Aftershow News: 8th November 2007

07 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols Press Conference At The Hoxton Bar And Grill ,London N.1.After John Lydons press conference here we are invited into the VIP room which has an outdoor garden area for smokers.John Lydon is with his good friend and minder John "Rambo" Stevens and a few of us are all sat around a table having a chat with him.Despite what you might John is always up for a friendly chat and drinks and for about an hour this was the case.Still very much in love with Arsenal F.C.i have met loads of rock stars over the years but meeting and chatting to members of The Sex Pistols really does mean a lot to me.There was a couple of bands playing (Funeral For A Friend and Maximo Park)30 mins sets but as you can imagine watching them was the last thing on my mind so had to miss them tonight......................... 05 Nov 2007.3rd Classic Rock Awards At The Landmark Hotel,London.The awards finished at 11.20pm then there was an hour of drinks at the venue.Before we picked up some goodie bags with Led Zep DVDs and Ian Hunter cds in them.Some faces are still here inc Duff,Ian Hunter,Thunder, Killing Joke,Joe Elliot,Anthrax,Black Stone Cherry,Porcupine Tree then after this its off to The Grill Room at The Cafe Royal where the free booze is flowing 1am to 2.30am.A few have made it here inc Black Stone Cherry,Glenn Hughes,Chris Squire,the singer from The Answer,Anthrax,Fish, Thunder ,Porcupine Tree,Meat Loafs daughter and John Giddings.What a superb night................ 20 Sept 2007.www.sunflowerjam.com live at The Porchester Hall,Queensway,London.Nice party for 90 mins after the show.Sadly Status Quo left straight after their set.The booze and food is flowing and Deep Purple members are here inc Ian Paice,Roger Glover and Jon Lord(although he left the band recently)also Gary Moore,Linda Lewis,Paul McCartneys keyboard player.All are really friendly all have their wives with them. Security kept popping in every 10 mins to ask people to stop smoking.A good one................ 06 Sept 2007.David Gilmour DVD launch party at The Odeon,Leicester Square,London.Excellent party for around 100 guests in the venues first floor bar area.Lots of tasty treats like duck wraps etc and the booze is flowing.David and all the band are here.Led Zeps Robert Plant is here. Had to ask him about the rumours of a special show (The New Led Zeppelin live at The 02 Arena on Nov 26 with the 3 remaining members)he said "He does not know anything about it".We shall see.Probably keeping it secret for a big press announcement.1970s singer Linda Lewis is here with hubby Neil Warnock who is David Gilmours booking agent.Also here was Paul McCartneys keyboard player.Lovely atmosphere and all the celebs stayed for the entire 90 mins.David Gilmour happy to chat and pose for photos but would not sign anything for anyone inside or outside the venue.A great night.................. 11 July 2007.Blondie live at Hammersmith Apollo, London.Aftershow in one of the venues rooms for an hour for about 50 people.All the band are here and Debbie Harry and Chris Stein stay for about 15 mins.Clem Burke is chatty and friendly to all.Also here was Glen Matlock(Sex Pistols) and Brian James(Damned).Good one and when we came out there was still over 100 fans waiting for the band..................................... 07 July 2007.LIVE EARTH Concert At Wembley Stadium.The aftershow for this event was at The Hospital Members Club in Covent Garden.Nice and lively with some 300 people enjoying the freebie cocktails and food for a couple of hours.Bit of a trek for the musicians so only spotted Nick Rhodes and Roger Talyor from Duran Duran also Corinne Bailey Rae.Pretty good ................. 20 June 2007.Iggy Pop And The Stooges live at The Royal Festival Hall,London.Aftershow party for about 150 people in one of the large rooms at this venue.Did not see Iggy and band members so they may have stayed in their dressing rooms. Lots of faces here like Chrissie Hynde,Jarvis Cocker,Jude Law(actor),Don Letts(punk dj),Noel Fielding(rock n roll stand up comic),Geoff Travis (Rough Trade Records supremo),Mick Rock(famous photographer who took Iggy pics in the 1970s), Tim Booth singer with the band James.A lively 2 hours of free booze and overall very good....... 14 May 2007.We Will Rock You live at The Dominion Theatre,London.This was a party to celebrate its 5th birthday.Over 200 people at The All Bar One around the corner from the venue from 11pm to 1.30am.Surprise that both Brian May and Roger Taylor both stayed until the very end.Brian was very nice and chatty to everyone as usual under the watchful eye of his personal security guy. Roger stayed at a table with family and friends. Ben Elton and Al Murray were both here.All the cast were here and the house band that still includes Neil Murray from the 1980s line up of Whitesnake.Had a nice chat with the lead singer of Lostprophets who was here with Alexa Chung his TV presenter girlfriend.Free booze and food until the very end.An excellent bash.......... 28 Mar 2007.Russell Brand + Noel Fielding live at The Royal Albert Hall,London.This is more like it.Back to Noels dressing room for an hour after the show.