2008-12-13
 

12 Dec 2008.The Mighty Boosh live at Wembley Arena,London.In the main dressing room during the interval and for an hour after the show. About 25 people here including Noel and Michaels mum and dad(i used to work with Noels dad).The booze and snacks are flowing and despite being into month four of their five month six shows a week tour The Boosh troupe are buzzing as its their first ever Arena hometown show.They were all keen to say "Hello Wembley " on stage.Some exclusive news that they will soon announce two end of tour shows at Brixton Academy for the end of Jan 2009.A good one........................... 10 Dec 2008.Capital Radio 95.8fm "Jingle Bell Ball" at The 02 Arena,London.The afterparty for this show was at The 02 Matter club.Upstairs its a big bash with 300 or 400 here and its a buzzing atmosphere from 11.30pm to 2am(it was on until 3am).Lots of free booze for all and djs, jugglers and magicians floating about.Like The BRITS and others not many of the acts go to the official afterparty.There are a couple of Sugababes hovering.Also Alphabeat are having a dance and X Factor judge Louis Walsh is here but thats it.Not a lot when you think there were 16 acts on stage earlier.A very good party.......... 25 Nov 2008.The Alarm live at Islington Academy,London.Aftershow in the downstairs dressing room area for about 25 people for an hour after the show.The band are dishing out the beers.Mike Peters,James Stevenson and Steve Grantly all very friendly and chatty as usual.Found out that Tony Barber has finally left The Buzzcocks and will not be with them on their Jan 2009 UK tour.Steve also plays with SLF who tour the UK March/April 2009................. 22 Nov 2008.Motorhead + Saxon live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.Aftershow for about 200 people in the balcony bar.Like 9 out 10 here there is no free booze and its a pay bar.A few faces are here.Saxon,Girlschool,dj rock legend Krusher.Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickenson with a hat on so hardly anyone knew it was him.Punk rockers Vice Squad are here with Beki Bondage still looking good.Mark Fuller owner of trendy club The Embassy which Lemmy used to frequent back in the 1980s.Wurzel is here.None of Motorhead turn up.Someone with an AAA pass invites me to their dressing room.What i see is so weird.Lemmy has shunned the 200 at the party to ?? play a one arm bandit amusement machine that is set up in his dressing room.He is addicted to them.Good fun for 75 mins but a shame Lemmy did not show his face upstairs in the balcony bar............. 13 Nov 2008.Stereophonics live at The Riverside Studios,Hammersmith,London.Someone has pushed the boat out here as the 100 guests and media are treated to free booze and food before the show for an hour and free booze and food for 90 mins after the show.A nice relaxed atmosphere before the gig then a bit livlier after with a dj. All the Stereophonics are here and are chatty and friendly.Sex Pistol Glen Matlock is here as he shares the same engineer/producer(Jim Lowe) as the band.So all in all very good.............. 03 Nov 2008.Classic Rock Awards Afterparty at Studio Valbonne,62 Kingly Street,London W1. from 12.30am to 2am.A short 10 mins walk from the awards earlier at The Park Lane Hotel.As usual most of the big names avoid the party after. I see members of Thunder,Quireboys and Airbourne. The free booze if flowing and the dj is playing perfect classic rock tunes.A nice surprise is we get to see two bands who play decent 30 mins sets.First are Caimbo who are being promoted by Classic Rock.They have all their girlfriends and their friends at front of stage.Like i always say "Every Up And Coming Band Needs People Batting For Them".After a short break we watch new Aussie kids on the block Airbourne.Very similiar to AC/DC in sound,looks and attitude.They are great and finish with a storming "Whole Lotta Rosie " where they are joined by ex Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins who is now in Stone Gods.Airbourne are getting bigger and bigger and can now fill The Astoria so i must see them play a full set.A late night but overall The Classic Rock Awards is always a great night out................................. 02 Nov 2008.Focus + Wishbone Ash + Groundhogs live at Shepherds Bush Empire,London.Aftershow in the Level 1 bar for an hour after the show. Some 50 people including all three bands.Martin Turner from Wishbone Ash has loads of family and friends.More than all the other bands together. Decent enough for an hour....................... 06 Oct 2008.Q Mag Music Awards afterparty at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes.It was on from 6pm to midnight with various djs inc Jodie Harsh and Nat Weller(Paul Wellers son).We were there 6.30pm to 9.30pm.Loads of freebie vodka cocktails and food flowing.Of the 500 at the awards only half turn up here so they invite 250 just for the aftershow.As usual not many acts turn up here. The only face i see is James Walsh from Starsailor.Its great fun though.The music is loud and the atmosphere is rocking.The six of us have an hour of bowling which i win.There is also three Singstar Kareoke rooms which we sing a song(badly)in each.Each had lovely different smells provided by www.airzest.co.uk. We left before the end as we had been out for nine hours as it was.A superb day................ 15 Sept 2008.Metallica live at The 02 Arena,London.Aftershow party in the 3rd floor backstage bar for about 100 people.I was hoping for a big bash but its pretty average.Here for 90 mins and nothing happens for the first 45 mins. Finally Metallicas bass player turns up and despite his crazy stage persona is friendly and chatty to all.A very drunk Steve Harris lookalike in shorts brightens up the event. At the top of his voice he shouts to Metallicas bass player "Poison and LA Guns are much better than Metallica" at least 3 or 4 times.The bassist laughs it off.The rest of the band stay in the dressing room area or leave the venue pronto.......................................... 