
A dodgy band name but they played a good set of uptempo indie pop.
Like Sam Fender, they also hail from Newcastle.
SAM FENDER and band arrive on stage at 9.20pm and play for 70 mins.
The crowd covers all ages and not just youngsters, who jump around for a few tracks.
He had an odd stage backdrop of huge sheets of kitchen foil.
This was a nod to back home to Geordie kebab shops that wrap their kebabs in kitchen foil.
Also if you bought a t-shirt at the gig they would wrap it in kitchen foil for you.
Thanks to the internet and radio play the crowd know many of the songs played.
Plenty of good uptempo pop tunes played.
He reminded me of Jake Bugg when he was taking off.
Highlights included "Dead Boys" ,"Start Again" and "Play God".
His lyrics are based around the love-hate relationship he has with his hometown area.
Lots of friendly Geordie stage banter.
Every few months he is playing a bigger gig than the last one in London so I can easily see him
playing arenas in a couple of years when his second album comes out.
A good show and certainly a name to watch.
Full Sam Fender setlist played tonight...
Millennial
Will We Talk in the Morning?
All Is on My Side
The Borders
Dead Boys
Start Again
Greasy Spoon
Hypersonic Missiles
Spice
Play God
Encore:
Poundshop Kardashians (Solo)
Leave Fast (Solo)
White Privilege (Solo)
That Sound
Morning Glory (Oasis cover)
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After the show there was a drinks party for 100 guests hosted by Universal Music
at the nearest pub to the venue on the corner - The Sindercombe Social.
Sam Fender eventually turned up after a meet n greet straight after the show.
Complimentary spirits n mixers, wines and beers for all guests.
Tuesday 07 May 2019.
LIVERPOOL 4 BARCELONA 0.
How did they do it ?...and without Salah....incredible stuff..
Liverpool are into their second successive Champions League final after overcoming Barcelona with a stunning second-leg fightback on an epic night at Anfield.
Roared on relentlessly by their fans, the Reds produced an incredible all-action display to claw back and then ultimately overturn their 3-0 deficit from the Nou Camp with an unanswered four-goal salvo in thrilling style.
It is the first time since 1986 - when Barcelona knocked out Gothenburg in the old European Cup - that a team have recovered a three-goal first-leg deficit to win a semi-final in this competition.
As the tv commentator said "Messi mashed on Merseyside".
Monday 06 May 2019.
MADONNA's upcoming World Tour will avoid arenas and play multi-nights at smaller theatres.
Shows in Europe will be confirmed soon.
The Madame X Tour will hit Europe in early 2020 with performances at the Coliseum in Lisbon,
the Palladium in London and at the Grand Rex in Paris
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Happy Birthday to American rocker BOB SEGER who is 74 today.
Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band are currently in the middle of their final tour, including six
performances in Bob's hometown of Detroit in June that just might be his last ever shows.
He never visited the UK that much but i did see him play at Hammersmith Odeon in 1977.
Sunday 05 May 2019.
VALERY MELADZE live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
Valeriy Meladze is a Russian singer of Georgian descent who is very popular back home.
Valery now aged 53, will perform tracks from his 30 year career.
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It is stalls seated tonight and all levels are sold so there are 800 to 1000 folks here.
Pretty good going when you see the ticket prices...£75 up to £125...
London's Russian community are out in force...lots of great looking Russian women here.
It was one of the those early start early finish gigs.
VALERY MELADZE and his full band arrived on stage at 7.15pm for their two hour show.
The band included a female backing vocals and a two woman string section.
There is a big screen showing live footage along with pre-recorded videos and images.
With his grey hair Valery looks like Jose Mourinho and the sound is a mix of
Tom Jones meets Eurovision.
All the songs and stage banter are in Russian.
Some songs are uptempo and others have a more romantic ballad feel.
Some of the females are dancing and screaming a bit.
A big song at the end was "Capa" (Sara).
A decent enough show that the crowd loved.
Saturday 04 May 2019.
NICK MASON'S Saucerful Of Secrets + McNally Waters live at The Roundhouse, London.
Nick Mason plays the second of two sold out shows at this venue.
Again there were lots of overseas folks in the crowd.
Yesterday i was front right looking at the stage and tonight i was front left looking at the stage.