(i know Noel and his parents who are also here).About 20 people here popping in inc Paul Weller,Noel Gallagher,Sadie Frost and The Towers Of London then over to a bigger party at trendy Maddox club nr Regent Street until 3am for 400 people where the free booze is flowing all night.Very lively with girls dancing on tables etc and Noels brother Michael spinning the tunes from AC/DC to Van Halen and some newer stuff as well.Both Russell and Noel swamped with women.Also here Amy Winehouse,Kate Moss and Carl Barat(Dirty Pretty Things) and The Towers Of London.Excellent party and evening.............. 02 Mar 2007.Kaiser Chiefs + The Twang live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London. Aftershow for 60 or 70 people in the level 1 bar.Nice buzzy bash for an hour after the gig.Members of both bands are here and all are chatty and friendly.Surprise for me was with so many acts in London for NME Awards last night there are no faces from any other bands even though tonight is a NME promoted show as well.A pretty average do overall...... 25 Feb 2007.Rufus Wainwright live at The Palladium,London.Excellent aftershow party in The Cinderella Bar at the Palladium for 150 folks for some 90 mins after the show.Free wines and lagers (but no spirits) are being dished out and a great number of well known faces are here from music,theatre,film and tv like both Pet Shop Boys,Jamie Cullum,Sir Ian McKellen, Richard Wilson,Alan Rickman,Janet Street Porter, Kim Cattrell(Sex And The City),Sian Phillips, Jeremy Irons,Dawn French,Jennifer Saunders, Anita Dobson,that presenter bloke from NMTB, Lorna Luft(Judy Garlands daughter).Rufus along with sister Martha and mum Kate stayed for a few mins then left for their hotel.A very good aftershow event ................................ 14 Feb 2007.BRIT Awards at Earls Court Arena, London.The aftershow in the venue was the same as last year dodgem cars,djs and disco,interactive game consoles,burlesque dancing,girls taking momento photos of the night,fortune telling etc. Over 2000 here so no free booze and no artists. Good fun but too busy and too many long queues. Just after 1am we arrived at the SONY BMG invite only party at Tamarai in Drury Lane.We had a sit down Indian meal and the free booze was flowing. Also great to see Steven Tyler (Aerosmith )here, Sharon Osbourne,Faithless and Lil Chris.Oasis are on SONY but held their own party at Cuckoo Club. Left the party at 2.45.What a great day......... 28 Dec 2006.David Gest All Star Soul Spectacular live at Cadogan Hall, Chelsea, London.This was a great bash.11.30pm to 2am the afterparty was a few mins away at Traders Vic Bar,Hilton Hotel, Park Lane which is a full monty 5 star venue. Only about 50 or 60 people here in the vip area but half are from tv or soul legends.From the recent series of "Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here" we had David Gest,Matt Willis,Jason Donovan,Myleene Klass,Faith Brown and a couple of others and we had all the acts that were on the show Billy Paul,Martha Reeves And The Vandellas, Candi Staton,Stylistics,Freda Payne,William Bell, Dorothy Moore,Carl Carlton,Bonnie Tyler,Deniece Williams and Peabo Bryson.The free booze and posh canopes are flowing all night.The cocktails are the best in London(at 15 quid a pop normally i suppose they should be).Everyone is friendly and chatty and everyone stays for most of the night.David Gest told us he has his own chat show starting on ITV in April and tonights gig and party are being recorded for a tv special.Like i said before you have to go to 10 aftershows and 8 or 9 will be average but one or two will be great and this was one of them.Excellent night. ............................................... 