10 Sept 2008.Stray Cats live at Brixton Academy, London.A decent aftershow for an hour in the upstairs backstage bar.Some 70 or 80 people and nice and lively.A good number of faces inc Glen Matlock,Mick Jones,Chris Spedding,Dave Edmunds, Patti Palladin,Captain Sensible,Mike Peters, James Stevenson,Richard Hawley,Charlie Harper. All The Stray Cats come out and are friendly and chatty.Slim Jim has one of his wrists covered in an ice pack.Good fun this one................. 05 Sept 2008.Arkena Rock Festival at Vitoria Gastiez,Northern Spain.Aftershow by the bands dressing room portacabins.The Sex Pistols come off stage at 1.15am so not much time for them to hang around.Nice to see my friend Daniel and friends who have come up from Madrid.Had a chat with Michael Monroe the singer of Hanoi Rocks. I ask about the cruches he is using.For someone who jumps around so much he actually tore a ligament when tripping over a pavement.Had a nice chat with Buzzcocks bass player Tony Barber who is Glen Matlocks bass guitar tech for the whole tour.Buzzcocks got in a temp replacement for their eight shows this summer.Some shows the band plays two different countries in two days so the bands equipment is taken down after the show then they travel through the night and put it up again and check sound levels all before MIDDAY when its a festival as headline acts get first soundcheck. Steve Jones leaves the venue within 15 mins and i have a quick few words with Glen Matlock ,Paul Cook and John Lydon as they get in their cars.It gets lively after they leave.Members of Hanoi Rocks and Quireboys are knocking back the booze and a few are snorting the old white powder and pretty blatant too.One was Evan Dando who played the festival on the Thursday.We depart at 3am.Glen Matlock spends a couple of days in Barcelona and after the second day of the festival i head to Bilbao for two days............................................. 02 Sept 2008.Sex Pistols at Hammersmith Apollo, London.About 100 people in the balcony bar until midnight.There are so many faces here i know it feels like my own party if that makes sense. It was more of a friends and family gathering. Only celeb i saw was comedian Phil Jupitus. Others here inc tonights promoter John Curd, Patti Palladin and Steve English.Glen Matlock turns up and says hello to all.Sadly Steve Jones and Paul Cook stay in the dressing room area and i presume leave the venue for Steves birthday dinner.Then it all kicks off as John Lydon and posse whizz upstairs dragging a few chums with them for Johns party outside of the venue to a small building on the right of the Apollo.There is only 25 or 30 people but its all Johns close friends Rambo,Reggie,Brendan and a few of his footie mates who are loudly singing,chanting,dancing on tables and really going for it.The booze is flowing and the party winds down and we finally leave at 3.30am.John signs stuff and poses for photos while he smokes away.Like i have said before you have to go to ten aftershow parties to get one really good one and this was how a party is supposed to be.Lively,chaotic and everyone out for a great time.John Lydon LEGEND........................... 21 Aug 2008.Kerrang Awards aftershow party at Egg ,200 York Way,Kings Cross,London.Odd choice of venue as i doubt any of this rock crowd had been to this dance club in the middle of nowhere. Of course none of the main bands like Metallica, Rage Against The Machine or Slipknot are here. I see Carl Barat and members of Trivium.There were 500 at the awards but half dont turn up so they invite 250 for the afterparty only.Lively atmosphere with djs and the freebie Sailor Jerry rum cocktails are going down a treat.In one of the rooms they have Rockaoke which is a live band where you are the singer.They can play some 200 different tracks.Loads get up with some very good and some awful but its all good fun. I was there until nearly 2am and it was still rocking as it was on until 3am................... 13 Aug 2008.Lenny Kravitz live at Brixton Academy,London.Aftershow for an hour in the backstage bar.Much better than the Billy Idol one here a couple of weeks ago.Robert Plant is here with Lennys agent Rod McSween who are here for a while before going to Lennys dressing room. Also here is top Soho fashion designer Tom Baker who has dressed Robert Plant and The Sex Pistols stage wear amongst others and Roger Micheal a top club promoter in Londons West End.Lenny and the band stayed in the dressing room area....... 02 Aug 2008.Sex Pistols + New York Dolls + Buzzcocks live at The Lokerse Festival,near Gent, Belgium.About 100 people in the backstage area here.New York Dolls arrive and do not talk to anyone and leave after their own set.Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle from The Buzzcocks are in good spirits and knocking back the booze. Sex Pistols Glen Matlock and Paul Cook are both friendly and chatty as usual.John Lydon and Steve Jones stay in the dressing room area and do not see anyone.Security around John Lydon after the fracus in Spain a couple of weeks ago has been stepped up.The Pistols do not hang about that long as they have an early flight for tomorrows show in Glasgow which will probably be a better aftershow than this one.Always good to see your fave band in another country............ 31 July 2008.Billy Idol live at Brixton Academy, London.This was Billy Idols last night of his European Tour but it was a real letdown.In the venues backstge bar there are 40 or 50 people looking bored out of their heads.Billy Idol stays in his dressing room to chat to family and friends.There are no other musicians here and Billy Idol and his own band do not venture out of their dressing rooms.Pretty much an hour wasted really.................................... 