Worry,

I have been playing the (title of the blog) song for the last couple of days, it’s like me its old but damn good! At least I thought I was, my health although getting better with wind issues from all points of the compass, has been decidedly yuk for the last couple of weeks and although by nature I can come across as a tad grumpy, I as a rule do not worry, believe it or not I do try to be a happy camper, but the seeds of doubt have now been sown.

Blood test upon blood test and with very little information being fed back, other than its abnormal (again me with my reputation) it has kind of set the ball rolling, I have an ultrasound in the coming week, and then other bits and pieces to be decided and then confirmed and then yet another blood test on October 1^st , this time though I want my results back from an actual doctor, not the polish receptionist, who I must stress is lovely but on a telephone her accent is very strong, at first I thought she was Chinese I’m all for diversity, but something as important as this, please keep her off the phone, she is great face to face but yeah as I said worry has started to grow legs and kick me!

I’m at an age that we call in my family the death zone, we have done a little bit of family research over the years (Ok the wife has) and most of the males in my family as far as we can go back, die between the age of 55 and 62, with the exception of my uncle (my namesake) who is a sprightly 77, I hope I take after him, because I am now over the threshold, I used to laugh about it, I don’t feel so glib at the moment, this year has been so crap with little niggles catching up with me and again doubt creeps in, like quicksand it takes a hold and its not so easy to shake off, if I’m overthinking it well that only makes me human, who knew I was the same as everybody else.

I am fighting the good fight, I am trying (I’m not sure how well) to stay  as positive as I can as I believe positivity is the key, again  I know, me with my reputation what can I say, it would appear that I am starting to mature (I’m not sure that I like it) I suppose I have to, otherwise I will simply surrender to the fear of something that I know nothing about, this could be something really simple but then again it could be the start of something far more sinister than I care to think about, I have lost a couple of close friends with the thought that “oh it’s nothing” then it turned out to be so damn nasty and it was too late to escape from its evil clutches!

As always I am going with the assumption that worse things happen at sea, but I want to batten down the hatches so that the sea doesn’t get in, water has a tendency to sink things, I definitely do not wish to sink, so that’s all I have to say on the matter, (it didn’t take long for boating analogy’s to creep back in, I’m using the power of positive thinking and trying to go in the right direction, I’m not saying its going to be good every day but yeah I want to do the right things for me and my family simply because I want to be around for as long as my namesake, the blog name could just as easily been any number of titles, maybe with a tad more positivity, but this is the song I have played to death over the last couple of days, please don’t “worry” for me .

Music thankfully has saved the day with a good fresh supply being delivered via MP3’s as well as vinyl (yes vinyl) and new CD’s, I’m in the final countdown phase for the release of the new Fish album (September 25^th) in a way I’m glad  that its his final release as I have ordered it in three different versions, standard CD, Deluxe edition including a DVD and an accompanying book and last but not least the Vinyl double album, which more than likely I won’t even play, I don’t spoil myself often, but for once I thought “hell yeah I’m having some of that” I’m only here once allegedly.

The last blog is still going, this is being written Thursday and is unlikely to be posted before Saturday  (so yes I will whittle away over those two days) as the last one still has legs and getting around 60 hits a day, nearly a week after it was posted, so again I must have done something right, so watch out on Saturday, that’s if I can actually get online, the lap top is like me old and infirm, but also like me it keeps plodding on so hopefully it has another couple of years to go, although whisper it quietly I have started looking for a newer model, I don’t want to have to deal with an older jealous model, you know what they get like as they get older and temperamental, honest I am talking about the lap top……..Tee Hee!

Me and the good lady reach our silver wedding anniversary later in the coming week I had been planning a nice little evening out just for the two of us, but with what is going on out in the big bad world she has decided against it, I will still try and make her day a little better (by going to work) I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for her I most definitely would not be here, not on the internet or even on this little world we call earth I was in a bad place mentally when I met her, next year we will have been together for 30 years, she definitely deserves a medal or something, I suppose she will simply have to put up with me for her sins.

The name game is still in play and will run until blog number 500, this is an old song, lets see how many get this, only one of you have managed to get the last one and dammit I thought that was a piece of piss! The numbers trying to guess the name game has subsided in the last 20 or so blogs, not sure why, I think I have done only one hard one and Suki from Japan got that in under 10 minutes, it does appear to be the same peeps trying their luck and it doesn’t look like they are googling it, I could be wrong but honestly I couldn’t make it any easier, actually the more I thing about it, this one may be a tad harder than normal!

So there you go that’s yet another blog done and dusted, nothing that I wanted anybody to worry about me (I can do that all by myself thank you) life is shit, but you really do need to simply  get on with it, I have an idea geminating (quite literally as I type this one) for the next blog and I have another one word (song) title for it so yes there will be incoming and yes it will be historical (slightly) yes it will be happy, so watch the skies for incoming, thank you for all the kind words reference the last blog, it was so easy to write once the juices got flowing, I’m alive and well (at least I think I am) so stay safe and stay alive and until the next time…………………..Toodles!

And the bands played on.

 I sat down to write a musical historical blog and boy did I fall down a rabbit hole, I was in a mind funk of trying to gather as much information about support bands that I had seen, headliners are easy but I realised that I had forgotten many of the unsung bands that I have seen over the years.

