VIDEOS - COURTESY OF SILKPETE!!

At last!! Good quality videos with reasonable quality sound!

Look upwards and you will see some snippets from the performance at the East Cheshire Hospice World Cup gig in June - big respect and thanks to Pete (one of our most stalwart supporters) for doing the recording and posting them for me to steal!

Great job Pete - pics and sound good - I'll leave it to others to judge the quality of the performance!

And here's something else from the same gig - a review from the online mag The Word - some nice things said here - especially about The Rock God!; although I'm not so sure about the "...but he's playing in a pub band" bit! We like to think he does it cos he loves us!

THE BEST OF BRITISH AT THE COCK AND PHEASANT!!

Friday 1 October - a day to remember, for a number of reasons, although I'm not sure the guy on the left will - although he was up and bopping his little heart out!!

Members of the band arrived with several stories to tell - Matt was on top of the world because the fabulous games company that he works for had won about a hundred awards in the previous 3 days - including "Best British Business" so he was understandably chuffed - so much so that he even bought the first round! We have, of course, also entered Matt in the "Best British Bassist" competition, but we've not heard back yet!

Dave arrived with the "Best British Hangover", having been out until 6:30 that morning! His defence was spirited, but feeble - apparently he was about to leave the pub around 1:30am, when some hairy arsed contractor shouted "Oi, you can't go yet!" - so he didn't! He then spent the next 5 hours drinking, beer, brandy and the contents of the pub toilet bowl, judging by the look of him! It's a long time since we've seen him drink so much water at one go - or his "survival kit" as he called it!

Paul arrived without part of "Britain's Best Cartilage", having had it removed 2 days before - hopping around in a pub with a low ceiling is not recommended (more of that later)! This was Part 1 of the great body re-build, as Paul returned to hospital last Thursday for further maintenance (more of that later as well)!

Andy arrived having won"Britain's Best Grounding"; now Andy isn't the best flier in the world, and had spent the last week psyching himself up to accompany Pete Robinson (above average drummer with the Average Injectors) on a weekend of drinking and debauchery in Malaga (that's right, Chrissie & Claire weren't going with them!), only to find there were not enough standby seats, so he was grounded! For someone who doesn't like flying, he gave a passable impression of someone who well pi**ed off with not being able to fly!

I think Hugh and Chrissie were OK, so onto the gig itself!

The first time we had played Chez Charles (after a couple of false starts) so we had the usual trepidation with a new venue (and The Spinners debacle loomed large in our minds!); however, from a crowd point of view, there were no worries, as the pub was full when we started, and remained that way throughout - I think we helped them empty 3 casks of ale by the end of the night!

Our location did suffer somewhat, heightwise; neither Chrissie nor Paul were at the front of the queue when tallness was handed out, but there was still a degree of head scraping going on (Andy's cowboy hat saved him from grazing his scalp!) and the light fitting projecting horizontally from the wall at temple height added to Paul's challenges of standing upright on a dicky leg!


Spot the light fitting - behind his head!

Sorting the sound out was also slightly problematic, but sterling efforts from Dave and Matt in the interval, aided by input from the audience fixed that!

Both sets went well, and the debut of "Echo Beach" was almost perfect - better than the original, of course.

As well as new friends made, it was great to see some familar faces - including a member of the now internationally acclaimed VirginMarys - Mr Matt Rose! Seasoned followers will remember that Matt cut his bass guitar teeth with Dazed & Confused, and he remembers his roots! We also like to keep him grounded, so got him roadying for us at the end of the night - while we had a beer! Matt - if you read this, I have that D&C t-shirt for you to wear on the next VM tour!

Matt Rose - our VirginRoady!!

Next gig is up at The White Lion in Disley next Friday (15 October); it's for a birthday party, but we believe the pub is open to anyone - so, if you fancy a walk in the hills, followed by a great night of food, beer and music - you know where we'll be! Paul will still have his arm in a sling, so will make for an interesting evening, from that perspective, if no other!

BYE BYE BABIES, BAND ON A BOAT AND PLAYING (FOR) LUDO!!

OK, OK, OK, it's been a couple of weeks - but it has been an emotional time!! However, I've composed myself enough to give you all a little bit of an update on the crowded happenings of recent days! Where to start..............