07 Dec 2006.Babyshambles live at Hammersmith Apollo, London.Aftershow in the bands dressing room for about 25 people.Sex Pistol Paul Cook is here but there is no sign of Mick Jones or Kate Moss.Very lively,noisy and messy in here.All the band are in good spirits.The venue management are worried about the 100 fans who are waiting for the band to leave as a couple of them have brought acoustic guitars with them and its rowdy and the constant singing is keeping the locals awake no doubt .After some 30 mins the bands manager decides that the best thing would be for the band to get on the coach and depart the venue so the fans would go home. Everyday occurance for this lot i reckon but its all good fun i must say....................... 02 Dec 2006.Buzzcocks live at The Kentish Town Forum,London.Aftershow in the balcony bar for about 50 people.All the band are here and are chatty and friendly as usual.Good to catch up with all my mates in the punk rock community so an enjoyable 90 mins it was.............. 22 Nov 2006.Red Hot Chili Peppers live at The Roundhouse,Camden,London.Plenty of free booze in the upstairs bar area for 100 guests and vips before ,during and after the show.We were up there for 90 mins after the show.RHCP always stay in their dressing room area so do not turn up here.DJ Chris Evans is here .Also Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud and comedian Al Murray. Good fun but you kind of expected some proper musicians floating about but there were none.... 18 Nov 2006.Thunder at Oxford New Theatre. Aftershow in the downstairs bar for an hour after the show for around 100 people.All of Thunder turn up and are very friendly and chatty as they all sign stuff and pose for photos.For a nice change there are more fans at the aftershow than most bands ever have and that is probably why Thunder have such a loyal fan base.Luke Morley is always chatty and friendly when i see him out and about in London and tonight its the same. If only more bands could be like this.......... 15 Nov 2006.World Music Awards live at Earls Court Arena, London.The aftershow party for this was held at Paper in Regent Street from midnight to 3am.All night free cocktails and canopes and a lively busy crowd gave it a nice atmosphere. Those here inc Sir Philip Green (Topshop Owner) who sponsored the event,The Sugababes,Maxi from Faithless and a couple of Eastenders actors. New Breed are here who are a good new band. Check out their website www.newbreedrock.co.uk Another very good night even though the awards itself were hit and miss..................... 14 Nov 2006.UK Music Hall Of Fame Awards live at Alexandra Palace,North London.This is more like it.A massive aftershow party in the venue from 11pm to 2am with 700 or 800 people here. The major names like Bon Jovi ,Prince ,Beyonce and James Brown are hiding backstage or have left the venue but there are a few names here like Glen Matlock,Tony Iommi, Kenney Jones,Rick Wills, Dave Stewart ,Wolfmother,Lemar,Nona Hendryx and Towers Of London(who of course are here until the end).Food and booze galore,sushi,kebabs,pizza, chinese,hot dogs ,burgers and desserts and a decent dj who played rock as well as indie and r n b .Excellent evening..................... 12 Nov 2006.Brian Wilson live at The Adelphi Theatre,London.Aftershow in the dress circle bar. Free booze and wine for 90 mins for about 50 but when Brian played his Royal Festival Hall shows there were big name musicians like Paul McCartney and David Gilmour there but tonight there are none.All the band turn up and are very chatty and friendly and i get a nice photo with the blonde backing singer.Brian Wilson turns up with his wife and two kids for about 10 minutes. Neil Warnock was here with Linda Lewis and Glenn Max who arranged the Royal Festival Hall shows is also here.He said that when the Royal Festival Hall reopens in June 2007 after refurbishment Brian Wilson will play a 6 night stint there..... 10 Nov 2006.Paul Simon live at Wembley Arena, London.Aftershow drinks in one of the bars in the backstage area for an hour after the show .Only about 50 people here. All the band are here and to my surprise Paul Simon is here chatting ,posing for photos and signing stuff even though he had banned all the usual photographers from shooting him at the front of stage tonight for some reason. Nice to see Brian Eno here who was involved with Paul Simons new album " Surprise"......... 07 Nov 2006.Inxs live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London.Lively and busy aftershow in the level 1 bar for an hour after the gig.All the band are here and are friendly and chatty .Nice to see legendary record producer Chris Thomas here who has done Inxs ,Sex Pistols (NMTB),Roxy Music, Pink Floyd,David Gilmour,Pretenders,Razorlight and many more in the last 30 odd years.......... 06 Nov 2006.Classic Rock Music Awards at The Langham Hotel ,London. The aftershow for this was held at The Embassy Club which is a great venue. Free booze all night for all until 3am.Some of the big names never bother with official aftershows but a few are here like Thunder,Rod Smallwood,Frankie Miller.Jaz Coleman(Killing Joke),all the boys from Sensational Alex Harvey Band ,The Answer and Roadster.A great night. ................................................ 