Both acts came on at the same time as yesterday and played the same setlist.
Pretty much all the stage banter was the same as well.
Cannot be easy to drum for nearly two hours as a 75 year old but Nick does it superbly.
Tonight though there were loads of cameras dotted around the venue filming the show.
Including one on a zip-wire that hovered over the stalls standing.
No doubt a nice quality DVD will be out just before Christmas.
Shame that Roger Waters or David Gilmour did not appear on stage with Nick.
That would have looked great for the DVD.
Another great show.
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I was lucky to have been at Pink Floyd's last show in Hyde Park on 02 July 2005.
I was also at the sound check in Hyde Park the night before where Pink Floyd
and Madonna both ran through their sets.
Saturday 04 May 2019.
You can't make it up....LINE OF DUTY...
Sainsbury / Line Of Duty bosses have dropped a major clanger by releasing the series 5 DVD into
shops 24 hours before the final airs on TV.
Fans of hit cop show have discovered they can watch the last episode a day before it's on TV after spotting the complete boxset in Sainsbury's.
The finale airs on BBC1 tomorrow night but it's already available if you head down to Sainsbury's.
The series five DVD is available alongside the complete 1-5 boxset.
Fans have been posting picturs of themselves snapping up the DVDs and rushing home to watch the final.
It could mean bad news for BBC bosses as spoilers could end up on social media 24 hours before the show airs.
The official DVD on sale date is Monday 06 May 2019.
Friday 03 May 2019.
NICK MASON'S Saucerful Of Secrets + McNally Waters live at The Roundhouse, London.
Nick Mason plays the first of two sold out shows at this venue where Pink Floyd played 50 years ago.
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason formed the band to play Pink Floyd's early material.
Pretty amazing how Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp has done a great job on guitar duties for the band.
"A Saucerful of Secrets" is the second studio album by Pink Floyd, released on 29 June 1968.
The album was recorded before and after Syd Barrett's departure from the group. With Barrett's behaviour becoming increasingly unpredictable, he was forced to leave the band and David Gilmour was recruited in January 1968.
Nick Mason has stated that it is his favourite Pink Floyd album.
The day before this show Nick Mason was awarded a CBE for Services to Music by The Duke of Cambridge.
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I didn't see Nick Mason's show at this venue last year or at Dingwalls so I'm looking forward to this gig.
MCNALLY WATERS arrive on stage at 8pm and play for 30 mins.
The surname is a bit of a giveaway but the band include Harry Waters on keyboards.
He is Roger Waters son.
The band played a decent set of New Orleans influenced tunes.
NICK MASON & BAND arrive on stage at 9pm and play for 1 hour 50 mins.
There is a film projector showing psychedelic images onto their band logo at the back.
The 75-year-old Mason introduced proceedings from behind his drum kit, emphasising the oddity of effectively playing in your own tribute band by jokingly referring to them as The Roger Waters Experience or The Danish David Gilmour.Alongside two accomplished session players (guitarist Lee Harris and keyboard player Dom Beken), the frontline was bassist Guy Pratt (regular session man for later Floyd shows and solo David Gilmour projects) and, somewhat incongruously, guitarist Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet.
Kemp, in particular, was a revelation in the role of lead guitarist. There is nothing in the New Romantic back catalogue to suggest he has such a wild mastery of his instrument. He may have access to more effects units on his pedal board than early Floyd could count on, and he doesn’t have the sensitive touch of Gilmour (well, who does?), but he played with swagger and panache, really dragging every possible nuance of tone and distortion from his instrument.
Nick would also joke about "having to buy a new pair of ballet shows after 20 years of tip-toeing between
Roger Waters and David Gilmour".
The sound quality was perfect and their psychedelic space rock re-created nicely what it would have been like
to see Pink Floyd in their early days.
Mentions of Syd Barrett and Rick Wright got huge cheers and applause from the hardcore crowd.
I think the setlist covered the Pink Floyd period from 1967 to 1972.
Some songs were more familiar than others to me but they vividly brought back to life early Floyd's
remarkable range with an immense sound.
A great show.
Full setlist played tonight...