Star Date - Saturday 28 August: massive leaving "do" for 3 "children" - Lucy Jane, Nick and Rosie (with total respect to her Mum, Rosie is almost one of the Morrissey family as well!) - Rosie on her way to Welsh Wales to continue her quest to be the best Geographer in the world (PhD in Aberystwyth no less!!); Nick off to Aldershot, not to join HM Forces, but to embark on a "journey" that will see him becoming the youngest CEO in history, while at the same time consuming his own body weight in beer each day, and Lucy on her way to the Antipodes on the first leg of a round the world trip that could see her back here in a year's time or, alternatively, meeting Prince Charming (probably pronounced Chaarmin out there!), settling down and talking the hind leg off every adjacent kangaroo! Notwithstanding all that, we had an absolutely brilliant evening - first time we had played together for about 6 weeks, so we had that lovely warm feeling again (oo-er missus!); Lucy got a chance to sing with us - first time her sis Anna (and her Mum!) had heard her, so there were lumps in several throats (this was before Anna got really tired and emotional!) and all was good. Of course, when everything wrapped up, the youngsters went on to party in Macc until the small hours, while we sloped off for hot chocolate around 02:00! A selection of photos - we'll miss you kids, come back soon! :'((

Star date: Sunday 29 August: Well, that hot chocolate was a good move, because at 09:30 the same day, the mighty D&C embarked on a cruise! Now, before you start getting the wrong idea, this was not in the Med or the Caribbean (even though Dave was there!) - it was a "leisurely" jaunt down the Macclesfield Canal from Bollington to the Fool's Nook at Sutton and back! What a laugh - the Tiller-men varied in ability from the vaguely competent (Dave) to the downright dangerous (Andy)! In fact, whoever let Andy take the helm after several bottles of cava, much beer and other things, ought to be shot - thing is, nobody can remember who it was! The boat was officially sized for 12, but there were 13 of us on it, although our defence was that there were only ever 12 on board at any one time! I'm going to try and post a video of Tweed Meister Matt's attempt to join the merry crew (we arranged to collect him at the Puss in Boots, but it took about an hour longer than we thought, so he started walking towards us!) - let's see how it goes!

Matt's day job is designing web and phone games and, during the day, we came up with a great idea for a new game for all ages - Grand Theft Narrowboat - if you want to leave the game, you just get off! A great day, with great mates - here's some more pics (the last one is our boat after Andy had parked it)!

Finally, Star Date Saturday 4 September: A 60th birthday party for Ludo - we played at his daughter's wedding at the wonderful Sandhole Farm in December and, amazingly, he asked us back! Now, you Latin scholars will know that Ludo means "I play", and he certainly did that night - in fact, I think he's lying about his age! Great audience participation and, thanks to Dave's forward thinking, we split the set into 3, so that the older members didn't run out of puff too early (that's the band, not the crowd!). Finished about 12:30, got home around 2:00am, so must have been a good night!

Next gig is a new one for us - The Cock & Pheasant in Bollington on 1 October, and I'm 100% sure that we will have more people watching us than we did the last time we hit Bolly (anyone remember The Spinners?). So, if you want to see the Autumn in in style, toddle on down to Charlie's gaff, and swing your pants!!

THE ALBUM COVER!

We really do have to get working on the album now - because the album cover has been designed!
This is courtesy of 6 year old Luca, who Andy met while on holiday in France; Andy & Luca are obviously kindred spirits (and it seems like the same mental age!) because they are both raving Dr Who fans, and (of course!) into rock music - so much so that Luca designed the album cover and gave it to Andy (in exchange for a set of Dr Who Top Trumps!)
Party time tonight - the 3rd leg of Lucy's Long Goodbye celebration will be happening, and she's sharing it with Nick (who is off to Aldershot) and Rosie (who is off to Aberystwyth) so, with Lucy going to Australia, there is a spooky "A"-type thing going on! Got to go and put a set list together - which will be a challenge, as I'm not sure how many songs we can remember! More details about the gig later and, as it's "Band on a Boat" day tomorrow (9:30am start!!!), it's a good job I have 2 days off afterwards to recover

ANOTHER LONG HOT SUMMER!

