From: Winman42 @ aol.com
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 14:22:28 EST
Subject: [ILF] My Rather Large Trip Report!

OK folks, I'm gonna try and jot down this great trip in words. Sorry for
the length of this post, but am i safe in assuming that we have had
enough instructions on the use of the 'scroll' button?  ha,ha,ha

So, Eric and I arrived in London very early Saturday morning, and
headed out to South Kensington to stay with Roger, a buddy from
NYC. We immediately dropped out bags, and headed out to get some
breakfast. However, we were slightly detoured at the first Virgin store
we came across. After breakfast at McDonalds, he headed back to
the apartment for some much needed sleep.

After about 5 hours of sleep we headed out to meet Roger for
some food and drink. Sunday we headed over to Earls Court for
a very cool record fair. I must say Eric and I dropped more cash
that we expected, but what the hell! It's not like I'm gonna find
any of this stuff in NYC. I found some very cool Level 42 goodies,
some of which I didn't know existed. Some of the finds are:

The Breaker Lager single with Love Games
The Amnesty International Picture Disc
A 7 inch single of Follow Me

OK, now on to the main attraction. The day of the IOW gig. 
We awoke early morn, and took the train up to 'Leather Head'.
Gotta' love the cool names in the UK. Leather Head, Cockfosters, etc.
Paul Hammond met us at the Leather Head station and gave us
a ride to Portsmouth. I can't thank Paul enough for his help,
and the free ride. Eric immediately fell asleep in the back seat,
while Paul and I listened to the Shep's Bush gig on the stereo.
While this is going on we were in constant contact with Chris
Dickman, and Adam Hankinson. They were enroute from "Lye-chester"
in the Mach 5. (speed racers car) Somehow they wound up beating
us to Portsmouth. May have been Chris exceeding every posted
speed limit. :-)

Once in Portsmouth, we picked Simon Carson and Ian Buck. Great
to see both of them again, and I got to speak to Simon at length.
Hell of a nice guy, and he does a great remix, armed with nothing
more than a turntable and a tapedeck.

So, we then proceeded to the Ferry, which took a bit of doing
as all the damn streets were closed. We made it after Paul
blew thru 3 red lights......in a row!

Jumped on the ferry, where we hooked up with Chris D, and Adz.
Immediately hit the line for refreshments. Coffee all around, except
a beer for me. Hey, you gotta start sometime, and it was 10:30 already.
We drove off the ferry, listening to one of Simon's cool remixes, and
headed straight to the Sea Haven Hotel. I must say this place was
great, and the owner even helped us bring in the boxes of T-shirts.
We spent 10 minutes dropping our bags in the rooms, overlooking
the water I might add, then it was around the corner, and up the
hill to Joe Daflo's.

So picture this, 6 guys schlepping 3 boxes of shirts up the steep hill
to the pub. Now that I think about it, this might have been the only
time that Simon Webb was NOT carrying a box of shirts. So, we get to the
door, and none other than Mark himself gets up and let's us in the
door. Seems he was having a bit of coffee with Colin, Lisa Devlin, and
others.

So we all shook hands, exchanged greetings, and had a nice chat
with Mark. He signed a few shirts, and took some pics. A side note,
for everyone who had me pick up a shirt for them. I only asked him
to sign one shirt, which was for Liz, my sister. I didn't even get
one for myself.  Chris, Adz, Ian, Simon, Eric and I retired to the bar,
and Mark left a bit later for the venue, and a sound check I guess.

Soon afterwards Simon Webb showed up, and yet another round of
drinks ensued. I'm losing count at this point. Michelle, behind the
bar was very gracious to all of us, so big thanks to her, and Ria
for the wonderful hospitality. So, we sold a bunch of shirts, and
the list of folks dropping by grew to a gang. Fiona, Lisa, Marcus,
Glyn, etc. Of course Tony Sharpe and his pal, Raymond, etc.
(sorry If I missed anyone, but everyone was sooooo cool)

I made 2 new friends in Catherine and Sandra from Wales. They 
were the folks flying the flag at the gig. At about this point some
folks ate at Joe Daflo's, while a few of us hit Wimpy's and KFC.
Then, it was back to Joe Daflo's for a few more drinks.

Ran into Jenny and Lucy from Ryde, and two of their girl
friends. Nice to see them again. So, guess what? Another
round of drinks. So, since Mark informed us that the doors
open at 7:00 PM, we headed up to the line, and proceeded
to try and sell some more of those wonderful shirts.

Big thanks to Chris Dickman for the T-shirt idea, and to Ian
as well for helping. Adz was the madman running around the
line and getting some of them sold. Marcus and Lisa were a
big help as well. 

Shortly after we arrived, Lyndon arrived, and spoke to some of the
crowd, and did the picture/autograph thing. Hell of nice guy, and
very down to earth.