03 July 2008.Duran Duran live at 02 Arena,London. A big aftershow event in the 3rd floor backstage bar here.Some 300 people made up of Duran guests and fans that had paid 285 quid for a premium package that included this aftershow meet and greet. All the four main Duran Duran members turn up and are chatty and friendly and posing for photos.Also spotted was Radio 1 dj Pete Tong and Rusty Egan (Rich Kids/Visage/club dj).I stay for 90 mins and all Duran Duran members are still here.A good one.................................. 01 July 2008.Sex Pistols DVD launch party for "There'll Always Be An England" at The Screen On The Green,Islington,London.After the drinks reception and screening most of the 200 strong media crowd from 10pm onwards headed to the afterparty at The Queen Boadicea Pub in St John Street,EC1 about 10 mins from the cinema.The free booze and food is flowing until a very late 2am. John Lydon is here with all his North London mates and Ian Brown and The Cribs also turn up. John Lydon is in good form chatting away to everyone.While some musicians and celebs at parties just have one quick drink and then run off John Lydon has a dozen lagers on his table and stays until after we have leave at 1.30am.A real British Icon?? Of course he is.The real deal............................................. 29 June 2008.Hard Rock Calling Afterparty at The Hard Rock Cafe,Piccadilly,London.This was after The Police show on the Sunday from 11.30pm to 2.30am.More free cocktails and food still going.I have never eaten so much as today.About 200 people but none of the bands who played but Chris Squire(Yes) is here.One of the original HR owners from 1971 presents Rita the legendary waitress who has been serving here since day one with a signed guitar.Then a band who played earlier in the day on the main stage The Micki Free Electric Blues Experience play an hour set of mainly covers inc Jimi Hendrix ,ZZ Top and other blues rockers.A great day really and The Hard Rock Cafe and staff really know how to put on a proper party................................ 26 June 2008.Def Leppard live at Wembley Arena, London.Aftershow party in the bands dressing rooms area for about 50 people for an hour after the gig.Lots of free booze here and nibbles. All the band turn up and are nice and friendly with Phil Collen staying the longest.Mainly family and friends.No sign of David Coverdale but he might have had his own party.No faces here but i did chat to Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cooks wife whose hubby plays in a band with Phil Collen called Manraze.Their album is out now and they hope to play some shows in October.Paul was not here as he is on tour with the Pistols travelling from Russia to Sweden i think.A nice bash........ 18 June 2008.Stiff Little Fingers live at The Royal Festival Hall,London.The free booze is flowing for 90 mins after the show.About 70 people here.All the band turn up and are nice and friendly as always.Me old mucker Alan Parker is here(has done books on SLF,Sid Vicious etc). Three of this band now live in America(Chicago,LA and New York)and one in the UK (Oxford) so to do a week of shows like this can be a logistical nightmare that most punters do not really know about or care about but this band just get on with it......................... 11 June 2008.Sex Pistols live at Birmingham Academy.Been to this venue before a couple of times so i know there is not much space in the dressing room area so only about 20 people have access passes.Nobody here from any other bands. Just friends of the band.Soho designer Tom Baker is here who has done suits and stuff for Glen Matlock.As usual Matlock,Cook and Jones share a dressing room and Lydon has one on his own.Its still a mega buzz for me that my fave band ever know me.There is enough food and drink here for 33 let alone 3 people.Stay here chatting for 30 mins then pop into John Lydons dressing room to say hello to John and John "Rambo" Stevens his friend and minder.Perfect night really even though the nightmare roadworks on the M6 on the way back tried to put a damper on things......... 23 May 2008.Paul Weller live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.At last a proper afterparty.In the upstairs bar of the venue a huge crowd of 300 are here to celebrate the last night of the UK tour and more important Paul Wellers 50th birthday which is on 25 May.A full three tables of food has been laid out and the £4000 free booze just about lasts for two hours.There is a huge cake in the shape of a Fender guitar that Paul blows the candles out as everyone sings Happy Birthday.There is a great dj that plays all the mod and soul classics that PW loves and loads are dancing.Faces here inc Roger Daltrey,Noel Gallagher and Gem from Oasis, Bobby Gillespie.Mick Talbot.Pauls ex DC Lee, all his band,his dad and family are all here. Nice to see Pat Gilbert from Mojo/Q Music mags and long time Weller fan DJ Gary Crowley.The best party at this venue for a few years........ 20 May 2008.Launch party premiere of Genesis live dvd at The Kensington Odeon,London.After the screening and q n a 150 invited guests are in the cinema bar.The free booze and snacks are flowing.Phil Collins,Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks are all friendly and chatty and Al Murray and Simon Pegg are floating about.Lots of the bands family and inner sanctum are here.A nice bash for about 75 mins........................... 18 May 2008.Roger Waters live at 02 Arena, London.About 150 people in the backstage bar on Level 3 of this venue.We are here for around an hour.Nice atmosphere.All Rogers band are here inc Snowy White and the three female backing singers.Rogers son and daughter are here but sadly Roger Waters stays in the dressing room area............................................. 16 May 2008.Here And Now at Wembley Arena,London. Nice aftershow in the backstage bar for 100 people for 90 mins after the show.The good thing is as there are so many acts playing you see quite a few here inc Paul Young,Martin Fry, Bananarama and Cutting Crew although no sign of Rick Astley or Ben from CKT Cat.Also here is Howard Jones who also sometimes plays on these 1980s tours.He looks a bit eccentric these days. He has long white hair tied in two pigtails.He looks just like Roger Taylor in that Queen video "I Want To Break Free".A bit odd i must say...... 06 May 2008.Def Leppard live at The Islington Academy,London.Aftershow for about 100 people in the upstairs bar for 75 mins after the show. The free booze is flowing and its a nice buzzy atmosphere.Phil Collen from the the band is here but the others stay in the dressing room area. ITB booking agent legend Rod(Def Leppard,KISS, Whitesnake and many more) McSween is here.Have a nice chat about KISS upcoming tour.A London show will NOT be added and the best best venue to see them will be Verona,Italy he said........ 09 Apr 2008.Noel Fielding live at The Royal Albert Hall,London.This was like last year as there were two aftershows tonight.The first is in the dressing room areas of the venue for some 90 mins after the show.Nice to meet up again with Noels lovely parents Ray and Di.Very lively indeed.Faces popping in to say hello to Noel inc Courtney Love,Zak Starkey and Johnny Borrell and the ginger bloke from Harry Potter.Then it was a short journey to a West End nightclub called Dolce at 10 Air Street,w1 from midnight to 2am where there was hordes of photographers waiting for Noel Fielding and Courtney Love to turn up. Very lively and loud in here and Noels brother Michael is doing a superb job on the dj sounds. Again the booze is flowing.A great night......... 