The title for this great opus was 'Part 1'! That was an excellent piece of
work Jenny m'girl... truly awesome :) Well done and thanks for sharing with
us mere mortals who couldn't make it ~~ Malta Paul
On Tue, 11 Jan 2000 01:52:15 -0500 (EST), [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Hi all -
>
> Better late than never...... I'll write a few words about my adventures
in
> the UK, the meets and shows. First off, great thanks to those of you who
> had some excellent travel advice, maps and websites for me - Adele,
> Simesy, Robert, Rich, Al, Andrew, Jello and Jim.
>
> **UK**
>
> After hearing so much about Camden Town onlist, Kathy and I headed there
> via the tube. ("Mind the gap!" haha) A.H. Holts was the first thing we
> saw on the left. It was closed but we took a look at the shoes on
display
> in the modest storefront window. Then on to Tower, where I bought "The
> Madness" on CD (and ironically had to explain to the clerk who they
> were). Not one of the five people we asked had ever heard of Inverness
> Street, "the most rock n' roll street in Camden," according to Suggs.
> No worries, we made our way down Parkway instead to find the Goodfare,
> Spread Eagle and Dublin Castle. We stopped in the latter and were
> greeted by 2 Madness posters (one signed by the band) and one Suggs
> "Camden Town" shot - all of them framed and hanging above the bar.
> I knew I was in the right place! With Divine Madness and
> Crunch on the jukebox and many new beers to try, the night went by
> quickly. I talked to Patsy Conlon, owner of the DC, who said I didn't
> have an American accent (haha) and that they'd be selling the place soon.
> (I sincererly hope I misunderstood her!)
>
> We had several days before the gigs/meets so we spent them doing
> tourist-like things - visting the National Gallery, National Portrait
> Gallery, St. Martin in the Fields, walking 'round Piccadilly Circus,
> snapping countless photos, the Electric Ballroom record fair in
> Camden (good thing I don't live there, as I'd be sure to spend my
> entire paycheck there week after week!), seeing the Norwegian Christmas
> tree in Trafalgar Square (my god, those pigeons are disgusting! haha),
> Covent Garden.... Covent Garden was especially nice, with the street
> performers, market, stores, huge Doc Martens store (it's like a museum!),
> the ice skating rink shaped like a bottle of Absolut, 'Punch & Judy's'
> bar and that wonderful place that had all the automation machines. The
> one where the dog slobbers on your hand gave us a good laugh! Most
> evenings we were drawn back into Camden, though, where the people were
> friendly, down-to-earth sorts and the pubs dark and cozy.
>
> We met a couple of 'famous' people while around London - the first being
> Chris from the Sneaker Pimps. He was DJing at the Institute of
> Contemporary Arts one night. It was called 'Home Taping,' and all the
> music played was from people's compilation tapes they'd made. If only
I'd
> known to bring one! Chris was terribly nice and we chatted for a few
> minutes. My sister couldn't stop looking at his bizarre haircut. :) We
> also saw David Hockney at the National Gallery, and were promptly scooted
> out of the room we were viewing so all the VIPs could have a chat and
> take photos. Hmmph. The funniest of all was meeting 'Scully' (X-Files).
> Her television double was on vacation in London and Kathy and I spoke to
> her at the Dublin Castle.
>
> On the 19th, we boarded the train for Newcastle, which was a long (and
> expensive) trip. We got in too late to do much other than have a good
> drink in a pub, so we did just that, at The Tyne. We listened to a blues
> band, drank Morden's "Workie Ticket," tried some funky-flavored crisps
and
> admired how the Brits bring their dogs into pubs.
