From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V6 #65 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Tuesday, February 20 2001 Volume 06 : Number 065 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] Mad Timetable (Part 2) ["Reecey" ] [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide ["Pete Kohut" ] Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide [Colleen Matan ] Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide [Bill Gillam ] Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide [Bill Gillam ] Re: [AVALON] AMA (a relative short post) [Hank Szlenkier Subject: [AVALON] Mad Timetable (Part 2) Covent Garden, 2001 : taking a turn off mainstreet, away from cacophony. What's the date again ? 1991 ? Or twenty years on ? Guests arrive early. Dressed to the nines. Or was it tens ? Avalonians deluxe and delightful. Saturday night at the Roxy the Mecca the Spot - your fantasies realised... Emma set to work - raffle ticket frenzy. Their main concern, is what they can afford. Everyone wanted the Scarf. And the drumsticks. And the signed RAH poster. And the signed Virginia Plain songsheet. Only a few would be lucky... Catch that buzz. Old friends and new, meeting up for the first time in a while. What a wonderful atmosphere. Tick, tick time, 20.00 hours approaching. Cue from Simon - 4 minutes and counting ! Cue passed on to Mr. Shearer, positioned behind the Bar (now I know why he volunteered to be the lights man !). 'Sultanesque' boomed out. Andrew killed the lights - but can you guess the rest ? The strains of 'Ladytron' peaking through, no sign of Ron... We heard him first - "You've got me girl ..." and with a swish of a red velvet curtain, there was our man, confident and relaxed (or so it seemed) strolling towards stage front. Pure electronic wow. Remake were magnificent, and I'm so pleased for them - because it was such a huge Gig for them - the first time they'd played outside of their own country, and potentially the most critical audience of all. Us ! It didn't take long before everyone was bopping. Singing along, dancing. Hey - we know the words to all these ! Set 1 ended on what is always a great highlight for me. A Song For Europe. Check Leslies sax solo. Blistering. A fifteen minute break for us to catch our breath, and they were back. Carrickfergus began the second set. The volume went up, and so did the excitement. So did the volume of Han. Two songs I'd never heard Remake do before, and both great surprises. A triumphant 'If There Is Something', and a very surprising, and wonderfully unexpected ''That's How Strong My Love Is', which I know was a highlight for many. Many beaming faces, offstage and on. 'Remake' ! 'Remake' ! was the chant, and the chorus of us all following the traditional question/answer of 'What's Her Name' ? was a great moment, no matter which language it was shouted back in (there was a few to choose from) ! 'Do The Strand' powered in, the whole place was jumping. 'Eskimos and Avalonians' ! sang Ron, playing to us all... 'Remake Remodel' to finish, and we soothed our hoarse voices with yet more drinks (well, actually, we'd been doing that all evening anyway - all 103 of us). The Video followed - slight hassle on the volume front (hey, Venues fault, not ours !) - but it worked out so fine, as those who wanted to chat stood back, and those who wanted to watch came forward. I was positioned just on the right of the stage, talking to the too-tall and seemingly ever sober (how does he do that ?) Andy Mol, and we had a great time looking at the 'Oh My God' ! expressions on the faces of many of the audience, as they witnessed BF's Cilla appearance of These Foolish Things, and the infamous Twiggy appearance/duet too, of What A Wonderful World. Hey, that one even started an impromptu round of applause - great stuff. Much agog faces at the end of the screening, silence and reverence, during Sonnet. Next up - the raffle. Many thanks to Bill McCormick for making sense of it all. That was great fun. I never even realised there was a Dutch tradition about eating raffle tickets, hey, you learn something new every day. Betsy got her special award for travelling the most distance, a really nice signed poster of Bry. Vanessa, who I guess in travelling terms covered more than a fair few miles too, coming all the way from NYC ! - walked off with the signed V. Plain songsheet, and Luc, our French representative - got the signed RAH poster, which is exactly what he was after. I'll leave others here to tell you the tale of the Scarf - the most eagerly awaited prize, along with TGPT drumsticks. A few of us were presented with a special memento - 'A Mad Affair' mugs - thank you, nice touch. I've eaten the 'Fandangos' too, by the way. I look forward (I think) to the Video footage of the end of the evening especially, with an Avalonian conga winding it's way around the Venue. Thanks to each and every one of you, the arrangers, the Band, and all of you who travelled from near and far and wide, to come along and made it such a very special evening. We needed every one of us to make it work, and boy did it work. How on earth did it all run so smoothly ? I'm still grinning like an idiot about it all. Of course, we're all exhausted, but happily so. To give a strange twist of fate to the end of the proceedings, our cab driver back to north London was a Roxy fan - honestly - Andrew, Ivor, Chris and myself all tested him, and he knew his stuff. Thanks to all. Next time is the best time. Is this the end, the bitter end ? (or the beginning ?). Reecey... ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 11:16:47 -0800 From: "Pete Kohut" Subject: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide >I have to say I'm heartbroken, really. Once again a popular figure isn't who they seem to be on the surface. Sensitive artist type, in reality insensitive neanderthal. I think Bryan has tainted what was a fine legacy. I always thought of him as a genuine family man and not some skirt chasing rock star. He also was interested in humanity as displayed by his performance in LIVE AID and other charities. I was so looking forward to Roxy's reunion, and now this. I'm afraid it will be more than just demonstators. Bryan won't be able to keep this "off grounds" when it comes to interviews. This will always come first now. The music will be secondary. I can't think of anything worse for such a serious artist. I think Bryan will be a social pariah now. For someone who has strived so hard for acceptance, his statements seem even more baffling. I'm hoping that Bryan is a pragmatist and maybe we can persuade him that employment is a specious argument at best when it comes to justifying cruelty. Wanting to be protective of his son and not cause any rifts is commendable, but I think most of us agree in our heart of hearts that bryan is on the wrong side of this Issue. What do you think?<
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___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 14:42:56 -0500 (EST) From: Colleen Matan Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, Pete Kohut wrote: > >I have to say I'm heartbroken, really. Once again a popular figure > isn't who they seem to be on the surface. Sensitive artist type, in > reality insensitive neanderthal. I think Bryan has tainted what was a > fine legacy. I always thought of him as a genuine family man and not > some skirt chasing rock star. He also was interested in humanity as > displayed by his performance in LIVE AID and other charities. I was so > looking forward to Roxy's reunion, and now this. I'm afraid it will be > more than just demonstators. Bryan won't be able to keep this "off > grounds" when it comes to interviews. This will always come first now. > The music will be secondary. I can't think of anything worse for such > a serious artist. I think Bryan will be a social pariah now. For > someone who has strived so hard for acceptance, his statements seem > even more baffling. I'm hoping that Bryan is a pragmatist and maybe we > can persuade him that employment is a specious argument at best when > it comes to justifying cruelty. Wanting to be protective of his son > and not cause any rifts is commendable, but I think most of us agree > in our heart of hearts that bryan is on the wrong side of this Issue. > What do you think? Huh? Colleen ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 13:43:49 -0600 From: Bill Gillam Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide All have to say is give me a break... "social pariah"? you make it sound like there were revelations of Nazi war crimes or something ... and this is extreme and unfair. There are a variety of people in the world and you have a right to your differences of opinion but to condemn Bryan in this manner is wrong. And by the way I have never so much as pointed a gun at a living thing. This is said to prevent rapid and false conclusions about me. Sorry to be so serious .. I tried but could not let this condemnation go unanswered. Bill Pete Kohut wrote: > >I have to say I'm heartbroken, really. Once again a popular figure isn't who > they seem to be on the surface. Sensitive artist type, in reality insensitive > neanderthal. I think Bryan has tainted what was a fine legacy. I always > thought of him as a genuine family man and not some skirt chasing rock star. > He also was interested in humanity as displayed by his performance in LIVE AID > and other charities. I was so looking forward to Roxy's reunion, and now this. > I'm afraid it will be more than just demonstators. Bryan won't be able to keep > this "off grounds" when it comes to interviews. This will always come first > now. The music will be secondary. I can't think of anything worse for such a > serious artist. I think Bryan will be a social pariah now. For someone who has > strived so hard for acceptance, his statements seem even more baffling. I'm > hoping that Bryan is a pragmatist and maybe we can persuade him that > employment is a specious argument at best when it comes to justifying cruelty. > Wanting to be protective of his son and not cause any rifts is commendable, > but I think most of us agree in our heart of hearts that bryan is on the wrong > side of this Issue. What do you think? ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 19:46:54 -0000 From: "michael ferguson" Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide Well said Pete. Unfortunately far from a social pariah, Bryan will probably be seen as some sort of hero in the circles he likes to be seen in. Unfortunately for him, I am sure that the vast majority of "ordinary" people would like to see this barbaric spectacle banned - and they are the ones who buy most of his records. Mike - ----- Original Message ----- From: Pete Kohut To: Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 7:16 PM Subject: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide > >I have to say I'm heartbroken, really. Once again a popular figure isn't who > they seem to be on the surface. Sensitive artist type, in reality insensitive > neanderthal. I think Bryan has tainted what was a fine legacy. I always > thought of him as a genuine family man and not some skirt chasing rock star. > He also was interested in humanity as