26 Oct 2006.The Good The Bad And The Queen live at The Roundhouse, London.Lively aftershow for about 100 people in the bar downstairs. All the band are here .Paul Simonon is in the corner with his friends but Damon Albarn is a lot more chatty and is moving around the room.Others here included Terry Gilliam(Monty Python),Terry Hall (ex Specials) and comedian Harry Enfield and NME journos having drinks with members of The Kaiser Chiefs.Sex Pistol Paul Cook was at the gig but did not go to the aftershow party. Good fun for an hour or so................ 22 Oct 2006.The New York Dolls live at The Kentish Town Forum, London.About 100 people in the upstairs bar for an hour after the show. All the bands are here ,The New York Dolls ,The Towers Of London and Glen Matlock And The Philistines.Lots of people here i knew .Paul Cook (Sex Pistols)popped his head in quickly but left pronto .Patti Paladin was here who recorded with Johnny Thunders .Peaches Geldof was hanging out with The Towers Of London. Very enjoyable i must say.A great night.......... 22 Sept 2006.The Cult live at Brixton Academy, London. With over 200 people on the guest list it was hardly surprising there was no free booze at the aftershow party in the backstage bar. Did not see any major faces here which was a surprise.Towers Of London are here.Ian Astbury stays in his dressing room to smoke some pot but all the other members of the band come out to say hello.We stayed for an hour but it was pretty average really then we popped in to the B-Rude Fashion Catwalk Afterparty at The Met Bar in Park Lane and Robert Smith from The Cure was there which was a rare sighting as he rarely comes into London.He was still there when we left at 2.30am....................................... 29 July 2006.Guns And Roses live at Cuckoo Club, Swallow Street ,London W1. When it comes to aftershow parties you can go to 10 of them and say 8 will be pretty average ,1 will be very good and 1 will be mega and this was MEGA.After their Wembley Arena Saturday show Guns And Roses play one of Londons coolest clubs.There are about 300 people rammed inside inc guests of the band , competition winners and some Swallow Club members.Free booze to bands guests but comp winners had to pay as they had different passes. Everyone is outside the venue at 3am but we are not allowed in until 3.30am.The band are on from 4.15am to 5.30am.Guns And Roses play a 75 mins semi acoustic set and i am a few feet from Axl Rose .12 songs played here tonight. 1.Youre Crazy...2.Mr Brownstone...3.Used To Love Her...4.Patience...5.Welcome To The Jungle...6.Knocking On Heavens Door...7.Sweet Child Of Mine... 8.???...9.Sailing...10.Nightrain...11.??? 12.Paradise City....What an amazing gig this was. Axl was really getting into it and he made a nice mention of his band "they get all this stick about not being old Guns And Roses but i love playing with these guys, theyre amazing". After the band left the stage a couple of members got on the dancefloor(not Axl ) along with Sebastian Bach and partied for another hour as the dj spun some great tunes and the bar staff sprayed the crowd with water.We left the venue at 6.30am.MEGA............................. 17 July 2006.Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Earls Court Arena, London.The aftershow was a bit surreal seeing that RHCP are one of the biggest bands in the world.At these big gigs there are always 2 or 3 different aftershows but none have real access to where the band are. After the show we are in bands VIP area with about 100 other people. I am here with Glen Matlock from The Sex Pistols and Joe Strummers widow is also here as RHCP are massive punk rock fans.So for 30 mins we are in this room as the band unwind a couple of rooms away in their "inner sanctum" . Then i introduce Glen to their security and we are walked through to said " inner sanctum" . There are only about 25 people here who are the main RHCP working personnel.Not sure where the drummer is but we say hello and a few words to the other 3 members of the band who are over the moon at meeting Glen.The band i must say are totally charming and very polite.Their tour manager tells us to help ourselves to the hot buffet and booze so we are eating at one table as the RHCP are eating at tables near us. We stayed there 30 mins before leaving. Pretty amazing really........................ 18 June 2006.Def Leppard live at Hammersmith Apollo, London. This was a pretty lousy aftershow.It started well with 100 people in the balcony bar(no free booze i might add)and Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols is here.