I remember watching local bands like Dark Angel and New Disease, Wet Dream who I had to listen to outside the Mount pub as the landlord didn’t think I was old enough (he was correct I was only 14 and had just shaved off my first big bushy beard) if there was someone playing local I always endeavoured to try and get in, I remember there was a band I was desperate to see (so long ago I have no idea the name of the band) playing the Sun in Burnopfield and I had to walk home because I didn’t realise that the bus (in those days ) stopped at 10, I was in the doghouse after that one, mind you I did get a lift home from a friendly policeman who wondered why I was running at that time of night, I didn’t tell him I had been in a pub (me with my reputation).

 then there were the big boys support slots at the City Hall (still my fave venue) and other venues within the city of Newcastle, I remember seeing Def Leppard (when the drummer had two arms and was more baby faced then me) supporting the likes of ACDC and Sammy Hagar, I saw a young Diamond Head supporting Def Leppard, I also saw them headline in the city hall (superb) and in pubs like Trillian’s, Where Sean Harris came out wearing a monks habit (I have no idea why), then bands like Alcatraz (not the Graham Bonnet band) supporting the Tygers of Pan Tang, with special guests Magnum who I saw so many times as support or special guest , then bands like Trickster who supported Boston who I was able to buy their singles but had no joy finding the albums, no wonder they died a death, Budgie I have lost count the number of times I saw them as a support , never as a headliner even though they toured for years after the event.

Lucifer’s Friend, Riot, Socrates (a Greek rock band supporting UFO on the making contact tour, I had actually gone to see Billy Sheehan but he had jumped ship before even reaching the UK we got Paul Gray instead) The Greeks got abused and I kind of see why, as they were terrible. Infidel who had a lady singer who was good, the band not so, Lita Ford I saw twice as a support band and both times pretty damn good! I saw bands like Angelwitch, AIIZ whose drummer later joined ACDC UFO and Dio. I saw Zeno (Uli Jon Roth’s Brothers band) supporting the Ray Gillen version of Black Sabbath (another time Glenn Hughes didn’t turn up) then saw them announced at St James park supporting Queen (where they were introduced as it being their English debut…erm no).

I saw Terraplane before they turned into Thunder, I saw Stevie Salas Colourcode, I saw the Electric Boys, Girl supporting so many artists, I saw shite like Beltane Fire, some bands you just know when they walk on the stage that they are going to be bloody awful, and I had to endure them for virtually every night of the Misplaced Childhood tour, they recently reformed and my only question is why would you? I saw Mark Almond support Cher and he was incredible; I had seen him back in the day with Soft Cell and he was always shite. I saw a band called Ore over twenty times in the marquee they were always a great act and they had great songs, as long as you didn’t look at them they sounded great, but they had a major image problem in that they had the fattest singer in the world he was easily 25 stone, an awesome voice but god they just looked odd, and so they didn’t stand a chance.

I saw How We Live before Steve Hogarth joined Marillion but floundering after the Europeans, they were supporting Chris De Burgh, did I not tell I would go to any gig and yes Mr De Burgh was great, I saw Loud who were made up of ex members of New Model Army (I saw them as well but not as a support act) who the press said that they were going to be the next big thing, they weren’t, although I still have the 12” singles, I have no memory of virtually any band supporting Fish, yes there was support bands, but I simply don’t remember watching them. FM was a similar kind of thing but they did have one or two memorable  ones including White sister and Saraya, Romeo’s Daughter and loads of others(Bernie Marsden acoustically was great) but to be honest I was only interested in FM, I saw Wildlife supporting MSG before they morphed off into FM, again another band I saw in their infancy, including lots at the marquee and other venues around the country supporting just about everybody, usually I left after seeing the support act, I had gone to see Dereck St Holmes singing with MSG and then stumbled onto Steve Overland, and I have been hooked ever since.

I saw River City People who were really good until they got signed and then became a real crap pop act, I should know because I helped write some of the real crap pop songs that they demoed, I hope they never got released. I saw The Beat morph into General Public supporting Queen on the works tour and they were so bad I would go and buy more merch every night or maybe that was Freddie’s plan all along! I saw Fist support UFO and lost count of other local venues I saw them in, I always thought they would be bigger than they were, I saw White Spirit before Jannick joined Iron Maiden, damn they were good. I saw Gary Bardens in Statetrooper, I never rated him in MSG but loved Statetrooper, I even bought the bloody album, I saw Tik & Tok (don’t ask) Praying Mantis and a band who were decidedly second rate called Dedringer who I always enjoyed although I think that they were old enough to be my dad, not a great look in a support band!

I saw The Rods nearly destroy Maiden on the number of the beast tour, who I saw nearly destroy Priest on the British steel tour (erm no they didn’t) Paul Dianno always let the band down live, very charismatic but lousy singer live, I saw Samson and thought that Bruce Bruce should sing for Maiden, oh look at that he did! I saw Wolfsbane and always gave Blaze Bayley ten out of ten for effort but again not the best singer in the world, I saw Great white (erm no thanks) I saw them many years later upstairs at the O2 and they were great but not as a support, I saw Saxon I saw Accept and god knows how many more bands over the years, all who have done as I have , disappeared into mundane jobs supporting themselves and their families, but back in the day someone believed in them and paid for them to get onto a support slot in the vain hope that the album would sell, then you realised that the albums were not in the shops and that the label had dropped the ball.