Interstellar Overdrive
Astronomy Domine
Lucifer Sam
Fearless
Obscured by Clouds
When You're In
Remember a Day
Arnold Layne
Vegetable Man
If
Atom Heart Mother
The Nile Song
Green Is the Colour
Let There Be More Light
Childhood's End
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
See Emily Play
Bike
One of These Days
Encore:
A Saucerful of Secrets
Point Me at the Sky
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Those spotted at the event included....
Peter Gabriel
John Giddings (legendary live music agent whose roster include Nick Mason).
Tony Smith (manager for Genesis since 1973,and for the solo careers of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. He is also, as of 2007, co-manager of Pink Floyd along with Paul Loasby. He, i presume is Nick Mason's manager.
Norman Watt-Roy (Wilko Johnson Band /The Blockheads).
Probably a couple more as Brian Johnson went to see the show here last year.
Thursday 02 May 2019...I went to two events tonight....
JD MALAT GALLERY - private view - 30 Davies Street, Mayfair, London W1.
Chinese artist Li Tianbing showcases his paintings with his new exhibition "Urban Scene".
Born in 1974 in Guilin, China, Li Tianbing studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he formed a unique visual language to express his own cultural origins. Fusing traditional Chinese techniques with Contemporary Western references, Li does not limit himself to a single style in order to explore the boundaries of the medium. This approach also reflects the artist’s cultural background, rooted in the Eastern philosophy that all things are in a constant state of flux. The ongoing advancement of the “self” thus finds its reflection in Tianbing Li’s ever-changing artistic expression.
Around 100 guests at this gallery that always gets a nice buzzy crowd.
Complimentary Pommery champers for all guests.
www.jdmalat.com
Visit their website here for more info.
then
10cc live at The Royal Albert Hall, London.
The line-up for this show will feature co-founder Graham Gouldman as the only original member.
Two of the current band were also regulars in the 10cc touring band back in the 1970s.
10cc had 11 x Top 10 hit singles in the UK in the 1970s including three number ones.
I first saw them in 1975 at Hammersmith Odeon in their heyday and have seen them several times since.
Tonight is near the end of their two month UK & European Tour.
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We have great seats in a Grand Tier, Box number 4, looking at the stage from the left.
10cc arrived on stage at 8.30pm and played for 1 hour 50 mins.
Graham Gouldman co-founded 10cc in 1972 and he is still leading the band from the front. While 10cc has not produced any new material since 1995, they continue to tour the world playing their extensive back catalogue. And what a treasure trove of fabulous songs the band has. 10cc is a band that is hard to define musically as they take so many different influences into their music, but essentially it is a soft rock band with its roots in the British pop and rock invasion of the 1960s. With a background as a songwriter for acts such as The Yardbirds and The Hollies, Gouldman is not only a world-class songwriter, he is also a fabulous musician (he was Ringo Starr’s bassist on two tours in 2018) and a producer (among many other things, he has produced The Ramones).
They played all their many hit singles and a few lesser known songs.
The band were very tight and 10cc have some great lyrics in their songs.
The crowd all got up and danced for the final song "Rubber Bullets".
A great show.
Full 10cc setlist played tonight...
VIDEO INTRO by Kevin Godley (Neanderthal Man by Hotlegs)
The Wall Street Shuffle
Art for Art's Sake
Life Is a Minestrone
Good Morning Judge
The Dean and I
Old Wild Men
Clockwork Creep
Feel the Benefit
The Things We Do for Love
Say the Word (Hornal cover)
Silly Love
Somewhere in Hollywood
Baron Samedi
I'm Mandy Fly Me
I'm Not in Love ( number one in 1975)
Dreadlock Holiday (number one in 1978)
Encore:
Ready to Go Home
Donna (acapella)
Rubber Bullets (number one in 1973)
Wednesday 01 May 2019....6.30pm to 9pm...
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage ( commonly referred to as Le Touquet), -media showcase- at
The French Ambassador's Residence, 11 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W11.
Around 50 media guests here in one of the stunning rooms of this immaculately furnished building.
The building is located in one of London's more exclusive roads.
The average price of a villa/mansion here was recently stated as £42m.
The neighbour next door is the guy that owns Foxton's Estate Agents.
For 45 mins we are all seated for the speeches and video show on Le Touquet from
The French Ambassador - Jean-Pierre Jouyet along with Le Touquet Mayor and the MP for the area.
