What a day. Needed to get the second half together as well as give Stephen Fry, Ade Edmundson, Paul Merton and Phil Jupitus a chance to go over their numbers. I was dispatched to type and print final final set lists so was in and out all day but managed to catch Ade singing The […]
My first day at rehearsals armed with cameras, to find bad lighting and no room to swing even a cat’s paw, so had to shrink myself to the size of a sweet wrapper to fit between the Rowmonium and the grand piano. This was the day of the second half –for Neil and the band, […]
More first half today with slight changes of the set list suggested, tried and thought about. I arrived in the evening with song lists, Neil’s stage clothes, cameras etc expecting to go out for a meal and a chat, but that was not to be. Bed by 10 – hungry. Found a gnarled old apple […]
Enter the Bonzos –Vernon Dudley Bohe Nowell looking exactly as he looked in the original Bonzos. He carried a banjo and a saw ingeniously packed in the same case. Music for the saw maybe? Then Rodney with sax and clarinet and washboard– looking even better than he did in the Bonzos – a really good […]
So when Monday dawned, Neil and JJ drove the instruments to the studio ‘’Panic Music’ meeting Andy and Mickey and setting themselves up with a bank of amps and instruments in the studio. One other thing Neil had asked for in his ‘wish list’ was to rehearse in a large studio, so they could more […]
NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 2005 Neil approached by Bob Carruthers- he of the very watchable documentary ‘Inside The Bonzos’ – with the idea of maybe bringing the Bonzos together for one last concert. He had just seen Neil’s ten-minute Bonzo tribute which he does at the beginning of his set – very funny and a great […]
JJ came at 6pm to help load Neil’s gear into van and then both headed off into the night and icy roads to London – more specifically the Express Inn in Acton –north-west London. For the past month Neil had been transcribing chords copying words and finalising set lists so that everyone could get straight […]
Again a late morning – what did you expect??? – though no hangovers. We pack and wait for the car to pick up the equipment and then the cases at our hotel. Say goodbye to our friends at Dillons and ease our way into the traffic and to JFK. Feel happy that things went as […]
I take to the streets early trying to find last inspirational last minute gifts. Hate buying things which are not useful so end up buying Miles, Luke and Barney plain unlabelled jumpers – quite nice but nothing special. Kate, Barneys wife, is much easier. There is a sparkly store quite near the hotel with jewelry […]
Up very very late. Breakfast at midday and then Ken goes to see a concert (Blue Face Men) – not sure I have name right, but he says they are brilliant. Neil and I go back to bed till around three pm when we have all arranged to meet Tom and JJ at their hotel. […]
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