28 Mar 2008.Only Ones live at Koko,Camden,London. Aftershow in the lounge bar at the top of the balcony for an hour after the show .About 50 people here inc all The Only Ones and lots of faces from the old days inc Paddy the scatty drummer from Raped and Cuddly Toys but no major names here....................................... 24 Mar 2008.R.E.M. live at The Royal Albert Hall, London.Aftershow party in a room on the first level grand tier of this lovely building.About 100 people are here and the free booze is flowing for some 90 mins.All the acts tonight turned up and stayed until the end.All of R.E.M ,Robyn Hitchcock,John Paul Jones,Terry Edwards,Duke Spirt,Foals and also the singer David McAlmont is here as is Alan McGee(exCreation,now Charlatans manager).So a great crowd and party............... 18 Mar 2008.The Jersey Boys - The Story Of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons at The Prince Edward Theatre,London.This was more like it.It must have cost a fortune and it put most gig aftershows to shame.They have laid on a convoy of coaches to take us to the splender of The Natural History Museum where some 1000 press,vips,cast members and their guests get stuck into the free booze and food from 11pm to 2am.Faces here inc Frankie Valli,Brian May,Anita Dodson,Barbara Windsor,Cilla Black,Lionel Blair, Christopher Biggins,Vanessa Felz,Carole Malone and a few more.There was a 12 piece jazz band playing the classics with the dinosuar bones hanging over our heads.Excellent bash........... 13 Mar 2008.Childline Rocks Charity Gig At 02 Indigo,London.Afterparty next to the venue in the newly opened eaterie Gaucho.Lots of free booze and tasty nibbles for 90 mins after the show.Over 200 people here inc half who had the 200 quid corporate tickets.All of Thunder were here as was Glenn Hughes and Fish but the others must have stayed in dressing room or gone home. They had an auction of about 10 items inc tickets on a plane for an Iron Maiden gig in Europe that would be piloted by Bruce Dickenson and one of Jimmy Pages guitars that went for 25 grand.Very good aftershow.................... 22 Feb 2008.The Cult live at The Kentish Town Forum,London.Aftershow in the balcony bar for 90 mins after the show for about 80 people.All the band are here except Ian Astbury who stays in the dressing room area.Nice to see Ray McViegh from early 1980s band The Professionals whose other members inc Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook.Nice lively crowd...................... 20 Feb 2008.The BRIT AWARDS at Earls Court Arena, London.The awards finish at 10.15pm but we hang about with all the other media and music biz folks in VIP block A for an hour chatting etc. The artists leave straight after the awards for their respective parties.There are half a dozen events on after but the main two are The Universal party at The Hempel Hotel in Bayswater and the SONY BMG party at The Hilton Hotel in Park Lane,Mayfair.We head for the latter as we know from before what a great venue it is. From 12.30am to 3am we are at Calvin At Windows on the 28th floor with great views looking over Hyde Park.Loads of tasty treats and cocktails all night.We arrived late so could have missed a few people but we see Natasha Bedingfield,The Hoosiers,Will Young,Beth Ditto,Paul Young(yes the 1980s pop star - he was on SONY back then),Mike Pickering (Mancunian legend who was in M People), Lemarr,Kym Mazelle,Gary Davies(yes the ex Radio 1 dj from the 1980s) and Zane Lowe was spinning the tunes.Lots of music biz folks here and it was an excellent party and nice goody bag too....... 16 Feb 2008.Smashing Pumpkins live at The 02 Arena,London.Like i said before 8 out of 10 aftershow events are pretty tame.Smashing Pumpkins are a big band but they probably dont know many people in London so there is not much going on here.We are in a room that can best be described as the roadies canteen area.There is soft drinks and water but no booze.Only about 30 people here but members of the band do turn up inc SP lovely female bass player.No sign of Billy Corgan who has stayed in the dressing room area and after 45 mins we are told to leave. Not very rock and roll at all................... 15 Jan 2008.James Blunt live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.Aftershow in the balcony bar for around 150 people for 75 mins.No celeb faces but a lot of James Blunt posh looking mates. James himself turned up looking short and scruffy but was very friendly and chatty to all as were the members of his band.Atlantic Records paid for a free bar which always goes down well....... 23 Dec 2007.Bootleg Beatles live at Hammersmith Apollo,London.Aftershow in the balcony bar for around 80 people for an hour after the show.All the band turn up.Surprise to see Gem from Oasis here but then Oasis are all big Beatles fans and The Bootleg Beatles even played "Wonderwall" in their set tonight................................ 20 Dec 2007.From The Jam live at The Kentish Town Forum,London.Nice aftershow in the upstairs bar for around 50 people for an hour after the show.All the band including Bruce Foxton and Rick Butler are here and are chatty and friendly.............................. 10 Dec 2007.Led Zeppelin live at The 02 Arena, London.Another one of those mega events where there were 3 or 4 big parties after the show. From 11.30pm to 12.30 i was at The Warner Music afterparty at The Urban Inc Bar opposite Indigo. Quality freebie cocktails and nibbles are flowing for a big crowd but there are no artists here and there is no live music so time to move on........ 100 yards away i get to 02 Indigo where a host of Atlantic soul legends are playing sets.Bill Wyman Rhythm Kings are again the house band. I miss Paul Rodgers sing a couple of songs but then Sam Moore plays a 45 mins set then Percy Sledge does a 20 mins set then Ben E King plays a 20 mins set and finally Soloman Burke plays a 30 mins set.I am watching it in the front VIP balcony but half the guests up here are more interested in the free booze in the bar where you cannot see the stage and so they end up missing this quality line up of four soul legends.A few of the celebs turned up here but not Led Zep who must have held their own bash backstage at the 02 Arena.Left the venue at 3am but what a night............................. 