So, August is with us again and, as happened last year (and the year before, and the year before...) the North West of England sunshine has gone on holiday, along with everyone else! Now, I often use this space for a bit of a rant, and I think it's fully justified that I have another one about the bl**dy weather! Surely, it's not too much to ask that, instead of making a token appearance in the middle of June and then buggering off till October, the sun might deign to stay around during the "high summer" months of July and August and warm the cockles of our little hearts? Doesn't look like it's going to happen this year - that global warming has a lot to answer for!

Couple of gigs since we last corresponded - both different, but both excellent, in their own right:

8 July had us doing one of our regular Brewery gigs - it was a Thursday and, as that's what we laughingly call "practice night", it wasn't too much of a stretch to set the gear up and play for a bunch of people that were on a Brewery Tour (which entails a 5 minute squint at the copper, fermenter and cellar, followed by a 4 hour sampling session of several Storm beers and Paddy's Pies!) This particular tour involved the St Alban's School Parents (otherwise known as the Sad Dads!) who were celebrating the departure of a teacher that had been there since the school was built (in fact it seemed as though he had taught most of the assembled gathering!). These are all good Catholic lads, and there was certainly plenty of sampling of Hugh & Dave's holy water that night!

Hugh suggested that we might do an hour or so for them, and then pack up, which would have meant finishing around 10:40 pm (nice early night!) - so, as the clock ticked round to 12:10am, I suggested that it might be a good idea to start wrapping up, as some of us had to go to work the next day!! Notwithstanding that, it was a great night - plenty of laughs, and a couple of contacts for future gigs.

16 July saw us up at Hollin Hall Hotel to celebrate Danute's 40th Birthday. Danute is an old (well she's getting that way now she's 40!) friend of Chrissie (who, incidentally, is over 40!), and she certainly celebrated in style! We arrived to find the room was set out as if for a wedding and, sure enough, there were speeches, a big meal - the full works! The first set was also a bit wedding-esque, in that the floor was not exactly groaning under the weight of dancers; however, cometh the time, cometh the band and the second set was verging on madness - plenty of jumping up and down, plenty of shouts for more, and plenty of people taking our contact details, so no complaints from us!

We've been quiet since then; Matt has embarked on his annual Festival fest, Dave has come back from holiday - for how long, nobody knows, Hugh, Chrissie and Andy are revving up for theirs, so it will be the end of August before we tread the boards again - a happy and sad occasion, because we'll be sending Lucy on her way to Australia on the first leg of her World Tour - she's due back in a year, but who knows.......Either way, we'll make it a night to remember.

The gig list has had some updating recently, so check the details out on the right hand side of the blog --------->

2 other pieces of news before we close:

• I notice that The Millstone in Water's Green has changed hands - oh dear, what a pity, never mind!! Obviously, the previous landlord has got fed up with being grumpy in the middle of Macclesfield and gone off to be grumpy somewhere else - I just hope he let all the bands that he had booked know he was going! If he'd told us, we would have had a party!! If you don't know what all this is about, check the blog entries for last September - it's a date that will remain forever etched in my memory.


• Some photos from the East Cheshire Hospice gig attached below - as you can see, a good time was had by all and there's one interesting shot where Andy seems to be shoving his guitar up James Milner's nose! On reflection, that might not have been a bad idea - might have made him play better (Milner not the Rock God!). The hospice raised over £10,000 that weekend, and we're chuffed to have played a little part in that!

THEY'RE COMING HOME, THEY'RE COMING HOME, THEY'RE COMING......

Ah well, it was good while it lasted! The "boys" played to the best of their capabilities and, guess what? It wasn't good enough - well what do you expect for £100K/week?!

So, the England shirt is packed away until Euro 2012, and we can concentrate on the music! The last couple of weeks has seen us play 3 events that have ranged across the whole spectrum of gigdom - being the "warm-up" act for the England team, a Christening, and a pub gig - all of which were special in their own way!

Number 1: The East Cheshire Game & A Gig, which has been profusely trailed on here, and elsewhere. We kicked off in the "big tent" at 6:30pm, and were scheduled to play right up to the start of the England v USA game at 7:30. A challenge in itself, as folks were still dribbling in when we started, and we knew we had our work cut out to draw them in! However, things got a tad more interesting when we were told that the generator that was to power the 10 foot video screen had gone on the blink, and we might have to finish at 7:10pm so that they could switch generators!! No matter, we carried on regardless, the generator got fixed, we built to a climax with "I Predict A Riot", and finished our set just as the National Anthem struck up - brilliant! Shame about the result!