displayed by his performance in LIVE AID > and other charities. I was so looking forward to Roxy's reunion, and now this. > I'm afraid it will be more than just demonstators. Bryan won't be able to keep > this "off grounds" when it comes to interviews. This will always come first > now. The music will be secondary. I can't think of anything worse for such a > serious artist. I think Bryan will be a social pariah now. For someone who has > strived so hard for acceptance, his statements seem even more baffling. I'm > hoping that Bryan is a pragmatist and maybe we can persuade him that > employment is a specious argument at best when it comes to justifying cruelty. > Wanting to be protective of his son and not cause any rifts is commendable, > but I think most of us agree in our heart of hearts that bryan is on the wrong > side of this Issue. What do you think?<
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> > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > The subliminable footer says: > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:14:17 +0000 From: Michael Hill Subject: RE: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide Come on, is that not just a tad melodramatic? "Career suicide... the music will be secondary..." I don't think it will ever come to a situation like that. Although I am against fox-hunting, his reasoning for support of the issue does not strike me as "social climbing" of any sort, but instead a support of his son and the side of the issue he has been exposed to, being a country-dweller. This has led me to "hold fire" when it comes to judging him, since we were not put on this earth to judge people, even if we disagree with their views. Anyway, think of some of the absolutely silly things Bowie has said, relating to his admiration of Nazis,extreme right wing-politics,etc. These were said in the 70's, and although people haven't forgotten them, his career hasn't exactly been badly affected! In fact, it has almost been dismissed as a foolish quote, maybe a form of sensationalism, to be ignored. People listen to the music, as they shall continue to do with Bryan. Opinions are personal things, and not everyone will have the same view, but we should focus on Bryan as a musical and stylistic icon, not some sort of animal killer. I wish he was against animal hunting too, but he's not, so let's move on and enjoy the most important aspect of Bryan Ferry: his musical genius! ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:32:49 -0000 From: "ncjones.lewis2" Subject: Re: [AVALON] Savoy Ballroom : The thrill, the thrill, the.... Dear KB Porter According to our records it is now time for your bi-annual check-up. An appointment has been scheduled of 2pm 20/02/01. An examination will be made during which you will tell us all you know! You may come disguised as Dustin Hoffman if you wish. Regards Neil Jones BDS - ----- Original Message ----- From: C.H.Soetemann To: Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 3:12 PM Subject: Re: [AVALON] Savoy Ballroom : The thrill, the thrill, the.... > Yes, KB - I knew it - Neil "they call him the dentist" Jones is active > again!!! Disguised as Laurence Olivier as Roxy fan he has been observing us > on the list for months and months. What will follow? > It seems that Neil Jones is... > > > ---------- > >Von: KB Porter > >An: avalon@smoe.org > >Betreff: Re: [AVALON] Savoy Ballroom : The thrill, the thrill, the.... > >Datum: Mon, 19. Feb 2001 14:49 Uhr > > > > >ATTENTION CHRISTIAN!!!!! > > > >I shot off my note before reading Neil's comment about Marathon Man! OH > >MY GOD! Probability just rose - Neil Jones must..... > > > > > >___________________________________________________________________________ > >The subliminable footer says: > >To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > >unsubscribe avalon > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > The subliminable footer says: > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:21:44 -0000 From: "ncjones.lewis2" Subject: Re: [AVALON] "Roxy Music's London" Anyone know where they are rehearsing for the tour? Neil - ----- Original Message ----- From: Simon Galloway To: Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 3:02 PM Subject: Re: [AVALON] "Roxy Music's London" > It's something I've thought about before, not just for Roxy, but most artists I like have their London Landmarks. Close by to where I work are former homes of Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie, the old Pye recording studios, the former HQ of EMI (where the Beatles had their picture taken for the first album and during the Get Back sessions). There are old recording studios dotted about everywhere, in fact, Jazz FM HQ used to be called Odyssey Studios and the likes of Paul McCartney, The Who (and Townshend on his own), The Jam and Marvin Gaye have all recorded here. > > But what strong connections have Roxy got with London? The Covent Garden rehearsal room (Paul Thompson recalls it was below a gym), the studio at Oxford Circus where they recorded Stranded (and others), Command Studios in Picadilly. And then of course Bryan's HQ in Kensington. For me they don't the same symbolism as Abbey Road (yes, I've been and walked accross the crossing), or the old De Lane Lea studios in Holborn where Hendrix and the Who created their masterpieces - that buliding was reopened last week as a Sainsbury's supermarket. > > I think Roxy's connections are throughout the UK. London wasn't as important or significant as it was for The Beatles, Hendrix, the Stones, the Who...... > > SimonG > > BTW try looking the London rock landmarks book