03 Dec 2007.Duran Duran live at The Lyceum, London.At last a band who make an effort. At the venue i end up in a meet and greet room after the show where about 30 or 40 Duran fans have paid i think 250 quid for a 100 quid ticket, drinks,food and meet the band.Fans are told Duran will here for 10 mins max so its a bit of a scramble .All the band turn up but i focus on John Taylor as he was in a great band called Neurotic Outsiders with Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols.During our chat i brought up the recent success of The Pistols UK tour and he said Steve Jones had actually phoned him straight after the Manchester show to tell him about it. Too many women here to chat to the others. From here a proper aftershow party at the trendy Cuckoo Club was held from midnight to 2am. Free booze flowing all night .The band all turn up and stay for 30 or 40 mins.Its very loud and busy here so did not bother to hassle them. What a totally excellent night.................. 30 Nov 2007.The Buzzcocks live at 02 Indigo, London.Aftershow in the upstairs lounge bar at this newish venue.All the band turn up and are chatty and friendly.Did not see any other faces. Pretty average do for an hour after the show..... 18 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at Glasgow S.E.C.C. Aftershow in the venue backstage for an hour. This was the last night of the 7 date UK tour. Singer John Lydon had a drinks reception party in his dressing room area for his friends and we are part of a small select group of only 25 people with Glen Matlock ,Steve Jones and Glen Matlock in their dressing room area.All are friendly,relaxed and chatty. Glen is really pleased on how the shows went. Steve told me about the filming he did in his old teenage area of Shepherds Bush(i went to the same school as Steve Jones and Paul Cook but i am 3 years younger)last week which included the pie and mash shop in Goldhawk Road.Steve leaves for L.A. Monday and will be back on his DJ show spinning discs on Tuesday .Paul is over the moon about tonights version of "Roadrunner". Also here is Scottish footie legend Richard Gough who now plays with Steve in Hollywood Utd and Bruce Watson fron Big Country and Dead Men Walking and recently The Skids.Great stuff...... 17 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at Manchester Evening News Arena.Even before the show you could tell this would be a big night as it was pre gig drinks at the hotel with the band. After the show we go to a drinks reception area in the venue where about 100 are gathered.Glen,Paul and Steve come out but John stays in his dressing room.Also here is Manchester legend Ian Brown who was in Stone Roses and whose latest solo album features Steve Jones and Paul Cook on it. Also here is World Superbike Champion Carl Fogerty.After an hour here we go back to the bands Lowry Hotel.All the band are here and its a great atmosphere.We leave at 3am and the place is still rocking and all bar Steve are still about.Just a superb evening...................... 14 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at The Brixton Academy,London.Lots of people here for the last of their five nights here inc Jonathan Ross, Mick Jones,Tony James,Johnny Marr and QPR player Gareth Ainsworth.A great atmosphere and great fun for some 90 mins after the show.Glen Matlock was here as was Paul Cook who told me Steve and himself had done some filming with Julien Temple in Shepherds Bush visiting some of their teenage haunts.John Lydon and Steve Jones again stayed in their dressing rooms............. 12 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at The Brixton Academy,London.About 100 people here inc Kirk Brandon from Spear Of Destiny and Spizz.A great atmosphere as there are so many people i know. We stay here for about 90 mins after the show. Glen Matlock and Paul Cook pop into the backstage bar but Steve Jones leaves the venue soon after the gig and John Lydon stays in his dressing room with wife Nora................................... 10 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at The Brixton Academy,London.As promised tonight was more of an aftershow party.The free booze is flowing(with the correct wristband),there is a dj playing some tunes and there is a lot more people.John stays in his dressing room again and Steve Jones leaves soon after the show finishes.Glen Matlock and Paul Cook are chatty and friendly as always. Nice to see some old faces like Steve English, Patti Paladin and John Curd but no big names here.After an hour in the backstage bar we then spend an hour in Glen/Paul/Steves dressing room where family and friends are gathered.Paul Cook told me that a possible appearence on The Jonathan Ross TV show had fallen through. A great night with these music legends............. 09 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at The Brixton Academy,London.Again the aftershow was held in the backstage upstairs bar for about 100 people. Steve Jones,Glen Matlock and Paul Cook are all here but John Lydon stays in his dressing room. Also here was Mike Peters from The Alarm and Tony Barber from The Buzzcocks.(Tony is actually Glen Matlocks bass tech for the whole UK tour) Again lots of people here from the old days inc Julian Temple who is filming these shows with NITRATE television for tv?? film?? Not sure. Another good one................................. 08 Nov 2007.Sex Pistols live at The Brixton Academy,London.The aftershow was held in the upstairs bar for 90 mins after the show.There are loads of people i know here .Glen Matlock and Paul Cook from the band are here but Steve Jones stays in his dressing room as does John Lydon who has a whole bunch of his Finsbury Park/Arsenal F.C. mates.No major celebs here.In the crowd earlier i spotted comedian Ade Edmondson and footie legend Stuart Pearce who introduced the band on stage at Finsbury Park in 1996.A good one but have been told the main aftershow party is after the Saturday show???????????

