2
April 2004
City
Lido
Today
we travelled off to Groenlo, a little village in the east of Holland. It had
been almost six months since we had last seen the band, so we were
looking forward to it a lot.
It
took us a while to find our way around Groenlo. The City Lido was easy enough to
find, but the hotel took us a while longer. Our source had told us that the
hotel was a mere five minutes walk from the venue. In the end we had to ask a
local the way. It turned out that the hotel was stashed away in a little
alleyway, which we had already passed at least three times!
Once
inside the hotel we sat down at a large table and ordered a round of
drinks. Desireé, the band's driver came down and joined us for a chat. Some
minutes later Roli and Tina from the German website entered. They had had a long
drive, and finding the hotel had been as difficult for them as it was for us!
But luckily they made it in time. After a little while Alan came down to join us.
After welcoming everybody he sat down and told us his latest news. There is a
new website in the making just about him. He expected this site to be online
somewhere near the end of April. He is currently working on a solo CD in France.
This CD will feature the same songs in English and in French. The CD is due to
be released in June. Of course he promised to keep us up to date with all the
relevant information.
In
the meantime Mick, Mark and his girlfriend had also joined us and it was
becoming quite a party! Desireé wanted to leave for the venue, but John hadn't
turned up yet. We started to get ready to leave and met John in the lobby. There
was just enough time for a quick handshake. The band had to take all their
equipment, so they had to go by car. We decided to walk together with Roli and
Tina. The bus had to drive around so many one-way streets that we all arrived at
the same time!
Upon
our entering the venue Shocking Blue was onstage. As there wasn't enough room
backstage, we went into the auditorium. Nannette had to be dragged up and down
some steps in her wheelchair. In the end we plonked her down in front of the
stage and she was as good as gold! Shocking Blue did ‘River Deep Mountain
High’ as an encore. That Mariska has some voice!
After
that of course the stage had to be set for the Rubettes. During the interval
Krijn Torringa (an old Dutch radio DJ) entertained us with a lot of oldies from
the seventies. At long last everything was ready. The Rubettes' tune sounded
loud and clear and John started the intro of Foe Dee O Dee. Striking was
the fact that we had a lot of free space in front of the stage during the
Shocking Blue gig, but as soon as the Rubettes made their appearance it seemed
that everybody wanted to stand up front. Striking, but not surprising... The
auditorium was rather high and there were balconies, which created some acoustic
problems. Mark later explained this as a "cathedral effect". Also
John's microphone was not always very audible. But despite this the boys had no
trouble at all in creating a wonderful atmosphere among the crowd. Especially
the Sha Na Na song was an enormous success. We were pleasantly surprised
with Baby I know, although we sorely missed the soul medley. The boys
were clearly enjoying themselves and the audience picked up on that, so the
atmosphere was great!! When they had done After the Goldrush and Barbara
Ann it was time to set up for the taiko act. John entertained the crowd by
explaining what was about to happen and let the crowd practise the Gauranga
Mantra. John then made a remark at Alan who was busy setting up his drum. Alan
was so wrapped up in his work he didn't notice John was talking to him. John
then told the crowd that this deafness was due to Alan's very advanced age. The
crowd was screaming with laughter, but Alan hadn't hear what was going on at
all..... Of course the taiko act was an enormous success again. We have seen it
several times now, but we will never be bored by it. And it is always wonderful
to see how the crowd is completely surprised by this act. All to soon it was
time for Sugar Baby Love, which signalled the end of the show. But we
felt happy and contented, it had been well worth the long drive to Groenlo. Alan
announced the boys would come out and sign autographs later, but we decided to
go back to the hotel to get in some well-deserved drinks. All this singing along
seriously dehydrates the tonsils...
After
a short while Mark and John entered the hotel. John said goodnight and retired
to his room, but Mark and his girlfriend joined us for a good old natter. We
discussed football, the weather in England and in Holland and his activities
during the day (which explained why he was very tired and looked all the worse
for wear), about the Dutch tour that is going to happen at the end of this year
and the strict security rules at the airfield where they had flown in, due to
all the terrible things that are happening in the world today. It was well past
two in the morning when we decided that we had had enough and wanted to start
making our way back home, when Mick entered the room. We just had time to say
goodbye to him with a two-hour journey ahead of us. I must admit that I didn't
notice much of the trip, as my eyes wouldn't stay open. Which only goes to show
that we are all getting on a bit...
Lucienne
translation
by Nannette