>
> **Newcastle Madmeet**
>
> One of the best things about our trip was the pleasure of being amongst
so
> many ardent Madness fans. This was my (and Kathy's) first Madmeet. We
> arrived at O'Neill's at quarter past two to find several TMMLers
> already downing brews and getting to know one another. We came across
> Alan first, who seemed like an old friend. Scotland was well-represented
> by Iain, Craig, Colin G, Pete and brother Dave, Stoo and Rob W. - all the
> most friendly of fellows. Their friend Chris from New Zealand was along
> as well. Mike H. showed up solely because he'd heard he'd get to wear a
> badge. (ha!) He'd brought his friend Ian. Lisa B. was as lovely in
> person as she'd seemed on e-mail and was with her husband Mark. Adele
and
> Emma seemed like they blew in the door with the wind and were a joy to
> meet. I also spoke to Carlo a bit and laughed at how he'd managed to
> sneak cans of Foster's into the bar. Pete (Adele's other half) was in
> after a bit too. There was another Colin along, but I never did catch
his
> surname or figure out if he was someone I'd spoken to before. (sorry)
> Nice man though. After a few pints at O'Neill's, we were led to
> the Telegraph - truly the darkest of all pubs. We met a few more Maddies
> there, including the bold one who had an interesting place to put his
TMML
> sticker! (I know someone got a photo of that.. haha) The Chinese
> restaurant was next, and a great big table upstairs was reserved for us.
> (Thanks Lisa!) The food was good, but like Rob said, seeing sausages in
a
> Chinese place was a first. Dave the lyrics-master knew the words to
every
> song played, Pete '3-plates' Gardner earned a new nickname, and an apple
> was put into flight before we left. The Tut & Shive was our last stop
> before the show. It was close to the venue and had lots of Madness on
the
> jukebox. (Great pick, Al.) What fun we had there, and came across lots
> of other Madness fans who wanted to know how to join TMML. As it drew
> nearer to showtime, solid blocks of Madness were played and what seemed
> like the entire bar knew the lyrics and were singing with passion. I
> could have stayed all night but the show was starting soon and we had to
> be off....
>
> **Newcastle Show - Telewest Arena**
>
> This show was truly one of their best. They spared no expense at
> transforming the stage into a fantastic street scene - including a fence
> running along the back with VOTE FOR FRED posters, street lights, traffic
> lights....brilliant lights everywhere (including the famous lamp post!),
> an Esso gas pump... we were even snowed upon at the end of the show. All
> were looking stunning in their suits and hats (Bedders and Woody opted
for
> black shirts instead). The sound was dead-on, the crowd was explosive
and
> the band was at their best. The amount of enthusiasm shown by Suggs
> and the boys made it hard to believe this was the sixth date on the
> "Maddest Show on Earth" tour. Old and new songs mixed well, just as old
> and new fans intermingled. A highlight for me was hearing "Going to the
> Top" for the first time live. I would have done it all - the drive to
DC,
> the flight to the UK, the countless tubes, trains and taxis... just for
> that song. Brilliant!! "Lovestruck" was also a favorite. "Night Boat
to
> Cairo" was a blast as they brought out those giant balloons.
>
> We were shuffled out of the arena and into the cold, but not before we
> checked out the merchandise. The "vintage pop" bottlecap design was
> clever, and I ended up with that t-shirt and a fleece. I must say I've
> never been to a show where a coffee mug was an option.. and those
> keychains are unique as well.
>
> While I ran back in to get my abandoned sweater, I hear that Pete bought
> himself a fine MANDESS (Iain's phrase and what Kathy now calls
> them...) shirt for 3 pounds or something obscene like that.
> Has it shrunk to bits yet, Pete? haha
>
> We parted ways with a few people and were off to "Planet Earth" along
with
> Colin, Al, Rob, Pete and Dave. (Why didn't you come along, Stoo? Too
> much Iron Brrruuu?) I spent most of the evening sitting, watching,
> laughing... oh, and standing in the heinous women's line. Rob managed to
> get a Madness song played, which was great fun, though not quite as
> energetic as in the Tut and Shive!
>
> It really couldn't have been more fun, and I couldn't have met up with
> finer people. Thanks again to Lisa and Al for the organization. Thanks
> to Mike and Colin for the gifts. Thanks to my sister, Kathy, for
> travelling to another country with me just to see a band she
(previously!)
> didn't even like!!! ;)
>
> Photos coming online this week....
> Wembley report to come.....
>
> Jenny Payne
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> -
> ______________________________________________________________
>
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