 
 
2007-11-08
 

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.

 
 
2005-01-26
 

09/10/21/22/23 Jan 2005 .Velvet Revolver , Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy . Blimey due to their reputations this is one band everyone wants to party with .Every night there is an aftershow at the venue for 150 people but the band stay in their dressing rooms for an hour after the show and only a few each night are escorted back to meet the band .We get a prized invite for The Brixton show and also backstage are Glen Matlock from The Sex Pistols and Chris from Three Colours Red . I bump into a friend who is a photographer who said he saw Jimmy Page backstage before the band came on but i did not see him myself .We spent a few mins chatting to Duff the bassist and Matt the drummer .Did not hear of a big party like there was at Rouge after the September 2004 show but there you go.... 15 December 2004 .Buzzcocks ,Kentish Town Forum ,London. Very enjoyable aftershow at the venue for around 80 people for an hour after the show .Great atmosphere as everyone knows each other and its like an old punks xmas party . All the band turn up and are as friendly as usual . A couple of members from the bands The Parkinsons and the all girl act The Priscillas are here . Good one . 27 November 2004 . Motorhead , Hammersmith Apollo , London. Great rock n roll atmosphere in the upstairs bar for 90 mins after Motorheads sell out London show . The band spend most of the time in their dressing after but pop up for a few mins on their way to the proper party at the Embassy Club in the West End . Support band Sepultura are here along with ex Motorhead guitarists Wurzel and Eddie Clarke . 13 November 2004 .Deep Purple ,Wembley Arena , London. Busy aftershow for about 100 people at the Wembley Arena backstage bar. Looks like a good mix of family and friends and hardcore fans from their fan club or website . We got 4 of the 6 Deep Purple turn up here . Ian Gillan ,Roger Glover , Don Airy and Steve Morse . All are friendly and chatty although Ian Gillan upset a few of the fans here as he refused all requests for autographs . Ian Paice and Jon Lord stayed in the dressing room area. Funny how members of Peter Frampton and Thunder along with their guests were not allowed in here and had to have their aftershow in their own dressing rooms. 22 October 2004 Dead Men Walking ,Mean Fiddler ,London. Aftershow at the venue for around 50 people .No free booze but a great atmosphere for an hour or so . Glen Matlock , Slim Jim ,Kirk Brandon and Bruce Watson from DMW are all here but Mike Peters leaves straight after each show to be back with his wife and 6 month old baby . Also here are Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks ) and James Stevenson (The Alarm ) and Steve Grantley (The Alarm and Stiff Little Fingers ) 20 October 2004 Whitesnake + Quireboys , Hammersmith Apollo ,London. Aftershow at the venue for around 150 people . No free booze but a great atmosphere for 90 mins or so. David Coverdale showed his face for a few mins along with Jimmy Page (Led Zep) and Brian Johnson(AC/DC). The remaining members of Whitesnake and Quireboys all stayed until the end which was more down to all the pretty woman showing an interest in hanging out with them me thinks. These included The Suns Top Page 3 Girl Zoe and a couple of her model mates who all had a sherbet too many .Also here was Luke Morley from Thunder and rock n roll photographer Ross Halfin . A couple of nice quotes were given .Asking the drummer "Why He Does Not Bother With Gloves Like Some Rock Drummers Do?? Answer was " Gloves Are For Homosexuals " also Brian Johnson could not confirm whether the rumours of AC/DC playing Brixton Academy just before or after Christmas are true. Could be another Carling Live one off show?? All in all a proper rock n roll night really. 17 October 2004 Scissor Sisters ,Royal Albert Hall , London. Only right and fitting that Londons fave new party band have a monster aftershow party after playing this famous venue .Polydor Records really pulled out the stops on this one . They flew all the bands parents over for the gig from NY as well as music industry bods from Holland and Germany . Yet again The Rouge Club in Tottenham Court Road was the venue . A cute invite in the shap of a cardboard pair of scissors and Polydor laid on four coaches from venue to party for those that wanted it . At the club there are about 300 people with free booze .There are a dozen scantily clad promo girls dancing along with girls with snakes and doing magic tricks . A lot of these parties have drinkers but not dancers but Scissor Sisters fans are party animals and its a full on dancing on tables and shakin ya booty bash. The band turned up with their parents .Only face i saw was Marc Bolans son Rolan . We were there till gone 2am and the party was due to finsih at 4am . Loads still there having fun when we left and bear in mind this was a Sunday night bash as well .Superb. 