(He plays in a band called Man-Raze with Leppards Phil Collen). One of the blokes from defunkt boy band Busted is here. The problem was only Vivian Campbell the guitarist was here from the band. He was chatty and friendly enough but after an hour it was pretty clear the rest of the band were staying put in their dressing rooms. Blimey how rock band aftershows have gone downhill when you compere them with the parties i was in the 1970s ans 1980s ..................... 01 June 2006. Whitesnake live at Hammersmith Apollo , London.About 100 people are in the upstairs bar for 90 mins after the show. No free booze but there is a great atmosphere mainly due to so many glammed up rock n roll babes here. All the band apart from David Coverdale turn up and are chatty and friendly to everyone.David stays in his dressing room to chat to members of Bon Jovi who have turned up to watch the show. Pretty good aftershow really.......... 11 May 2006. Anniverary Party To Celebrate 4 Years Of The Queen Musical "We Will Rock You" at The Dominion Theatre, London.Great party for around 200 people after we had seen the show. Some 90 mins of free booze and food. Roger Taylor must have left after the show but Brian May and Ben Elton are very friendly and both are signing stuff and posing for photos. Also here is 80s singer Paul Young .The house band here includes Neil Murray and Spike Edney who used to be in Whitesnake and other bands so its nice to see them again. Very good night............ 02 May 2006. "Chicago -The Musical" aftershow party to celebrate the move from The Strand to The Cambridge Theatre. From 10.30pm to 1 am we at SIN,Tottenham Court Road. About 500 people here and the champers, cocktails and canopes are being dished out by girls in skimpy outfits. Some faces here like Jennifer Ellison, Tamara Beckwith, Wayne Sleep,Wendi Peters and Andy Abraham (W Factor runner up) a cool dj playing the right tunes kept the party going.......... 28 April 2006.Slim Jim Phantom live at The Kings Arms, Acton, London.As its a small venue there are only a dozen people backstage.Slim Jim is here and Glen Matlock from The Pistols is here . Considering there are only 3 members in the band the venue has laid on enough booze and food for a dozen it seems.We stayed for 30 mins........ 18 April 2006.The Mighty Boosh at Brixton Academy, London. First night of FIVE shows here meant Noel Fielding ,Julian Barratt and Michael Fielding are well and truly chuffed to have played this venue where they have seen so many live bands over the years. About 50 people for an hour after in the backstage bar. Razorlight are here and Paul Weller and Gary Numan have seen the show in the last couple of weeks. Roger Daltry is coming later in the week. I am here with Noel and Michaels parents Ray and Di who have supported their sons comedy careers from the start .Great stuff......... 21 March 2006. Feeder live at Hammersmith Apollo, London. About 100 people here in the balcony bar after the show with a good mix of real fans and music biz folks. No free booze the tight gits but all the band are here and as usual are friendly to everyone. The bass player is walking around with his two young kids .OK for an hour after the show but nothing special ............ 15 Feb 2006.BRIT Awards at Earls Court Arena , London.Aftershow at the venue 11pm to 2am. Although all the celebs went straight home or to record company parties at other locations the aftershow party at the venue is always great. Over 2000 people here with dodgems and other fairground related stalls, karoke, there was a display of a dozen waxworks from Madame Tausauds and they were doing free photos which proved popular. At least 2 massive dance floors. Loads of deckchairs and lots of drunk punters. An excellent event as usual............. 09 Feb 2006.Goldfrapp live at Brixton academy, London. About 100 people in the backstage bar after the show. We stay an hour but the band stay in their dressing rooms , there are no other celebs and no free booze so pretty rubbish really ............ 07 Feb 2006.The Darkness live at Alexandra Palace,London. Aftershow party for about 200 people in the pub near the main entrance to the venue. Plenty of free booze for 90 mins. All the band turned up .Justin did not stay long but Dan the guitarist swigged his Moet champers from the bottle all night . Good one.......... 28 Jan 2006. Andy Wong Chinese New Year Party at The Royal Courts Of Justice, Strand, London. Not so much a gig but as there were a couple of music people there its worth a mention. Massive party for 1000 in this historic building. Very posh party with a "metallic splendour " dress theme which most kept to .Six hours of free booze and chinese food with two dancefloors and a covers band along with various other stuff. Those here inc Nick Rhodes(Duran Duran,Jerry Hall ,Danni Minogue ,Jordan with Peter Andre , Janet Street Porter, Nicky Haslam and Prince Michael of Kent who was there in his gold outfit. This was an excellent bash that must have cost a fortune to put on................. 03 December 2005. Sensational Alex Harvey Band live at The Mean Fiddler, London. A tiny space backstage so there are only a dozen here apart from band members. Sex Pistol Glen Matlock is here and 1970s guitar hero Chris " Motorbiking" Spedding is here . Chris tells me he played in a band with Alex Harvey in the 1960s in Soho. Chris is currently playing guitar with Roxy Music. Only 20 mins but band are nice and chatty..... 