Doors opened and we headed upstairs.  On the way I tried to
sell a shirt to a young lady, who turned out to be Mark's daughter!!
We all huddled up towards the front of the stage, and waited for
the show to begin. Adz and I grabbed some more shirts, and made
out way around the venue. Sales were cool, and Adz felt
the need to personally introduce me as the 'nut who traveled
all the way from NYC for the gig"  :-)

Next thing ya' know, Adz has coerced the DJ to do an impromptu
T-shirt commercial. Then, Adz is up on the balcony selling shirts.
He then proceeded to throw a free shirt of the balcony to the throng
of fans below. And then guess who catches it? Gaz, who refused to
purchase shirt. I think he knocked over two kids, to get his FREE shirt.
ha,ha,ha (just kidding Gaz!) 
The shirts sold better when we informed the prospective buyers
that Mark would be signing things at DaFlo's after the gig.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the turnout. Not only was the crowd,
huge, and vocal, but it included parents, kids, and some grandparents
as well. 

OK, so now onto the gig itself. What can I say? The set was
exactly the same as the previous gigs, but the energy level was
through the roof. Everyone played great, and we danced around
and enjoyed the music. Mark played a nice bass solo before
Mr. Pink, and Lyndon did an awesome solo during Love Games.
Nathan was great as per usual, including some nice backing vox.
The only thing missing was a drum solo by Trevor, who was great,
and didn't have to use 'the bucket'. His high-hat work during It's Over
has been a personal treat for me at all the gigs I attended.

Mark was jumping and leaping all over the place, and seemed to be
having the time of his life. I think I noticed an ILF pin on his bass strap,
so kudos to Don Zipf for accomplishing that feat.

It was great to see some of the younger kids really getting into the
music, and one kid knew all the words, even the One Man tracks.
He was wearing the tour T-shirt, and a HUGE foam thumb over his
hand. Mark put the thumb on while leaving the stage. I hope someone
got pics of that, because I had run out of film. In my drunken revelry
at Daflo's I forgot to pick up more film. So, in my opinion, this show
was the best out of the 4 shows I attended. I hope that someone got
it all on tape, because it was killer.

We all headed back to DaFlo's after the gig, and when I arrived there
were about 300 people in the bar. If you have been to the bar, you
know this is quite a few for such a small place. Everyone was hoping
to get a word with Mark, or at least a signature. Surprise, Surprise! The
shirts started selling again. 

Mark entered from the rear, and I happened to be standing across the
table from him. The crowd surged forward, and he gave hand shakes,
autographs, and hugs to all who made it over. He also posed for
hundreds of photos. He then made his way behind the bar, where he
was able to sign things easier. After the singing was over, Mark
retired to the back of the pub to do a local radio interview, that was
broadcast the next day.

At this point Jo Daflo's was closing so the staff started ushering us out
of the place. Once again I'd like to point out how nice and courteous
that Michelle and Vanessa were behind the bar. They definitely know
how to remain calm during the storm of dealing with hundreds of rabid fans.

As luck would have it, a few of us were able to stay for the private
party that started after the bar closed down for the public. Again
a big thanks to Ria and Mark for making us feel right at home.

As Mark was coming back into the bar, Carl Mueller called the
bar, and spoke to Chris and me. I told Mark that a 'Mr. Mueller'
was on the phone, and told me to tell Carl hello. Mark seems to
have a great memory with fan names.

We were able to have a few conversations with Mark about various
things. Mark mentioned that he immensely enjoyed the evening,
and that he would immediately begin work on his next album.
It's not known yet whether this would surface on Eagle or another
label, but the music is already flowing. 

He also mentioned that he has some material already recorded,
and he is researching alternate methods of distribution, so keep
your ears tuned to the digest if this comes through. We all expressed
our excitement about this, and insured him he already has a rather
large captive audience on the digest.

Mark also mentioned that he is getting back into the 'slap bass'
thing, and said he is really keen on 'giving us what we want'. That
should please some of the fans I'm sure.

Ria was kind enough to introduce me Mark's mom, and we had
a nice short chat. Mark's dad actually introduced himself to me,
as he heard I traveled all the way from the USA for the gig. He
also teased me that my countrymen robbed Lennox Lewis of
the heavyweight title!! (I agree, btw) We spoke at length about
Nathan and Mark, and he is very proud of his boys. I can see
where Mark gets his great demeanor with the fans from, as his
parents were very, very nice.

Well, most of this part is a blur, but we basically just chatted with Mark,
and the band, and some of the support staff. I'm sure pics were taken, but
I didn't take any during the after-party. 

At this time the party winded down, and I thanked Mark, Ria, and everyone
and headed to the hotel and called it a night. What a wonderful experience
this whole trip was. As always it was great seeing everyone again,
and sharing some cool moments. I really can't wait to do it again,
but it doesn't look like the Lindup gig will be an option for me.

The next day I headed back to Daflo's with Simon Webb and Eric,
and we had another drink. Only soda this time, thank you. We chatted
again with Lisa and Colin, Mark and friends, who had already gotten some pics
developed. We all headed ooverto the ferry for the noon departure.

Paul Hammond was kind enough to drop me and Eric off at Heathrow
about 3 hours early, and we ALMOST missed the damn flight. We had
lunch and purchased CD's, and souvenirs. Next thing you know it's
15 minutes to departure time, so the Virgin staff drove us to the gate
just in time!!!

We had great seats, and watched 'There's Something About Mary'
three times on the return flight. So much for sleep! 

Well, that's it. Sorry for such a long winded post, but I'm sure someone
found this interesting besides me. (at least i hope so)

Tcoy,

Winston

p.s. there are T-shirts left over, so watch this space for a special
e-mail address on obtaining a shirt. (DONT EMAIL ME, PLEASE)