24 September 2004 Fender Strat 50th Birthday Concert ,Wembley Arena ,London . A lively bash for around 100 people in the backstage bar where Miller beer are dishing out the free booze and food for an hour . About half the stars are here Dave Gilmour ,Gary Moore ,Paul Carrack ,Hank Marvin, Phil Manzernera and the bass player from Status Quo are all here but Ronnie Wood ,Joe Walsh ,Brian May ,Paul Rodgers have either left the venue or stayed in the dressing room area. 07 September 2004 Mike And The Mechanics ,Shepherds Bush Empire ,London. An older crowd here in the nicely refurbished and extended level 1 bar for about 50 people. All the band are ,all are friendly inc Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrack(without his cap) .No free booze and no music celebs but Tony Smith is here(manager of MATM and Genisis)and a couple of Virgin Records execs and top rock n roll photographer dannyclifford.com is here. check his website out for some amazing rock n roll pix. 02 September 2004 Velvet Revolver ,Hammersmith Apollo ,London.A lot was expected for Velvet Revolvers first show in London party wise and they delivered .How it works is you go to 10 aftershows ,8 will be ok ,another will be very good and one of out 10 will be mega .This was mega. First off the aftershow at the venue .There is at least 100 people here inc the bass player and drummer from The Darkness and Carling are dishing out the free booze but the band do not turn up here as they go direct to the big bash arranged by BMG records at Rouge Nightclub,Tottenham Court Road .This was from midnight to 3am held over 2 floors with about 400 invited guests and free booze and a couple of pole dancers with the DJ playing a perfect batch of classic rock anthems. The band are all in the VIP room upstairs although Duff is not here (i think because he does not drink anymore he avoids the temptation)we get in and there is only about 30 people in the VIP area .Funniest sight of the night is Slash and Scott headbanging and playing air guitar to Bon Jovi " Livin On A Prayer" and Europe "Final Countdown" . The band along with wives,girlfriends and security leave the party at 2.15am. One of those perfect rock n roll nights i suppose.

 
 
2004-08-20
 

19 August 2004 Madonna ,Earls Court Arena , London.There are 2 rooms catering for about 200 people .Madonna does not show up but her band and dancers are here .Will Young is in the corner hiding underneath his hat .Lots of free booze and a nice lively atmosphere . 14 August 2004 Dio ,Astoria ,London. Drinks party in the dressing rooms for over an hour after this sold out show . A couple of members of Girlschool are here as is an ex member of Rainbow .The band are all friendly and in good spirits .Ronnie James Dio himself is polite and chatty. The keyboard player Scott told me he went to audition for punk rock legend John Lydon in 1997 for his last ill fated solo American tour.The reason he did not get it ? They were looking for someone who looked "middle eastern" .There were four German girls who come over just to follow the band around on their week long UK tour .Overall a great night. 08 August 2004 Finn Brothers ,Open Air Theatre , Regents Park ,London. Lots of media here so everyone was kinda expecting something pretty good .It was held in a room near the Open Air Theatre but half the guests arrive and leave pronto as there is no free booze . When the band turn up there are only about 30 of us left .Band are friendly .Noel G from Oasis pops his head in and Chris Difford from Squeeze is here .Ok party but should have been a lot better really. 01 August 2004 Twisted Sister ,Astoria ,London. This was more of a meet and greet than a proper aftershow .The bar had shut and most of the band are teetotal anyway .Old rocker Bernie Torme was here in the small crowd of maybe 30 people held in the balcony some 30 mins after the end of the show .The band are all friendly and over the moon with the reception they got tonight in London and last nights show in Derbyshire where AC/DC singer Brian Johnson had come on for the encore .Tonight there was a girl fan from Torquay who had got singer Dee Sniders autograph on Saturday in Derbyshire and this afternoon had gone to a tattoo place in London to go over it to make permanant on her arm ,dedication eh ?? The band were mighty impressed . 18 July 2004 The Stray Cats ,Shepherds Bush Empire ,London. Here tonight are Glen Matlock and Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols ,rock legend Robert Plant and Gem from Oasis . Cool stuff but why is everyone smoking so much ?? Robert Plant told me he is a massive Stray Cats fan and had been to all 3 Stray Cats UK shows on this tour and joined them on stage in Manchester. 11 July 2004 Beach Boys ,Silverstone Formula 1 Grand Prix after event party .This was great fun.Promoters CMP have laid on a massive BBQ and booze fest from 4pm to 10pm . Beach Boys are here along with Kerry and Bryan McFadden (He was really getting stuck into the free booze now he is free from Westlife shackles ).Racing drivers here are mainly the UK ones , Jenson Button , David Coulthard ,Johnny Herbert ,Jackie Stewart also Murray Walker ,Sato, Kerry and Bryan McFadden .Everyone is chatty and friendly and the 300 guests here really enjoyed themselves . 07 July 2004 Lenny Kravitz ,Wembley Arena , London. When Lenny comes to town you are sure to get loads of lovely looking women backstage and there are plenty here tonight ,most look like they are models ,all the band are here ,Lenny turns up for 5 mins then goes back to his dressing room with some girls and we are left with one of the white boys from Eastenders. Great aftershow atmosphere though. 