I saw Quiet Riot and Gary Moore in his band G Force (not on the same bill or the same night) and I saw It Bites support Robert Plant to be honest I only went to see It Bites, maybe I should have stayed to watch Mr Plant,  I know I could go on forever, unfortunately though for every good or even poor bands there were far more shite ones and I really do not know how the hell they got that far, I saw a band called The Front support somebody at the Riverside in Newcastle and they had amazing brand new Marshall stacks and ultra-modern kit but they sounded like a bad version of the Doors, and I hate the Doors, somebody gave them a shed load of money to waste, I sometimes wonder what ever happened to them (no I don’t I’m lying) Don’t criticise me though, I did buy the album as they did a cover live which I thought was great and the damn thing wasn’t on the bloody album.  The moral of that tale is do not buy albums under the influence of alcohol HIC! I stood in awe of Saigon Kick supporting Extreme again at the Riverside, I was sneaked into the soundcheck and my mind was blown away as they sounded so huge in such a small space, they should have been so much bigger than what they did become.

I’ve seen Jugglers, painters and comedians I have seen what can only be described as something exotic and I have seen some downright weird, by and large I do usually enjoy the support band and until recently I usually give them three songs to prove themselves, if they don’t do it in that time I have a tendency to go and look at the merch stand, although these days I don’t buy as much as I could! I have seen the band that the blog is named after and I thought that they were better than the headline act on the night, admittedly a pretty close thing for that pairing. I have seen pairings that have been fantastic and the support has simply upped the ante and the headliners have run with it, it really does make for a much better show, I have seen some dire supports as well and boy did they get abuse, I may have got Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes with Yoghurt whilst supporting a major rock band but for legal reasons I’m going to be in denial.

I haven’t even mentioned The Dickies, Danger Danger ,Two Tribes, Rose Tattoo, Wolf, Y&T (as a support act to ACDC), Spider, Mama’s Boys, Satan, Aldo Nova, Exodus, Tesla, China, Van Hagar and a multitude of others, you kind of get the picture! My favourite support story I loved Reckless by Bryan Adams and he supported Tina turner and because of who me and my friends worked for we able to wangle free tickets for every show on the tour there was about eight of us and we were third row every night and as soon as Mr Adams finished we buggered off to the bar I often wonder in Tina thought what the hell Is going on with those third row seats, can we not give them away, I still chuckle from time to time when it springs to my mind!

I had to stop at this point as my head was about to explode, some more would pop into my head and become more steam and then before I could make notes they vanished like steam, there so many other ones out there,  and I could do a similar blog as the ones that got away, it was fun to reminisce in a time before people stood annoying everybody behind them filming something that they will never watch again, usually because the sound is so shit! I hope you all enjoyed this one as much as did writing it, I can write something other than doom and gloom, so watch for the skies, for the next one, I know I will have missed  out so many more bands but damn it I’m old and my mind isn’t what it used to be, until the next thrilling dose of crap issued on the internet for free………………Toodles!

Wasted.

 As per usual the blog has taken a different slant, there were loads of different versions until I got to this one, I’m hoping that it will be a tad better than the pile of bile that I was intending to post (oops) make your self comfortable this one has the potential to be long and it may go off piste at some point!

The blog  is going to be in reverse as I had been taking notes and trying to get a line on my (sanity) thoughts of the week, I will admit it wasn’t looking lite it was going to be a happy blog, thankfully at some point yesterday a switch was thrown and I intend to be as truthful and take this from a dark place to somewhere slightly happier, lets see what we can do. The blog was originally called dark days in paradise, but I started thinking I needed to make sure I didn’t do two blogs inspired by the same artist (for titles) and I didn’t really want to give the game away too early (is the second paragraph late enough I have no idea).

I have to say beware  of the dog as Bob surfaced late last Sunday (back off Bob), I was at work and the day was not going well, I was drowning not waving, I was in a such a foul mood, I have no idea why I was short with people and generally grumpy (I know me with my reputation) peeps were great they just thought I was grumpy because I was going to miss work, as I started 7 days holiday (erm no) to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to them at all (Bob) I had lost interest in the numbers the blogs were doing (not a good sign) then on Monday me and the wife had a shouting match, actually we didn’t I did, I lost my shit over nothing I was simply trying to prove a point that I wasn’t bothered about something, and she kept poking me with a stick, volume button raised all  the way up to eleven, WTF! To say that the beginning of the holiday was wasted was an understatement.

That was not how I wanted the week to start, the wife has had a couple of bad weeks and I was honestly trying to be more supportive, it didn’t work, and for once I couldn’t bring myself to apologise so I did what I do best, I hid in the back room with my head phones on, thankfully we both realised I was a dick and like the world, we moved on. I was still as cuddly as a porcupine, and it was bugging me, I have no idea what was dragging me down into the dark pit that I was heading to (Bob) I headed off to food land and was generally still unhappy with what I was cooking (for everybody) and what I was eating, I was eating way too much (junk) when food didn’t help I spent money (that thankfully I had) but it didn’t help, I was a much better boy than I had been, but nothing seemed to help, at least I didn’t buy anymore music, I’m still going through the last lot I got!