rather than the specific Beatles one. I used to have it somewhere... > > >>> "Paul Bodine" 02/19 2:43 am >>> > I'm sure everyone's heard of the guide "The Beatles London: The Ultimate Guide > to Over 400 Beatles Sites in and Around London." Has anything similar every > been assembled informally for BF / RM's London, i.e., the key addresses for an > RM fan visiting Londontown? Apologies if this has been discussed before . . . > > Thanks > Paul Bodine > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > The subliminable footer says: > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:50:03 -0000 From: "Tracy Connell" Subject: RE: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide I agree Michael. It's his music that's important. Let's just be thankful he's here and we can go and see him live in concert. I'm also an Elvis fan and never had the chance to see him live. I'm just glad nothing happened to Bryan in that plane incident. Let's just enjoy the Roxy Tour. I've never seen Roxy Live, only Bryan so I'm really looking forward to this tour. Tracy. >From: Michael Hill >Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org >To: avalon@smoe.org >Subject: RE: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide >Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:14:17 +0000 I wish he was against animal hunting too, but he's not, so let's move >on and enjoy the most important aspect of Bryan Ferry: his musical genius! > > >___________________________________________________________________________ >The subliminable footer says: >To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: >unsubscribe avalon > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 16:15:43 -0500 (EST) From: Colleen Matan Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide OK, so let's get this straight: the only things I've ever fired a gun at were the "stars" of "Beverly Hills 90201," and those were just trading cards and just with a BB gun. But I have to add a few comments about the way this issue is heading off into way too much hyperbole. First of all, this isn't news. This came out a few months ago on this list, when the news about Otis hit one of the newspapers in the UK. And what happened a few months later? The reunion tour. So clearly it's not going to sink Ferry's career. Second, he has the right to espouse any view he likes. And I'm afraid it is a bit premature to judge him on this view until you've heard more than two sentences in a newspaper story (with apologies to our resident journalists). Finally, if you really are this upset about his position on the fox hunting issue, perhaps you should think about putting your money where your mouth is and boycotting the tour. Otherwise your protestations and convictions hold no water at all and you're just wasting our collective time. You can't have your cake and eat it too. ObFerry: Thanks to everyone, especially Han, for the reports about A Mad Affair. Colleen ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 15:19:25 -0600 From: Bill Gillam Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide Brilliantly said Michael! Michael Hill wrote: > Come on, is that not just a tad melodramatic? "Career suicide... the music > will be secondary..." I don't think it will ever come to a situation like > that. Although I am against fox-hunting, his reasoning for support of the > issue does not strike me as "social climbing" of any sort, but instead a > support of his son and the side of the issue he has been exposed to, being a > country-dweller. This has led me to "hold fire" when it comes to judging him, > since we were not put on this earth to judge people, even if we disagree with > their views. Anyway, think of some of the absolutely silly things Bowie has > said, relating to his admiration of Nazis,extreme right wing-politics,etc. > These were said in the 70's, and although people haven't forgotten them, his > career hasn't exactly been badly affected! In fact, it has almost been > dismissed as a foolish quote, maybe a form of sensationalism, to be ignored. > People listen to the music, as they shall continue to do with Bryan. Opinions > are personal things, and not everyone will have the same view, but we should > focus on Bryan as a musical and stylistic icon, not some sort of animal > killer. I wish he was against animal hunting too, but he's not, so let's move > on and enjoy the most important aspect of Bryan Ferry: his musical genius! > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > The subliminable footer says: > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 21:34:40 -0000 From: "Jane Collard" Subject: [AVALON] AMA/Saturday's Telegraph Just to add my belated thanks for a brilliant evening on Saturday. It was good to renew acquaintances with many familiar faces from last year, and to meet some more Avalonians for the first time (I won't name names as I'm bound to forget someone!). As has already been said, Remake/Remodel were superb - I admit I had my doubts beforehand but all fears were very quickly dispelled. They played two wonderful sets and had us all spellbound. I'm so pleased for them - must have been nerve-wracking to have to perform in front of their most critical audience ever! Great fun, an excellent venue and a wonderful evening. I felt I was among real friends, such is the strength of our combined madness! Thanks to everyone involved and obviously a special thank you must go to the main organisers (Reecey, Jocelyn, Simon and Ivor). I can't wait for the next one! I stayed up in town on Saturday night and had lunch with my brother-in-law on Sunday. Well, he asked what the "big