25 June 2004 Red Hot Chilli Peppers ,Hyde Park , London . For these big outdoor shows there are usually a few different backstage areas for band , promoter, record company etc so there may have been a few celebs in the bands hospitality tent but we are in promoters Clear Channel tent where they have laid on lots of food and booze before and after the RHCP with nice comfy sofas but the only face here is pop idol Darius . Great to come out an hour after the show and all the crowds and traffic has gone though. 22 June 2004 MOJO Awards,Noon, Banqueting House , London SW1 . To celebrate 10 years as a music mag MOJO hold their first ever awards show in this lovely 300 year old building in Whitehall . About 300 seated for lunch and a few standing for the buffet with plenty of booze . Loads of bonafide rock stars here tonight who have had proper careers in music over the last 40 years , James Brown ,Morrissey ,The Shadows ,Mick Jones (Clash), Tony James ( Gen X ),Noel Gallagher , Red Hot Chilli Peppers ,Sting ,Libertines ,Beth Orton, Ray Davies ,Arthur Lee ,Black Eyed Peas, Lemmy (Motorhead) ,James Dean Bradfield (Manics),Melissa Auf De Mar ,Roger McGuinn (Byrds ),Tom Verlaine ( Television) ,Jimmy Page from Led Zep who won 2 awards ,Marianne Faithful,Roger Daltrey . Excellent event . Funniest sights were James Brown turning up in a tacky white stretch limo with a young blonde at least a foot taller than he was . Lemmy and Sting all loved up with their arms around each other and M .Faithful still oozing sex appeal by sexily drawing on her ciggies for the photographers.No real rowdiness as it was a lunchtime do which probably feels like the crack of dawn for the likes of Lemmy. 16 June 2004 New York Dolls ,Royal Festival Hall, London. Excellent aftershow party for the Dolls first show anywhere for over 25 years .Morrissey pops his head in for a few mins also Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream ) Patti Palladin, Bob Gruen , Andy who owned punk rock club The Roxy in 1977 .All the Dolls are here and are friendly and chatty even though David Johansen is well out of it .Plenty of free booze for the 50 or so people here.Mega. It was the same a couple of nights later for the second New York Dolls show with Paul Cook (Sex Pistols ) Mick Jones ( Clash + C Silicon )Tony James (Gen X + C Silicon ) Bob Geldof ,Don Letts, Shane McGowan and Primal Screams Bobby Gillespie all here.

 
 
2004-06-15
 

14 June 2004 Blondie ,Hammersmith Apollo ,London. About 50 back here and Sony Music have kindly laid on the free booze for 90 mins or so .All of Blondie are here and are friendly and chatty also here Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols ) and Chris Spedding and Paul Thompson (Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry ) and a Debbie Harry lookalike from a Blondie tribute band who did look like Debbie. 11 June 2004 Morrissey ,Royal Festival Hall , London.As usual Royal Festival Hall have laid on a free booze bar backstage .A cool mix of people inc Gem from Oasis ,Frank Skinner and Stephen Merchant (writing buddy of Ricky Gervais ) . The band are here although Morrissey himself stays in his dressing room. Good fun. 09 June 2004 Brides Of Destruction ,Electric Ballroom, London .Only about 30 people back after the show with a few dressed up rock chicks trying to get ex Motley Crue Nikki Sixx attention . The singer from up and coming HIM is here .Some free drinks for an hour or so ,all the band are chatty and friendly .As Nikkis an LA resident every time he lights up a ciggie he goes outside in the fresh air to smoke it.Very polite but hardly the rock n roll mayhem of Motley Crue days. 28 May 2004 .Ian Hunter And The Rant Band , Astoria ,London. Aftershow in the dressing rooms for an hour after the show .Nice atmosphere with a good mix of family and friends and musicians . Musicians here Ian Hunter ,Mick Ralphs ,the other Rant Band members ,Joe Elliot (Def Leppard), Brian May (Queen)and ex Mott guitarist Ariel Bender .Everyone is friendly and chatty .Joe and Def Lep are recording new album and Brian May wants to go out with his own band but does not fancy the singing side of it . Good one. 22 May 2004 . Cher ,Wembley Arena ,London. Most of the band are here but Cher has gone straight back to the hotel after the show . They have laid on some free booze too .Odd mix of faces here .Ex Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is here with her mum and a burly minder . Dorian from Birds Of A Feather is here ,also Ozzys hairdresser cousin fron Chan 4 Salon tv prog. Geri told me she had chatted to Cher before the show . 24 April 2004 Duran Duran ,Wembley Arena ,London. All the band are here in the dressing rooms hospitality area .Mainly family and friends with a few kids running around .Plenty of free booze and Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys is here .The band stay for 45 mins then we go into the aftershow bar area where all the PR girls are hanging out. 08 April 2004 Ronnie Lane Memorial Concert at Royal Albert Hall, London .Massive party after this show in the downstairs arena bar for 300 guests with free booze and food for all until 1am with a couple of djs playing cool mod and soul tunes from the 1960s.Pete Townshend ,Ronnie Wood and Paul Weller stayed in the dressing room area but everyone else is here Glen Matlock , Mick Jones ,Patti Paladin,Kenny Jones ,Henry McCulloch ,DJ Gary Crowley ,Steve Diggle etc Really good lively party and despite the no ventilation down there it was great fun.