At all points dark thoughts were there bubbling away, my health was better, but it kept flaring up as if to remind me that all is not well, thankfully I received a couple of letters one saying not to worry my bloods were clear, I need to phone to speak to a doctor to get the actual results, but the day before I got a letter saying I had to go for further testing at my (thankfully) local hospital so I’m taking it as a good thing bad thing, I’m clear of all the nasties that they thought I might have had, so now its time to delve deeper into the body, I am not looking forward to an of that, it is however a necessary evil, I am hoping that at least we will get a better understanding, because its not helping with my general demeanour!

I have also been so damn lethargic, my sleeping keeps getting disturbed as the wife has added snoring to her repertoire, but my dreams have also been so damn weird, I keep dreaming of where I lived as a teenager and there’s a Russian gangster (don’t ask me how I know he is Russian I have no interaction he is simply following me) following me and I am so drunk, Ronnie James Dio keeps popping out of what used to be the local post office to tell me that everything will be fine (WTF) I need to talk to a dream whisperer to have it all explained, I have no idea why these people or places are intertwined, please I don’t want any thoughts from any of you dream weavers to help me, my brains are scattered at the best!

I haven’t enjoyed the process of writing, like I would normally, but I have had at least managed a couple of sessions, some serious blitzing going on, but were as it normally elevates my dopamine levels I simply haven’t had any luck until yesterday morning when the switch was flicked (damn there’s another song title I could have used) there is literally around 20 blogs to go until the big change, so I need to keep my shit together, I am anticipating a huge drop in numbers as some of you are only happy when I am unhappy (I hope you like this one LOL) once I get this one out I will be making notes but its highly unlikely that there will be another one in the next seven days as I go back to a long list of shifts, hopefully there  is light at the end of the tunnel!

I have also been suffering quite badly from tinnitus at the back end of the week (touch wood it has receded) I know that it wont have helped my mood, I’m so glad I didn’t have it at the start of the week that really would have been a topper, don’t worry I won’t bite anyone, just yet, thankfully I dragged the wife out of the house and we did some shopping (again just me spending money) a few stores then our local farm shop where I could have gone bat shit crazy (the secret is too go at the end of the day when there is not the full spread) there was still enough of a spread to spend £20, but hey ho I’m worth it! Then off to our local reservoir for the wife a milk shake and me to have a dirty dog which was nice but because of the wind (not me for once) cooled it down way too quickly so I left about a third of it, that set my stomach off with the burping again, I was determined not to let it beat me!

I’m not sure how the family have put up with me this week, what with me being grumpy, grouchy and shouty, its not a great combination thankfully I was only shouty one day, maybe I’m going through the male menopause, I mean I am old, I was also hot and sweaty at various points, all uncalled for and not at all expected at all, food wise I can’t put my finger on anything, but the waves of nausea  are wiping me out the burping is annoying enough and thankfully the wind from my arse is down to a force four, I did enjoy a digital holiday of sorts, although I don’t think I was really missed by anybody, again I’m putting this in the mix for the state of my mood! Although I did try to remain positive(lots of music) I generally failed, although I was confined to bed for most of yesterday, I did as I was ordered and did feel all the better for it, until yesterday maybe the sleep helped flick that switch, typical full of positivity on my last two days!

So, there you go again not the blog that was being planned I still have lots of plans to sort out and I promise (honestly) the next one will be a musical historical one, I know there are plenty of you out there who are just a  little interested in bands that I have seen, I intend to do a musical montage of bands that I have seen over the years, as I could quite easily do 500 blogs on live gigs I have seen over the years……..now there’s an idea (nope not going to happen I struggle to remember the day before, never mind years ago) I always expect a barrage of abuse when I do a historical one from people who were there at the time, saying “that’s not what happened” thankfully so far they haven’t and I know a few of them do read the ramblings of this old man. So watch the skies, it probably will be a while before the next one, so if you are in the mood, why not try some of the original ones from back in the day, they could do with a read, it’s not like I get paid if you read them and some of them are damn good (that’s not me saying that but people who have actually read them) stay safe stay alive, watch the skies for incoming, but until then keep your powder dry and as always I will say…………Toodles!

He knows you know.

Wheels within wheels, I’m still begging to ask questions of reality, about life the universe and just about everything, reality has been so strange over the last few days, being at work has made me realise how spoilt we are as humans and why does everybody feel like that they are so entitled to have everything?

My mind has been racing with all things blog like, when the last two have done such fantastic numbers and I am now in the why? Phase of blog writing and I’m starting to second guess myself, not a good thing and my health although better is still toying with my emotions, damn it, I’m not a happy bunny, having said that I seem to be in a continuous loop wondering if I ever am…..Happy, I think that I am but I just don’t know how to prove it to myself!

Am I tumbling towards a conclusion, I haven’t been so far, the numbers keep climbing and again someone is reading through the old blogs as those numbers keep pricking ever up wards, but with no comments, so I start thinking why and trying to second guess myself again, what are they thinking are they reading the meanderings of an old man, its at this point that today the penny dropped, I am old, my body is old and crumbling and the way I look at things (I have always been old) makes me a grumpy old man, I do want to do good things for people, I go out of my way to help others (its true nice guys always finish last) and still I have no positivity from doing these deeds people just expect them without any kind of gratitude, not that I am really expecting anyway, but a grunt or two in my general direction wouldn’t go amiss.

