October 25th: BBC Electric Proms, Camden Barfly
Today starts very badly. I get woken up at 6am to be told by Chris that there’s a problem with the bus. The hydraulic system for the power steering has been leaking and we cant keep the pressure up enough to actually steer properly.
So, another bus arrives to take us today, but that means transferring everyone over at 8am … as if today wasn’t gonna be long enough already.
A Maniac behind the wheel!
We get to the Barfly at 11am and start loading in, we’ve only got a copuple of hours to get it in, set up, and soundchecked before we have to leave to get across town to do a TV show for MTV.
After a quick soundcheck at MTV in Leicester Sqaure we pop out for a quick bite to eat, only to find the square packed with people. We’re not
that well known, are we? The simple answer is NO. They’re not here to see us. It’s part of the London Film Festival and the premier of the
Borat movie.
Back at the MTV studio we find the running order for the show. It’s Russel Brand as the host, with Michael Barrymore and Chantelle as the other guests. There’s a really annoying floor manager guy that’s trying to hype everyone up. I cant believe the crowd are all falling for it. Mindless sheep being drawn into the world of TV. Russel Brand is exactly how I imagined him to be: an annoying sleaze that gets right on my nerves, even though I don’t actually have to interact with him. Just being in the same room as him makes my skin crawl. I’m glad to get out of there.
At MTV in Leicester Square
Back at the Barfly there’s just enough time to have a quick warm up and it’s time to get the boys onto stage. After the show our original bus is back again, so we swap everything back over and load up the trailer. My Kebab radar is switched on, I remember that there’s a great place just around the corner, so myself, Martin and Henry wander off for a feed. I’m just wondering who was playing at The Roundhouse tonite, which is just next door, when I turn around in the queue to see Paul Weller standing behind me. Guess that answers that question.
All Kebabed up, it’s back to the bus and off towards Birmingham.
October 26th: Birmingham Academy
I’m sitting on the bus trying to write this, and for the life of me I cant think of anything interesting that happened in Birmingham. Things tend to blend into one another. You start to forget which day is which, like cabin fever.
Oh, that’s right … Tom just reminded me about our one ‘incident’ of the day.
We had a guy come in for an interview with the band, I wont mention his name or the name of the school radio station he was working for, save him any embarrasment. Anyway, when he came in, Tom asked him if he wanted a drink, and this guy said he’d get one at the end of the interview. Later on I saw him putting two bottles of beer into his bag. A little cheeky I thought, but it’s only two beers.
He went out to get something to eat, planning on coming back for the show , but he left his bag with Lee, out merch guy. After a bit of a chat with Tom and Henry, we thought he might have taken more than two beers so we had a look in his back, and right enough, 6 bottles of beer. Cheeky wee fucker.
Having a beer is fine when offered, but that’s just taking the piss.
So, we recover the beers and take the guys bag to the front door, telling the box office people that when he comes back, to make sure he gets his bag back, but not to let him back into the show. On top of that, just to be a little nasty, I called the PR company that set up the interview and told tham what had happened, just to make sure he didn’t give him any other interviews.
Lee - The Merch Guy. 
Group Hug before going on stage.
That was it for today, the only little bit of excitement we had.
October 27th: Liverpool Academy
Sorry Liverpool, but today was another very uneventful day. The Academy is a ‘proper’ gig, where things tend not to go wrong. A rather dull day indeed.
Fortune Drive leave us a nice message...
After the show everyone, except me, went out on the lash with the guys from Fortune Drive, the opening support band. They’re supposed to be back at two for us to leave, so by the time it gets to two-thirty I’m getting slightly concerned. Then I get a call from Martin asking if the band are back at the bus, which they’re not. He’s lost them in a club somewhere. I have a wander around but cant even find the club let alone any of the band. Everyone’s phones are going straight onto the answering machines.
Just as I’m getting back to the bus Martin calls me again to tell me he’s found them and is bringing them back to the bus. Everyone a bit worse for wear. I cant wait to see what state they’re in tomorrow morning …
Drunk Henry offering me a “bunch of fives” 
Martin contemplates a banana and orange inflicted suicide to cure his hangover. 
