I am sitting at my favourite table at one of my favourite places, Restaurante Do Garrão, just two weeks before meeting Hank and Bruce for dinner in London. It will be the first time we have been together for fourteen years and we will be discussing our last time back on the road.

For as long as I can remember I have kept a diary. My diaries are full of special events, times of recording sessions, tour itineraries and personal notes, projects and goals.

I started my musical journey as a drummer and have had the privilege of playing with the best. The longest time with one band (in fact most of my life) has been spent with The Shadows. Like all bands we have had our ups and downs, good times and bad times, disagreements, all of it. You can't spend the best part of 45 years in cramped dressing rooms, cold coaches, hanging around airports and recording studios without it getting to you in one way or another. So, for what we thought would be our last concert, we walked off stage on Saturday 1st December at The Mayflower in Southampton and that was that. Since then, I have been writing music for film and television which is by its nature a solitary existence with out the roar of the crowd. I was happy with my success but missed playing live. I would play drums now and then for fun and for friends and have tried to keep my hands in reasonable shape. On Thursday 6th June 2002 I drove up to Nottingham to see Warren, my son, who was on tour with Hank. Towards the end of his set Hank invited me on stage to sit in on a couple of numbers. I wasn't prepared for the reaction that followed. The audience made me so welcome, I had forgotten the affection they had for us and the feeling I got from their response. After a Ruby with the boys in one of the best Indian restaurants in England (opposite the stage door) I drove home with the applause still ringing in my ears, it was very satisfying. Bruce had often asked me to join him on his annual Shadowmania concerts at the Lakeside Country Club and I had always declined the invitation. However, that year he had invited Warren's band 'The Vibratos' to perform and Warren had asked me if I would take the drum chair. My first reaction was a no but after a couple of weeks thinking about it and remembering the trip to Nottingham, I decided to except and got my small jazz kit together and got my practice pad out to get in shape. I was coming to the end of the 24th episode of 'Murder in Mind' and really felt like playing in front of an audience again.

Warren being a great organizer gave me a CD of the set to learn, knowing how I felt about endless rehearsals. We had an afternoon to run through the numbers followed by a Ruby at our local Akash restaurant and that was it.

On Saturday 21st September 2002, Bruce announced the Band to a fantastic response from the crowd and after my drum solo, I got a standing ovation.

'The Vibratos' are a great band to play in, with an empathy between us all, very rare these days.

Next Bruce asked me up to play with his band 'The Moonlight Shadows' to another standing ovation and that was that. On the drive home, I started to wonder what it would be like with the three of us on stage. Not a chance in the world I thought and forgot all about it.

Over the next few weeks the memory of those two events kept coming into my mind and I decided to write to Hank and Bruce to test the water. Without going into any details, the following few months of calls and discussions have resulted in this final tour taking place and also being totally sold out.

I have been practicing every day and have renovated my silver Ludwig drum kit, parts of which were bought in New York in I963.

During the tour I will be releasing six soundtrack albums that have been produced by Warren for Cube Records. Look under soundtracks for details.

The idea for this diary started in Portugal where I spend a lot of time and where I am writing this first page. It's just for fun with a few photos and no doubt many stories which may give you an insight into what it's like to be on the Road.

We are at present e-mailing each other with our thoughts on the set list and then on the 10th April, Hank arrives from Perth. Rehearsals begin on the 12th April and I will start these journals at the end of that week and with luck at the end of every week until the final night on the 14th June at The London Palladium.

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