I have no idea why my brain does this, and it is my brain not me, its like my brain is toying with my emotions, I get the feeling that people who I have helped generally don’t want to mix, converse generally just don’t want to be in my company, which probably isn’t true, but again my brain being my brain overthinks everything, the last few weeks ( I would say months but again my brain is toying with me) have seen me in a reasonable frame of mind, my mind is off walking in the world and not walking on water as I would like it to!

I have a song acting as an earwig and the lyrics are peppered throughout this blog although the title is not being used for the blog as It have already been used, again my brain is toying with me as I type this as a stream of consciousness, my thoughts are out stripping my general mood and as the day comes to an end my mind is slowly poisoning my general frame of mind, this week cannot end soon enough as I look forward to my 7 days off so I can break down the walls of indifference and become the better person that I know I can be, or so I like to think I can be…..who knows!

I have to face up to the facts I have to face up to the truth or even reality but as I get older (back to the old age thing) I am aware that my body is breaking down and I don’t like it, its these things that are causing my mood to slip, I can remember being able to be more mobile damn it even skinny, yes I know it seems like such a long time ago, to be fit and then wallop life has crept up on me and hit me a number of times with a bloody big stick. There’s a lurk in the mirror trying to catch my eye and its laughing at me, not with me, and again anger is not far from the surface, admittedly this is aimed at me and not at others, its simply my brain , playing games as it can!

As always of late this is not the blog I intended, I feel the need to vent, otherwise its has the potential for me to go tap dancing through a bloody minefield of my own making, I bought some more flowers (damn it I am a keeper) for the wife simply because I thought she needed cheering up, hey have you seen who she is married to, people have been dying all round us in our little street maybe that’s what’s causing the bad kind of vibe, I don’t know, I just know I simply wanted to blog!  The shutters are closed arm the alarm hide all the weapons (yes I’m still riffing on that damn lyric) I intend to post this on Sunday (let’s see if I do) and then get another one out by the middle of the week, let’s see if I can get one out that I have prepped and done some actual prep work on. Who knows which way the wind will blow, we can all but hope?

The Gary Moore Blog was good and rather positive, with some good thoughts, again thanks to all that did read it , as they rocketed within an hour of posting, its like you all have some kind some of Spidey sense when its gets posted, again there were lots more of drivel thankfully I was able to get it paired down to the bone, damnit if only I had an editor , more than likely probably more than half probably wouldn’t get posted or again is that my brain tickling its fancy, simply wheels within wheels my brain is tumbling towards its conclusion.

That’s another one down getting closer to 500 and the change in the new year will be seismic, it is  going to happen, I’m kind of looking forward to it as the historical ones will cease along with the whinging ones (hang on that’s just about all of them) so watch the skies for incoming and thank you for listening to an old man’s drivel I know its drivel because I’m old, honest I know, until the next time…………Toodles! 

Run for Cover.

Music has always flowed through me, ever since I can remember, I have seen just about every artist that I want to (with the exception of  Steve Walsh of Kansas) I think I have done alright, some artists I have seen more than once, that’s why I usually get the odd blog out of it, I have mentioned in previous blogs I’m not really bothered about meeting the actual stars, I have many times, some of them have been great/good/bad/shite (delete as you feel fits)This blog is about my obsession with Gary Moore that lasted from around 1977 through to about 2001.

I had seen in a couple of TV programmes one for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations album and one was a Sight and Sound Concert on the BBC for a band called Coliseum II now I’m not saying that I liked the music (I did however I was too young understand it at that point) but I loved the guitarist the afore mentioned Mr Moore, then I found out that he had joined Thin Lizzy and I was desperate to seem him live so to speak, my brother got tickets and was going with two girls from school (one of the girls dads had said they couldn’t go unless there was a boy with them, someone that they could trust) now my brother took every opportunity to rub it in that he was going to both nights, then our mum was taken ill and me and my brother were let loose to do some shopping, otherwise we would starve, thankfully it was only a bad case of the flu for my mum, it was the first time I had seen her poorly, as it happens we were in the store arguing over the shopping (that’s my brother and me) and we bumped into the two girls that he was going with they were both Lynott fans and they thought I was cute as I raved about Gary Moore, so much so one the girls taped (those were the days) the album for me, how nice.

Then karma bit my brother in the ass, as he caught the same lurgy of our mum, it was a deal breaker, at the time I had a beard (three years younger than my brother and I could grow a full beard hahahahaha he still can’t) so the girls asked if I wanted to go, I hate to say it but I don’t honestly cannot remember the girls names, although one of the girls dads owned a chemists in Gimpsville, any way I went both nights I was the perfect gentleman ( I was 14 for gods sake and these were sophisticated women of 15)the band (as always in the days before I became jaded) blew me away damn I was happy, then  the git up and left I went to see them plenty of times after this but it was never the same for me!