01 December 2005. Prodigy live at Brixton Academy, London. Aftershow for around 100 people in the backstage bar. No free booze but the band have hired a dj to spin some lively tunes. All the band turn up . Maxim and Keith say hello for 10 mins watched by their personal security then they go back to the dressing room area. Towers Of London are here as they were the last minute support tonight. We stayed for an hour but it was still in full swing when we left...... 23 November 2005 .Blondie live at The Royal Albert Hall, London. Most aftershows are held at the venue the band have just played so its great when the party is at another venue. The band even lay on a coach for those without transport to the Koko Club ,Camden upstairs VIP area. The free booze is flowing but there is a problem . They have invited 200 people for a space that holds maybe 100 so picture the scene as all of Blondie and friends like Glen Matlock ,Patti Palladin and Steve English (Blondie/Pistols/Clash security from late 1970s ) see its far too busy and leave within five minutes of arriving. A few minutes later the same thing happens as Cliff Richard, Cilla Black and Gloria Hunniford all turn up and depart pronto.We stayed for a couple of hours and it was a very lively bash i must say ......... 11 November 2005. Billy Idol live at Brixton Academy , London.Things looked like this would be a good one but not much was going on. About 80 people in the backstage bar but no free booze unless you had a tour laminate.His old GenX mate Tony James was here and members of his band are here but Billy Idol and Steve Stevens stay in their dressing room inner sanctum area and sadly do not turn up. The kinda show you expect a lot of old punk rockers to turn up for but it looks like nobody did. Lively atmosphere for 90 mins but some bands say hello and some dont.......... 30 October 2005. Shakira live at The Hackney Empire , London. The 100 balcony guests and media were given free booze all night and also for an hour after the show had finished. No celebs are here but it looks like Shakira has changed her UK booking agents from SOLO to ITB. Shakira comes up to say hello to everyone in a meet and greet style and most that want a photo get one. A good night all round really......... 29 October 2005 .Dead Men Walking live at The Shepherds Bush Empire , London. Aftershow in the Level 1 bar for a couple of hours after the gig. Great atmosphere . Captain Sensible was signing for fans after the show but did not make it up here .Mike Peters , Kirk Brandon and Slim Jim Phantom from DMW are all here as are some faces from other bands Ray McVeigh(Professionals and Glen Matlocks Philistines) ,Tony Barber(Buzzcocks), Rusty Egan(Rich Kids and DJ) , James Stevenson (Alarm and Chelsea) . Everyones nice and chatty .Great night........ 16 Sept 2005 .Offspring live at Brixton Academy , London. About 60 people in the backstage bar after the show . All the band turn up after 30 mins after they change and have a shower closely guarded by a burly security guard . Their tour manager keeps the band and their mates supplied with booze but no freebies for anyone else.The band meet and greet a few comp winners but nothing special here to be honest ............... 18 Aug 2005 . Scissor Sisters live at The Forum, London. Aftershow party in the circle bar for about 80 people so nothing compared to the mega bash ar Rouge after their Royal Albert Hall show last year. All the band are here although Jake is doing all the meet and greet stuff and Anamatronic is keeping a low profile. Will Young was here wearing a hat as usual........ 28 July 2005 .Paul McCartney Solo show at the Abbey Road Studios , London. As the crowd at the show was only 50 people they were all invited to the Abbey Road Studios Bar And Garden for free booze after the show for 90 mins. Paul McCartney and wife Heather turned up for 20 minutes . Also here was Travis singer Fran Healy along with his guitarist from Travis who were guests of Nigel Godrich who is Radioheads producer and has just produced Maccas new album .Good party....... 