Big thanks and congratulations to Lara and everyone at the ECH for a fantastic, sell out night - a wonderful event, and for a really worthwhile cause.

Number 2: Gary & Lisa's Christening Event: 3:00pm on a Sunday afternoon, 2 band members on holiday (no prizes for guessing one of them was Dave, the other was Chrissie - again!), so it could have gone either way. Now, I know we say on this blog that we will even play funerals (sometimes it feels like we are - e.g. The Spinners!), but this is the first time we have done a Christening! However, it was BRILLIANT! Lucy stepped in for Chrissie again, and did a wonderful job (I've included her FB picture, to make her feel good!), the atmosphere was great, and we got THREE encores! If any other bands are reading this (yeah, like they would!) we can thoroughly recommend spending your Sunday afternoon playing at a Christening!



Number 3: The White Lion in Disley: Several Big Plus marks for us with this, including the fact that England had failed to top their group so weren't playing in the football, AND we managed to get to the pub without being stopped by the police! Those of you who are frequent readers of this dross, may remember that, on the way to the gig at the White Lion last February, we were pulled up by Cheshire Constabulary for having illegal cargo (i.e Chrissie & Matt) in the back of the van, and a £60 fine was incurred as a consequence! This time, we were much more circumspect, no illegals in the back of the van! Once again, the audience was small but perfectly formed, and we had a really good (if a little hot!) gig - the purchase of the 18" stage fan was a good move, although it did not do the perfect cooling job, because it was absolutley bloody sweltering in there!!

We have a couple of weeks off now, Paul's away for a week, and maybe Dave will be back in time for the next gig (private party in Bolly!) - looks like people still want us as we've had requests to play next January and next NOVEMBER (yes 2011!) already!

ENGERLAND, ENGERLAND, ENGERLAND - AND ALL THAT!

OK, we've given you a bit of a rest on here , for a few weeks, so it's time to disturb you again - and this time it's in a really good cause! If you get yourselves down to The East Cheshire Hospice on Saturday evening, not only will you have the opportunity to jump around with us for an hour, you will also be able to celebrate along with hundreds of other people, as the England's team takes its first steps along the path to what is almost certain World Cup victory! The Hospice are laying on a 10 foot screen so we can all see the national team humble the mighty USA in the first match of Group C. Just be sure to get there early - doors open at 6:00pm, and we'll be on stage by 6:30 - our task being to get the crowd in a right jovial mood before the game starts. There's a bar (of course) selling a wonderful selection of Storm Brewing beers, and there will be barbecue to feast on (whatever the weather). All in all, an ideal opportunity to get some great music in, watch the boys win AND support one of the most worthwhile causes in Macclesfield - I'm sure we all know someone who has benefitted from the care provided by the Hospice, and they need over £6000 PER DAY just to keep going. Tickets are available via the Hospice website



While we are on the subject of good causes, just a few words about our last gig; this was the Time Out Group Spring Ball held at the Belfry hotel a couple of weeks ago and, as last year, it was an absolute joy!

Once everybody had been fed and watered, and the speeches made, the floor was prepared and all hell broke loose! The dance floor was full from the first chords of whatever it was we played first, and it barely cleared at all for the next 2 hours! Not only did we have the patron of the charity, Annabel Tiffin, strutting her stuff, we saw a return appearance on stage, of her husband John - who is a blatantly frustrated rock star - the way he battered that tambourine during "Come Up & See Me" was remarkable, and it was pure chance that he did not injure himself or have somebody else's eye out! We also had brilliant participation from a number of other guests, and special mention must go, once again, to "Uncle Peter" who followed the instructions he was given, for the night, to the letter before unleashing himself on his public at 12:15am with a reprise of his legendary interpretation of "Johnny B Goode"!! I'm pretty sure that neither he, us, nor the populus of Handforth will ever be the same again, after that!!

Here are a selection of photos taken on the night which, hopefully give an idea of the fun that was had