Then he upped and released the G Force album/CD or whatever format you have, I recommend it, then I discovered they were supporting Whitesnake on the Ready and Willing tour, I couldn’t get in for the first night although I did hang around outside and met the band and got my album signed by all of the band (long gone in the mists of time) and Gary was nice he asked if I was coming to the show the next night I was honest and suitably crestfallen and told the truth “no I cant afford the tickets, all I can afford is the bus fare down I was going to hang around the back stage door to listen” he then turned to Mark Nausef the drummer and asked if he could organise to get me on the guest list (my first time ever) again to say I was naïve was an understatement as I didn’t have a clue what the guest list was, the drummer soon told me all I needed to know, I got down early the next night (too early the list wasn’t out) finally got in and yes I was the annoying person down the front going absolutely mental (I’m sure they were going to through me out, thankfully they didn’t) as soon as they finished I rushed out to the backstage area to say thank you, Gary was not as happy as the previous night, but he did cheer up when I said thank you, he then asked me if “I was going to watch Whitesnake”? now I didn’t know that I could go back into the venue but I simply said “no thanks I have seen who I wanted to” I was simply being truthful, years later I was annoyed at how dumb I had been as I could of and should have seen them (whitesnake that is , oh the folly of youth).

I then went and joined the army, but all was not lost, I was still music mad and I still started to collect as much music as I could, (still do) I found a bootleg of a Thin Lizzy gig at the Mayfair in 1973 with Gary Moore covering for Eric Bell and his solo was essentially the main solo from Black Rose, I still have the tape somewhere, then I found out G Force had folded (bugger) and that he had joined Greg Lake, now this was a slight hiccup as I couldn’t get home to see the gig in Newcastle as I was down on the south coast and they didn’t like you going AWOL, however all was not lost as a couple of NCO’s were going to see the gig at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth, I was allowed to tag along, I wasn’t disappointed even though Greg Lake was a dick outside, Gary again was pleasant (I didn’t get to speak to him).

I was soon back on civvy street and was trying to stay solvent, which in the early 80’s was hard then I found out on the night of the gig he was again playing the Mayfair the closet day ever for my birthday I was despondent, however Big G was as always a good guy and he paid for me to get in, I didn’t have a drink all night and I watched the gig from the  rear of the stage with another friend watching what Ian Paice was doing, go figure Gary was again brilliant but we couldn’t work out why he had John Soman with him, I liked Gary’s vocals just fine!

It was another two years before I say the Irish Wizard I saw him in Newcastle and Middlesbrough (Town hall) this time Gary seemed unhappy outside but was pleasant with the gaggle of people hanging around, I then saw him ten months later at the Marquee in London, to be honest I don’t remember much of the gig as I was slightly …..erm….drunk, I know I was happy as he played hurricane and white knuckles back to back, I’m told that there was famous people there but sorry I have no idea and the person who gave me the information couldn’t remember who they were , he can remember waking up in the marquee toilets the next morning bless him, no names as his mum could be reading this lol!

Then it transpired that he had hooked up with Glenn Hughes and they were playing the City hall, double Joy as FM were the support, I was disappointed as Glenn was off trying to get sponsorship from Mars bars (look it up) I enjoyed the gig but I was disappointed as I was desperate to see Glenn, I had tickets for other gigs but we usually left after watching FM, me fickle, no not really but FM were on fire and Mr Moore wasn’t!

I next caught him at the Garden Party gig at Milton Keynes for Marillion, I wasn’t there for Gary and again I was disappointed, I was there for the headliners, who also disappointed but for completely other reasons, I then caught Gary on the wild frontier tour at the NEC in Birmingham and the city hall (actually paying for one of them) and both gigs were great although I preferred the city hall as it was more intimate (and I payed for the ticket) I will be honest though I was getting a tad jaded by now, gigs had to special to keep my attention by now!

Next it was the After the War tour and I simply did not enjoy the gig and I have no idea where I saw it, I’m guessing London, I do know that Mr Moore was pissed off after the gig and jumped straight in his car and buggered off, a friend saw a couple of other dates and said he was even more unhappy then (I don’t even know how that is possible). My love affair with the Irishman was starting to turn sour I still loved his playing and his albums (to date)however it appeared that he didn’t, then shock horror he went and released Still got the Blues  and it looked and sounded pretty damn good, I saw three shows (Edinburgh, Newcastle and Hull) I have to admit by the third one I had probably overdosed, I certainly wasn’t happy that the album afterwards was another blues album, mix it up a bit mate we parted ways and I didn’t go to see him again until the “A Different Beat” tour at the city hall and to be honest I got in for free and I thought that was too bloody expensive, too many covers too indulgent and again he just looked miserable, before he always looked as he was enjoying it on stage.

The last time I saw him personally was on the Monsters of Rock tour wedged between Y&T who were awesome and Whitesnake who I did enjoy (probably one of the last times at least in a bigger venue) it was a welcome change as he did a couple of the covers that he had done but the rest of the stuff was off the Scars cd, largely unfamiliar material well played but not so great, if he had done a few more older songs he would have gone down a storm, mind you  he had also put on tons of weight and generally looked pasty, and even more unhappy, was this because he had gone back to rock, even if It felt a little half-heartedly, not a good look. however, after the set Y&T had done, he didn’t really stand a chance especially in Newcastle! And that was me done, he went back to the blues (yet again) and I wasn’t bothered it was all good it just didn’t float my boat year in and year out.

