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PAGE 9.

This was turning out to be one of the happiest tours I can remember. Even with such a tight schedule, early flights, and long coach journeys, we were having a good time. I got to visit art galleries and places of interest that I never seemed to have time to do in the past. I tried to make sure I had time to say hello to all the old friends and fans that had supported us for so many years.

We also did a lot of laughing at some of the situations we found ourselves in. In other words, even if things were not right we always looked on the funny side. Some of the Hotels were not exactly ideal for our various needs on the road. The most common fault was refurbishment work in progress; drills that you thought would come through your wall at any time; rooms with no baths, not good for drummers after a show; hotel restaurants that closed before we finished a gig; hotel restaurants that were closed for our early morning starts; hotels with no restaurants at all.

One morning Warren invited Mark and me for breakfast in his room where he had a kitchen. He had got supplies in the day before. He made us fabulous omelettes and with my filter coffee set up it was the perfect start to another long day.

One journey was a five hour coach trip. There was a toilet on board but the driver had lost the key to it. I tried picking the lock with no luck. We were on a motor way in heavy traffic. By the time we got to our destination we were naturally dying to get off. However the driver got lost and eventually after going round the city centre in circles for thirty minutes. Erik jumped off the bus and, running through the oncoming cars, hailed a cab to lead us in. The concert was next to a big football stadium and all the roads were closed for a big game that afternoon. The only way to get to the gig was to be led in by police motor cycle escort.

Erik was often getting lost at airports, taking us from one check in point to the next. With the sound of a cockeral echoing through the airport lounges (that was Erik’s phone ring tone), you couldn’t do anything but laugh. Yes, happy times.

Warren cooking breakfast.
Warren cooking breakfast.
La cuisine de Warren.
La cuisine de Warren.
Breakfast is served.
Breakfast is served.
Trying to pick the lock to the coach loo with out luck!
Trying to pick the lock to the coach loo with out luck!
The road went on for ever …
The road went on for ever …
Erik trying to hail a cab to lead us to the hotel.
Erik trying to hail a cab to lead us to the hotel.

Police escort to the gig.
Police escort to the gig.

Bruce: "Are we there yet?"
Bruce: "Are we there yet?"
Erik: "We are at the wrong terminal?"
Ground crew: "You're not on my computer"
Concert hall in Dortmund.
Bunny Warren, our sound engineer sits alone working on the front of house monitors. Not many people realize the time and effort that goes into getting the best sound possible for the evenings' concerts. Even in places that were never built for music with the most difficult of acoustics, Bunny would very calmly get on with solving any problems that arose to give us (and you) the best sound possible.

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