05 July 2005 .Nine Inch Nails live at Brixton Academy , London.Aftershow in the backstage bar for 60 or 70 people for an hour after the gig. Nearly everyone here has dyed black hair and black clothing so cannot tell how many of the band are here or not. NIN drummer is 6 ft 6inches tall so it was easy to see he was here. Also here was Glen Matlock(Sex Pistols) ,Ray McVeigh( too many good bands to mention) and Gary Numan .............. 04 July 2005. Madness at The Scala ,London. As you would expect from a Madness party it was very lively with around 100 guests in the upstairs VIP bar of this venue. All the band are here and are chatty and friendly to all. Nice to see most of the band have brought their kids out to the party .Lasted for about an hour or so after the gig.Good one ................ 22 June 2005. Psychedelic Furs at Shepherds Bush Empire, London. A lovely cosy aftershow in the bands dressing room for about 30 people of which 10 were the band and their touring staff . All the band are friendly and chatty and offering boozr to all. Richard Butler told me he has a solo album out before the end of the year and their manager hopes to sort half a dozen UK shows out when the new album comes out next summer . Very enjoyable for an hour after the show....... 19 June 2005 . Motley Crue Wembley Arena gig aftershow party at The Cobden Club , London. Back to this venue for the second time in four days as it was also used for MOJO awards party. A massive event sponsored by Playstation 2 release of " God Of War " game . Very busy 500 people over three floors. Half were those who had been at the show and half were media types . All the band are in the VIP room . Each member of MC has a limo , personal security and their own dressing room and its clear they barely talk to each other offstage. Tommy Lee is like the Pier Piper as twenty leggy women follow his every move. Did not see any celebs from any other bands which was a surprise .Loads of free booze and plenty of entertainment with strippers, fireeaters , other freak shows and a karoke act called PISS who mimed to rock anthems in masks. Had a quick chat to Tommy Lee who was moaning about "all the seats" and "Wembley Arena Pavillion = What The Fuck Is That All About" and the blind lighting guy who could not find Nikkis son when he came on for the encore . Nice goodie bag included a Motley Crue tshirt. Chucking out time was 2am .Excellent ......... 12 June 2005. Stranglers and Stiff Little Fingers , Brockwell Park , London SE24. As the venue had a 9pm curfew this party was held in daylight between the two bands portakabins at this cosy outdoor festival. About 25 people are here and its great fun. Both bands really friendly and offering drinks. Stranglers vocalist Paul Roberts must have told a dozen jokes in the time i was there. JJ was in his motorbike gear and when i asked him does he still ride his bike often? He said his three main passions as a teenager were music, marshall arts and motorbikes and 30 years on he still is doing all three which was great to hear. He told me he actually drove to this show on his Triumph. All the SLF gang are here as well and it was a good little bash........ 08 June 2005 .Roxy Music at Koko Club ,Camden. Excellent aftershow in the upstairs bar for 200 family ,friends and guests. Very busy with free booze for 90 mins . Those here included all of Roxy Music, Glen Matlock(Sex Pistols) , Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd) ,Chris Thomas (producer of Roxy Music , Sex Pistols and others ), Charlene Spitteri (Texas),Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet ) ,Marianne Faithful and DJ Robert Elms. .............. 05 June 2005. Todd Rundgren And Joe Jackson at Hammersmith Apollo , London. Nice relaxed aftershow in the balcony bar of the venue for about 40 people for an hour after the show. Joe and Todd both turn up and are both friendly and chatty although Todd gets a lot more attention than Joe Jackson from everyone. Todd has always been a man of mystery over the years but he is talking to everyone. I asked him how Joe and himself got this bill together . He said they did a couple of shows together in New York last year and the promoter just suggested a European tour would be a good idea. Joe Jackson was pretty stunned with i told him i was on the same Freddie Laker Skytrain flight as him and his then girlfriend to New York way back in Sept 1979 . Both posed freely for autographs and photos and it was good one........... 11 May 2005 . Queen With Paul Rodgers ,Wembley Arena Pavillion , London. In the backstage area were Status Quos Rick Parfitt and Quos bass player along with Anita Dobson (Brian Mays other half ) . Not much going on as people wait for the band to turn up so we head over to the large hospitality tent nearby for an hour where they are dishing out the free booze and there is a decent Queen tribute act called " Mercury " doing a live set .It was good one............. 10 May 2005 . Sex Pistols