I then watched on You Tube a gig he did in Dublin to celebrate Thin Lizzy which was damn good, could there be redemption for him? Yes, I think there could be! And then he buggered back off to the blues until 2010 when he did a European tour with old cohort Neil Carter featuring a Wild Frontier set list with three new tracks that all had a decidedly Celtic feel to it, the music and the playing was excellent, however he didn’t look the picture of health, I was skinnier than he was and then the sad news came that he had died while on holiday just before recording what I think a  lot of people would have said would have been a damn fine new rock album.

I kind of get it you don’t always want to play the same old stuff but you get stuck in a rut, but he did the same with the blues, and now we will never have another round of blazing solos, there’s plenty of great stuff on You tube though get on there and enjoy it all!

So there you go a blog that reminisces about music and has a slight historical bent, enjoy, stay safe, stay alive, watch the skies for incoming, until the next one ………..Toodles!

Choices.

It would appear that I am being spoilt for choice in just about every department of my life, this has come as quite a surprise, for once in my life it seems that I get to choose, when did this happen? And why did I simply stumble onto the fact by mistake?

Ok so this isn’t the blog I intended, I had a great musical one percolating, then a couple of others popped into circulation and I worked hard at them all and they will see the light of day sooner rather than later, this one won out, I have no idea why it just did! The last blog did great numbers and as always thank you for the kind words, they do help make a difference.

I am back on my own two feet, quite literally, it’s a glorious feeling, but its still quite painful, I will live with it though for the sake of my mobility, I’m still not firing on all cylinders but I am trying to keep an even keel, I’m having good days more than bad, but I still feel like hammered crap, the NHS is great but damn this taking ages to even get anywhere near a first step. Having said that I don’t intend to be beaten as always, its onwards.

I seem to be making lists of things to do from blogs, books, music, food, jobs I need to do, Jellybeans (yes jellybeans) time off, people I don’t like (only kidding……. I think), work and so many other things some I will go over here some I won’t, ha me with my reputation!

Blogs, well I’m trying to tie these ones up and get ready for the next phase, it’s a bit of a struggle as I want to have all the good ones done and published and the rest of the ideas tied up in a box and then buried, me weird who knew?

Books, well finally I’m back to reading non work material, at the moment I’m sick of reading current legislation, standards approved codes and all the other things that go with the job, maybe I’m just feeling a bit burnt out, I think (hope) that its an age thing and after some rest I come back brighter and stronger, I’m reading mainly biography’s, musical ones its simply awesome to be able to switch off and enjoy a read of historical fancy about stuff I seem to have a great handle on already, who knew  I knew stuff, its worthless but dammit I seem to know one or two things.

Music, well I’m simply letting it wash over me, I am 11 albums into it today, I’m currently listening to Nick D’Virgillio Invisible, I am enjoying all of it, but I am trying to be eclectic, and so far I am succeeding and enjoying myself most of it is virgin territory  for me and I will go back to most of it, one or two although enjoyable I doubt I will (The Revolutionary army of the baby Jesus I certainly won’t) but its not all encompassing I am still trying to fit in with the family and be part of it, so we do watch tv and other things, I simply get up before them so I have more time on my hands!

Food, Again because of the bland days whilst being ill, I have to make sure that I don’t over do it and be a glutton on some of the nicer things, I’m finding that whilst I’m finishing my meal I’m already planning my next one I made a curry for me and my daughter last night and as I was plating it up, I was already  plotting what I was going to have for my breakfast, I’m trying to convince myself I’m being healthy but I have my doubts!

Jobs I need to do, well there are a number of tiny tasks that I have set myself to do, I simply need some get up and go to do them my ill health has knocked my self-belief and confidence, I have never been so lethargic in my life the spirit is willing but the body keeps telling me no, again its good days and bad days, my good days I can do everything, today I got up made breakfast for everyone, did the dishes and then faded, as I type this I am not long out of a soak in the bath but my get up and go has definitely gone into hiding, I’m sure it’s an age thing LOL!

Jelly beans, well I am obsessing over gourmet jelly beans and how to eat them (its my one treat) separating the flavours and then seeing if I can guess the flavours by the colour, me weird hell yeah! It’s not as easy as it sounds!

Time off, damn it I was on furlough for 78 days I really don’t want to be off, however I realise I do need some time off as I am suffering, just a tad!

People I don’t like, is actually a very small list and getting smaller by the day, life is way too short, I want a life, they certainly will not be thinking about me, why should I waste my time on them, not that I really ever did, I simply had a few good sound bites (a grudge is for life not just for Christmas and a few others) trouble is its all bullshit, as I already said life is too short, the one person who I really should hate ( you will have to guess) I don’t even think about them at all, I simply want to be the best person I can be and I don’t want hate to be part of my make-up, that’s not to say I won’t be hateful and petty at some junctions of my life I’m simply hoping that they won’t last, after all I am only human.

Work, I love my job and most of the people who I work with but it is all encompassing I really do need to try and break the chains of self-confinement (of my own making) work is not the be all and end all, if I don’t give my head a shake there is the potential for me to burn out and lose what I have about my job which helps me tick, about the only positive thing that I have, for me with no other involvement, I know what I mean you guys might not, this is definitely an age thing!

The lists go on and on and I seem to make my choices, so far so good (not) I’m not perfect but more of a work in progress ( a little like this blog) one foot in front of another, and one day at a time good times and bad moments all rolled into one.

