So where do I start to describe Thursday??? I got up Friday still exhausted and with hardly a voice left. I didn't care cause it just feels great to be a part of this whole big Heep family and that's what it really felt like yesterday.
I'm not going to describe the gig in detail, others will do that. Suffice it to say that Heep ROCKED big time. For an hour's show and the new CD out, I don't think they could have done a much better set list.
Let me just ramble on about some of the things that made the day special to me.
Firstly on the way there, I'm changing tube trains and I see someone with a UHAS membership card on a Sea of Light tour T-shirt. I say hello and start chatting. He's an Italian guy called Enrico and he asks me in broken English if I know where the 'Bull & Gate' pub is. I do indeed says I and off we go (I don't know where other reporters get this idea that I like a drink. )
So on arriving at the pub in through the door to be greeted by this big group of Heepsters there before me. This is getting well international already. There's Louis,Willy and Rinus from Holland, Graham,Alan Keetley and me from England, Birgitte and Andreas from Germany, Louis from Scotland and Enrico from Italy. Well my first surprise was on meeting Willy who I had always thought from the name was a guy, but she isn't and a very beautiful girl she is too. Well it's time for the start of meeting photo isn't it, the one just in case I can't manage the complexity of a camera later on. No it was nice because I introduced Enrico who I had met about 10 minutes earlier and everyone made him welcome as if they had know him for ages.
Anyway on with chatting to everyone and more and more people are coming in to the pub and all wearing something to do with Heep. Don't ask me how I knew it was Mark Dinardo when he arrived, it must be an American aura or something! What a guy You already know he and Julie flew in from Boston just for the gig. Well they hadn't slept on the flight and their hotel room wasn't ready when they arrived either so they had had to catch some rest in the hotel lobby while waiting. What dedication! Talking of dedication don't forget Scottish Louis, a seven hour overnight coach trip down for the gig.
Talking of Scotsmen I must mention Logan. (Check out the pictures on the Heep web site) . Now this guy comes into the pub and we're trying to converse, but he has got such a heavy Scot's accent that I haven't got a clue what he's talking about. It was actually easier to understand Willy talking Dutch than Logan talking "English"!
Now there's another moment I loved. Standing in between Willy from Holland and Birgite from Germany, trying out my best German and both thought I was talking the other's language. Crawl into a hole time or what!!
Poor Mike Taylor phones me on my mobile in the pub, and I say I'll just go outside where it's quieter. As soon as I open the door a fire engine goes past with full horns blaring! Finally Mike and his wife Denise arrive and what a pleasure it is to meet them both and talk about the old Newton era Heep. Mike you must tell the list about the peeling bedroom wallpaper.
This pub is really crowded by now and I have to go to the bathroom, but it's taking ages to get there because there are so many people to talk to on the way. By the time I've talked to even more Heepsters on the way back to my drink, I've almost got to go again. By the way there were a couple of very friendly Glenn Hughes fans there, mainly to see Dio but very interested in Heep and impressed by how friendly the Heep crowd were.
Ok we can ignore Lee casually walking in and greeting everyone and shaking my hand.
More important was meeting up with Mark and Tina who I hadn't seen since the first time I'd seen Gunhill with Graham and them remembering me.
OK so Mick comes in the pub and chats and greets everyone and shakes my hand. So what? Doesn't that happen everyday to everyone???
Willy says to me "Pete, I have one backstage pass left, it's only for after show but do you want it?" Then I have to give Willy her hand back.
The first band were OK but just youngsters making a lot of noise. When it was nearly Heep time I made my way down near the front and that was when I had a great surprise. I bumped into 2 people Andy and Sarah who I had met at the Astoria gig last year. Neither had ever seen Heep or each other before that night, but now they were going out together and had come back to see Heep again (and hoping to see me again of course!) But that was a really lovely surprise for me.
Now it's apology time for all those people whose feet I trod on whilst Heep were on. Yes I was a little enthusiastic to see and hear the boys again. So thanks to those who did give me a little room to move. You know who you are Mike and Denise! Brilliant show though . Even when Mick had a technical problem with his guitar, the others covered for him brilliantly. Everything just flowed wonderfully. Criticisms? The show wasn't long enough. The tracks from Sonic were great but the lack of swirling Hammond sound does make them slightly worse. A criticism which Phil said afterwards he is fed up hearing! I think Question should have been followed by Change not Bird of Prey but I was in heaven just to hear them do Question.
After the show I found my way 'backstage' actually it was the balcony that had it's own bar. I did go and sit with Dave Marshall and watch a bit of Dio's show. Sorry but after 5 minutes I was totally bored. Dio is a great vocalist, but you just couldn't hear him clearly enough over the rest of the guitar racket. I don't know what the song was I heard ."Eternity" or something or it seemed to go on for eternity. Anyway the Dio fans downstairs seemed to be enjoying it but not me and as I had seen Bernie go back to the bar I thought that would be a better place to go. As did just about everybody else who'd come out upstairs to see Dio.
Louis glad to hear you got the tube OK to your hotel. I'm sure somebody had changed the signs around at the tube station, cause I kept ending up on the wrong platform. Anyway I finally got home about 1:45 after a 30 minute walk in the rain, buit I was so happy I didn't care.
Unfortunately I've gotta go, the wife and kids are home and it's late on a Saturday night. I just want to re-iterate what a fabulous night Thursday night was. Not just Heep and the music, but meeting all those people and feeling like it was all one big family. If only there had been more time to talk to everyone. Pictures will follow soon I hope. Best wishes to all my Heepster and Heepsterette family, Pete 'Oh go on, then twist my arm and I'll have a Guiness with you' Wharton