DVD launch party for the release of " The Great Rock n Roll Swindle" which is in the shops on 06 June .SONY BMG have hired the legendary Paul Raymond Revue Bar in Londons Soho for 80 guests and media from 6pm. All night free booze , burgers , hot dogs and popcorn .7pm The film itself was shown on the big screen and it was great to watch it like this. 9pm to 11pm DJ Gary Crowley did a perfect selection of Pistols and other punk classics on the decks. Sadly none of the Pistols turned up but John "Boogie " Tiberi and Rodent were here. engineer and roadie from the Pistols early gigs. Steve Diggle from The Buzzcocks was here but the highlight for me was the Sex Pistols Experience tribute band who drove 200 miles each way to be here all dressed up complete with Nancy . An excellent evening and needless to say the film is superb and a must buy purchase......... 01 May 2005 . Nancy Sinatra , Shepherds Bush Empire , London. Lively aftershow for 50 people in the Level 1 bar. Nancy stayed in her dressing room but all her band inc her touring drummer Clem Burke from Blondie are here chatting to his chums from The Sex Pistols Glen Matlock and Paul Cook .Good one.......... 27 April 2005 . Robert Plant And The Strange Sensation , The Scala , London. Aftershow party in the VIP Glass bar of the venue. About 50 people are here with free booze for a couple of hours . BBC Radio djs Andy Kershaw and Mark Ellen ( he did OGWT after Bob Harris ) are here .All the band turn up inc Robert Plant and are friendly and chatty to all. A burly personal security guard watches Robert Plants every move . Excellent night....... 20 April 2005 . Loaded magazine relaunch party at Portman Place , London W1 . This amazing posh house is used one a month by the owners for private parties. Loaded mag has a new look and a lower price to compete with cheaper and weaker versions like Nuts magazine . About 400 people over 2 floors and 6 rooms with free booze and food and djs and a live band . Also performing live was Dita Von Teese (Marilyn Mansons partner) who did two 10 mins sets of her amazing Burlesque Tease Revue which went down a storm .Loads of scantily clad Loaded models here inc Abi Titmuss and also spotted was porn star Ron Jeremy , Gail Porter , Charlie Simpson (Busted/Fightstar), and Chelsea football captain John Terry who came here straight after the nil nil draw with Arsenal . An excellent party event..... 18 + 19 April 2005 . Manic Street Preachers , Hammersmith Apollo , London. Aftershow party in the upstairs bar at the venue for around 100 people for 90 mins . SONY records have paid for the free booze . Singer James Dean Bradfield and the Manics drummer turn up but Nicky Wire stays in his dressing room . Good one........ The following night the promoters have given out guest tickets and aftershow passes like confetti as the upstairs seating is half empty. This means there is at least 200 people at the aftershow and the £1000 free booze tab lasts about 15 mins. So many people here i could not sse if the band turned up to it or stayed in their dressing room but it was a very lively atmosphere ....... 30 March 2005 .Garbage , The Scala , London. The record company had a party for the band after the show in the upstairs bar . About 80 press and guests are here . Nice atmosphere with free booze and a DJ spinning the discs for a couple of hours and all the band turned up .... 25 March 2005 . Stiff Little Fingers , Forum, London. Nice aftershow for about 30 people in the bands dressing rooms for an hour then for another hour back at their hotel in Islington. All the band are friendly and chatty . Dolphin Taylor who has played with SLF and others over the years was here. Good one...... 22 Feb 2005 . Comic Aid , Hammersmith Apollo , London. A late finish to the gig has meant a late party 11.30pm to 1.30am. There were about 100 people at the aftershow party at the venue . About a dozen of the comedians have turned up . A lot of BBC staff are here as well as Mark Lamarr . Lee Evans is chain smoking away and Jack Dee is well pissed. The BBC have paid for a free booze at the bar and laid on limos to take all the comedians home after this massive comedy event..... 19 Feb 2005 .REM , Hammersmith Apollo , London. Well this more like it . REM have hired out the four rooms on the first floor of trendy private members club Home House . This place is five star with high ceilings , paintings , carpets and waiters handling the drinks . All of REM turn up for an hour or so and are really friendly . Also here are Carl Barat(Libertines) fresh from signing his new solo deal . Alan McGee (ex Oasis manager and Poptones supremo is here ) and one of the blokes from Squeeze . More bands should hire out nice classy venues like this.

Posted 8th November 2007