So, there you go another blog another slight detour, however I think its getting to the end game and no amount of pleading (from all over this small blue pearl) is going to change that, there will be the odd blog to keep you the discerning reader up to date with goings on, and trust me I want the Tee Hee Club to rise up like a phoenix (although the wife and my working rota needs to line up like the planets) life is what it is and always I want to thank the people that help get me through my day at work and outside of work most of these people may not have a clue but you do keep me on the straight and narrow, if not for you lot I would be a bitter and horrible (more than I am now) person.

Watch the skies for incoming, I’m off for 13 out of the next 16 days so there will more incoming, lets get the written word out there, until the next time…...Toodles!

A Plague of Ghosts

So I thought I was doing better (that shows what I bloody know) and I let my guard slip and it came back to bite me in the ass yesterday, so I had to return to my diet of cup a soup and water, I’m starving today but I want it to go back to normal as quickly as possible as I had five good days and then wallop.

I was also looking forward to some social interaction last night, but as I was picked up from work, I was sat in the front of the car with a plastic bag in my lap waiting to hurl, thankfully I didn’t, but the wife was thoughtful and took me home before I spoilt the birthday girls party, we left and I climbed in the back of the car burping and farting and wishing for some deity to take my life and I so wished that I could climb that wooden hill, I got home and did indeed climb the wooden hill and was soon fast asleep, thankfully this morning I did indeed feel just a little perkier!

Although I have been doing better, I have been allowing (for some reason)  my brain to start dwelling on certain negative memories that hasn’t helped with my recovery, work has helped as have one or two lovely people who gently steered me back to calmer waters, and I have managed to keep my brain busy and focused (well kind of) nothing too serious but enough to have me thinking about things from the distant past.

Its funny how old ghosts can pop up at the oddest times with little or no need of a direct link, that in itself has had me thinking about all manner of things, but I promise I have done better as the week has progressed, help does also come from unexpected quarters whether they know it or not, I have noticed some of the staff have been having rough times and again simply trying to offer some kind of support even to annoying people is the best kind of medicine for oneself.

Eating proper food has been a blessing (even though it has caught up with me) simple plain food is a god send when you haven’t been able to eat anything, the number of get well soon wishes because of the last blog (that wasn’t the intention but thank you thank you thank you) was fab and the last blog did double the numbers of the previous blog, so I must have done something right,  but sending up the distress flares, obviously did the good deed, it’s all good in the hood apart from the odd speed bump, (or speed burp) as always onwards is the order of the day!

Music has crept back into my view point, but I still haven’t played as much as I normally would, however I did get distracted and got the Pete Way autobiography, then he went and bloody died, I also got the KK Downing one, I’m frightened to read that one in case he pops his clogs as well, I’m hoping it’s just an age thing, we all get there eventually, I have two rest days coming up, so I intended to engross myself in as much music as possible we will have to see though as I need to eat something solid first!

I know I will get a load of grief (from the same people who wished me well) as this blog was meant to be something historical (I do have one bubbling and I’m quite excited by it) but because so many people reached out I simply had to let the world and his dog know that I was alive……kind of! This wasn’t meant to be a vanity blog, but it would appear that that’s exactly what it has become, oh dear me!

The wife is still having a hard time (have you seen who she is married too) she is having a few more speed bumps than me and I do really want to be better so I can help her with her needs, hells bells I even bought her flowers (allegedly the florist said I am a keeper) sometimes it really is the little things that helps perk up some ones day and I hate to see the wife down in the dumps (again have you seen who she is married too) I want to see her guided to safer waters, its one of the reasons I wasn’t happy about heading home early last night as she deserves some human contact more than me and that’s saying something.

So, going forward the next blog should be a historical one unless something deviates me from my goal, I’m not easily distracted (oh look a butterfly) but I had one or two other ideas before I settled on this train of thought. Honestly there will be another along on time in the coming week no matter how the numbers go on this one. So as always thank you for all your kind words, whatever you are doing, please keep it up as the numbers have been wonderful and I know for a fact that by the end of the year we will have passed twice the numbers what were being recorded five years ago and believe me that’s no mean feat.

I have had a couple of queries regarding blog number 501, the format will change and the numbers will plummet, I am under no illusion but I need to change the format, I feel as this one is starting to tread water just a little (the format not the blog) and I seem to have settled on my course, I have made my choice and I will fall on my sword if it fails I have no intention of returning to this format once I change course, there will be a familiar feel as it should be its me writing the bloody thing, but it will change to a more musical bent with around 22 to go before then, lets hope some of you stick around, I have got 501 prepped it’s the others that I need to start on as I have a list that I wish to do and it takes a while to do them they wont be short and I doubt that there will be one every week as we have had so far (well with the exception of the hiccup of that last month or so) this year.

There you go that’s another one done I am alive and well (well sort of) and feeling in a better frame of mind to write in a more positive attitude, I was hoping that because of the potential social interaction I could have done a more blow by blow account of our secret rendezvous with Martin Fry (NOT) but it wasn’t to be, I hope the birthday girl and her toy boy had a great night (it’s his turn next….let’s do something a little crazy) we might have only been there for a short while but it did lift our flagging souls, the name game is in play and indeed should be even easier than last week and although we had record numbers reading the blog, only four got it right(maybe be I should give a prize…….hell no) so watch the skies there will be another one along this road very soon, stay safe, stay alive until the next one…………………Toodles!