June 7th 2003
de Blauwe Kei
We are aware that many of you have not been able to
attend this gig, as the tickets had been sold out in a very early stage.
We made sure to arrive at the venue (De Blauwe Kei) at
half past five because we hoped to witness at least part of the sound check..
Upon entering the room I spotted Alan sitting quietly enjoying a beer. Lucienne,
who takes great pride in being a fan from the very beginning walked straight
past him! All right Lucie, it was kind of dark in there… Alan was pleasantly
surprised to see us this early and we joined him for a chat. He wanted to know
all about our website and happily accepted our compliments about his own site.
We also discussed the tour they had done with Sweet and Showaddywaddy. This had
been so successful that it has been decided to do another one next year. This
surprised me a bit, as I know that oldie-music is far less popular in England
than it is with us on the continent. I asked if we could expect the famous back
flips this evening (see www.rubettes.com),
but he answered with the somewhat lame excuse that the ceiling was too low.
After half an hour Alan suddenly jumped up. He had been chatting away so busily,
he almost forgot to go and fetch the other band members for the sound check.
The band had not brought a roadie with them, so Rob and
Gino (a fan and friend of the band) were asked to volunteer. Mick and John soon
arrived too, but Mark was nowhere to be seen.. Time was running out, so they
decided to start the sound check without him. For those of you who have not seen
it, we have put some exclusive photo’s of the sound check on the site. Go and
have a quick look! At last Mark arrived. After solving some problems with the
keyboard the played Baby I Know. Lucienne and I were already looking forward to
the next item. Mark had told us that they had been including a special drum act
in the show. Being complete drum freaks we couldn’t wait to get a sneak
preview, but we were bitterly disappointed. There was no sound check of the drum
act, so we just had to wait for the gig.
In the hallway we bumped into Mark. His girlfriend had
joined him and he had been bragging about her to us a lot, so he was pleased to
be able to introduce her to us. A quick chat and then it was time for a bite to
eat.
We made sure to be back at the venue in good time. De
Blauwe Kei was very HOT and very BUSY, so we decided to go and seek out the
relative peace and quiet of the dressing room. The band members had also found
their way back after a meal and a nap. On the stairs we met John, who profoundly
apologised for having no time for a chat. He had to go and check the drum kit.
Mick, Mark and Alan were sitting around relaxing. Because we had seen Mick, but
not spoken to him yet, he had to give us a cuddle. He promised faithfully to
fill out his profile and send it back to us, so we hope to be able to put it on
the site shortly. I joked around with Mick and Alan about their new T-shirts.
They are adorned with the sponsors’ logo; Laser Aesthetic Hair transplants. I
commented that you can hardly call Mick a walking advertisement for this
product. Alan said we would just have to see it as a case of before and after
treatment. In the meantime John had made his way back to the dressing room. He
fancied an apple juice, so he grabbed a bottle of Rivella. Rob did his very best
to try and explain that Rivella has absolutely nothing to do with apple juice,
but John foolhardily maintained that it looked like apple juice, so it would
taste like apple juice. When he took his first sip we regretted not having our
camera on standby! John put a brave face on it and drank the bottle, but for the
rest of the evening he played safe and stuck to orange juice. In the meantime
everybody had changed into their stage gear and the organiser was nervously
jumping up and down, saying it was really time to go on. Rob however had talked
Alan into taking some pictures first, so by the time they were finally ready to
go on, the organiser had almost wet himself. We followed the band to find an
ideal spot to watch the show, right next to the stage.
At first Alan was having some trouble with his monitor.
The soundman was bent over his desk, so he did not see Alan’s frantic
gesticulating. Rob solved this by pulling the soundman’s shirt. In the room
next door there was a noisy disco in progress. This problem was soon solved by
closing the doors. In no time at all the band had whipped up the audience in a
frenzy. Everybody was singing and dancing along to their hearts’ content. Only
when Mick did his version of After the Gold rush people started to talk
quite loudly. Alan even had to hush them. It was all I could do not to grab for
a mike and tell everybody to SHUT UP. This song is my personal highlight of the
show. Mick manages to give me goose bumps every time. Of course we were
anxiously awaiting the drum act and at last the time was there. There is only
one word to describe this act: FANF.CKINGTASTIC! The thundering rhythm of those
four large drums has an enormous effect on the crowd. Just make sure you are all
there to see it next time.
With the Sha Na Na Song Mark’s girlfriend and
I had a great time. We were happily singing along with Hey Jude and Give Peace a
Chance, when we spotted Lucienne who was doggedly sha na na-ing away. She had
stepped right on stage with her new digital camera and she was literally just
one step away from becoming the fifth band member. We were also treated to Under
One Roof, which I had not heard performed live before. I had complimented
Alan earlier that day about changing around the set list. This makes it fun for
the crowd as well as the band to go and see them a hundred times if need be. I
want to make a request for the next time they visit our country. I would like
them to play a favourite of mine: I Can’t Give You Up, although
by my knowledge this song has never been released on single. The soul medley was
as great as ever, although I missed Give Me All Your Loving.
Of course the time for Sugar Baby Love came all
too soon and then it was all over. On our way back to the dressing room we could
hear the audience chanting we want more, but they were not getting any more.
Gino was standing in the foyer with some merchandise and Alan joined him to
autograph CDs and our flyers. When after some time the rest of the band had
still not appeared, he sent Rob downstairs to fetch them. On his request to go
and join Alan he got a somewhat hazy reaction. “The rest of the band? Oh yeah,
that’s us…” By the time anyone could be coaxed into action Alan was back
downstairs as well. The organisers had supplied us with enough sandwiches to
feed a small army. After the show there is always a very relaxed atmosphere
backstage. The band is hanging around half-dressed and everyone is joking and
bantering. It took me a long time before I realised that Mark and I had been
sitting around solving all the worlds’ problems while he was just wearing his
underpants!
I asked Alan what he thought about tonight’s show. He
was moderately pleased. He had been suffering from a throat infection and had
been on antibiotics all week. He thought his voice was not up to standard. I
thought it was just fine, saving the odd croak here and there, but of course a
fan is not critical enough. After an hour everyone was getting really tired and
it was time to say goodbye. Experience has taught me that it is best to save
Mick till last, because he has a tendency to bone-crushing bear hugs. Rob said
“Hey you, that’s my wife” and Mick thought he was just jealous and wanted
a hug from him too. Alan gave Lucienne and me a T-shirt each as a thank you
gift. So you will be able to recognise us next time. Just to rule out any
misunderstanding; we have NOT had a hair transplant!!!
We would like to thank the band and the organisers for
a wonderful night and we hope to see you all next time.
Nannette