Le Touquet in Northern France has always been very popular with British tourists as it is very easy
to get there by plane, train and car.
I have been twice to this chic French coastal town and it is very delightful ,with a sandy beach.
It is very easy to go there for a day trip or weekend.
They have a very nice Golf Resort and the famous Hotel Barriere Le Westminster, Le Touquet - Paris-Plage.
There was a business card raffle to win a stay there but alas i did not win.
It is time to re-discover this perfect mix of British and French Elegance...visit Le Touquet.
Complimentary champers, wines and delicious bowl food, canapés and desserts from Le Touquet region.
All guests got a small goodie bag of treats from Le Touquet.
www.letouquet.com
Visit their website here for more info on Le Touquet including accommodation, events,culture, sport etc.
Tuesday 30 April 2019...6.45pm to 10.30pm...
GROSVENOR HOUSE HOTEL - 90th anniversary and refurbishment party - Park Lane, London W1.
A massive lavish party as 800 are on the guest list at this famous five star hotel.
The hotel was the first in London to have a bathroom in every bedroom.
As a youngster our current Queen had ice-skating lessons there back in 1930...yes 1930.
The party is spread out over all the bars and restaurants on the ground floor which have been refurbished.
A few well known faces including Laura Whitmore, Victoria Pendleton, Caroline Flack, Georgia Toffolo ,
Jasmine Hemsley, Lucy Mecklenburgh, Richard Biedul, Sophie Hermann, Ciara Charteris, Imelda May ,
Basis Briggs,Donna Air and football manager Sam Allardyce were here.
There was a female string section playing covers for the first hour in one room then a trio were
playing covers in another room and then a twelve piece choir sung covers in the hall area.
There was a dance duo performing ballet routines in different areas of the party.
The guests enjoyed food and drink supplied by Ruya London and Corrigan’s Mayfair.
Loads of complimentary drinks and food provided by an army of staff including three different champers
including Lanson, different cocktails, Nyetimber English sparkling wines, beers and delicious bowl food,
plates of food and canapés including oysters , steak strips with potatoes and peppercorn sauce,
smoked salmon & soft cheese rolls and desserts including cheesecake and ice-creams.
Guests got a decent goodie bag with a few items inside.
An excellent event.
Monday 29 April 2019...6.15pm to 8.30pm...
MNKY HSE - showcase - 10 Dover Street, Mayfair, London W1.
This was my first time at MNKY HSE which is a stylish Latin American restaurant & bar & nightclub.
Dover Street is a cool destination these days as The Arts Club and Victoria Beckams store are opposite.
It has one of those small entrances that lead to a much bigger than expected area.
Around 150 guests here over the two floors with the ground floor being the biggest space.
Everyone is seated at tables which is always a plus.
A dj is playing tunes in the background and it is nice and buzzy.
Complimentary prosecco , four different cocktails, wines, beers and lots of tasty bowl food,
canapés & desserts.
A really nice venue and event, just a shame the event wasn't on for another hour or so.
Al guests got a small goodie bag which included a MNKY HSE t-shirt.
www.mnky-hse.com
Visit their website here for more info.
Bear in mind we are in Mayfair so drinks prices are steep when it is a normal night as a bottle of beer is £7.50
and most cocktails are £15 each.
Monday 29 April 2019.
The video is now up on YouTube from Shepherds Bush Empire on Friday 26 April.
MOTT THE HOOPLE "All The Young Dudes" with Brian May and Joe Elliot.
Sunday 28 April 2019.
A couple of friends told me that rock legend JIMMY PAGE turned up at The Record Fair
in Victoria yesterday...Jimmy has been a regular at Record Fairs over the past few years...
Saturday 27 April 2019.
MOTT THE HOOPLE + TAX THE HEAT live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
I am back again to see their second show here.
Mott The Hoople along with bands like T.Rex, Sweet and Sparks were my first purchased records.
All these bands were regulars on Top Of The Pops when i hit my teenage years.
Not as glitzy as last night regards the celeb count but there were a couple.
JOE ELLIOT was again watching from the side of the stage and came on for the encore.
Mott The Hoople played another great show with the same setlist.
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