event" was that I'd attended on Saturday night. When I told him, he said something along the lines of "Oh, I'd forgotten what a Roxy nut you were - I had an invitation to the Press Conference but couldn't go - should have given you my pass" (he's a journalist, by the way!). I just about refrained from flooring him - but I did make him pay for lunch. He's trying to fix up an interview with one or more of the boys for the Times magazine and is now under threat of death at the very least if he doesn't tell me - so I'll keep you posted! And on the subject of press coverage, Saturday's Daily Telegraph (I've only just got round to reading it this evening due to being otherwise engaged over the weekend!) had a good article in its Arts section on the Roxy reunion - very positive and the writer welcomed the news of the tour. He described them as the Greatest Band of the Seventies, and I can't argue with that! The link should be here - hope it works: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002549632124328&rtmo=r92t3DFX&atmo=rrrrrrrq& pg=/et/01/2/17/bmroxy17.html Thanks again to everyone Jane ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 17:06:19 EST From: KRNCHSE@aol.com Subject: Re: [AVALON] [Avalon] Career Suicide In a message dated 2/19/01 2:35:58 PM Eastern Standard Time, petek01@msn.com writes: << but I think most of us agree in our heart of hearts that bryan is on the wrong side of this Issue. What do you think? >> Maybe most of those who have chosen to air their personal views?I ,for one, think that this is taking up too much space on this site. After all, it seems apparent that swopping info on where to meet/with whom etc. at forthing gigs will require entry to another forum? Regards, DM well i'm drunk today........................................... ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 22:06:47 -0000 From: "Jane Collard" Subject: Re: [AVALON] AMA/Saturday's Telegraph Well the link *did* work when I tried it earlier!! Go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk and search the archive under Roxy Music! Jane - ----- Original Message ----- From: Jane Collard To: Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 9:34 PM Subject: [AVALON] AMA/Saturday's Telegraph > And on the subject of press coverage, Saturday's Daily Telegraph (I've only > just got round to reading it this evening due to being otherwise engaged over > the weekend!) had a good article in its Arts section on the Roxy reunion - > very positive and the writer welcomed the news of the tour. He described them > as the Greatest Band of the Seventies, and I can't argue with that! The link > should be here - hope it works: > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002549632124328&rtmo=r92t3DFX&atmo=rrrrrrrq & > pg=/et/01/2/17/bmroxy17.html > > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > The subliminable footer says: > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 17:57:13 EST From: OBrienFerry@aol.com Subject: [AVALON] A Madder Affair London on a Saturday night can be quite a strange place. We wandered around the Covent Garden area enjoying the street performers when we stumbled across a place that was curiously called after acne, 'The Spot'. As I entered the foyer I saw a sign that said A Mad Affair, and after peeking through the curtains I thought "I'm not having anything to do with that crowd of bickering numbnuts." I suggested to Emma we go elswhere and she agreed, so we went along the Strand and on the wall of The Savoy, we saw a billboard advertising a tribute show to The Avalon Mailing List. I must see this I thought and along we went to see how true to life it would be. On arrival at the venue, Vinny Jones accompanied by 2 English Bull terriers ordered his efficient leather clad but shoeless minders, to fleece our pockets for any cash they could find for raffle tickets and emulated Emma superbly. This was the easiest time I have ever had in London in getting rid of my Scottish # notes. Charlie Dimmock the mistress of the concrete patio and water feature came as Jocelyn and was easily recognisable as she had sped away from filming her latest sci-fi movie "Rhodedendrons Attack Mars" still resplendent in costume as she hadn't time to change. Shirley Temple's grand-daughter was twidling knobs in the corner and supplying the groovy background music with the slick, silky, seamless grooves the way only Simon G could produce. Ronan Keating managed to spend a few moments away from the maternity unit to dazzle us with his Irish Brogue and even died his hair black to complete the Gareth McGinley look. Sacha Distel gleamed at winning the Royal Albert Hall signed poster in the raffle and said we are all welcome at his place when Roxy play Paris. We had no difficulty at all in realising he was appearing as Luc Morvillier. Michael Jackson had his hair cut short and thin and was wearing John Lennon type glasses, all adding to the change in his skin colour over the last few years which had been the long term plan to recreate his gyrating hero Han Snijders. He even spoke wiv zee funny accent. Some other Dutch guy was there, I don't know who he was but he had a large paper bag from which he seemed to be trying to sell everyone mint imperials. Betsy Fowler appeared in a cameo role as herself to get her money's worth from her long flight from San Francisco. But before the entertainment on stage began, the compere, Jake (or was it Elwood?) in his sharp black suit and five tattooed knuckles R - E - E - C - Y, gave us a blow by blow account of his day's events; from the brand of toothpaste in the morning, to the registration of the taxi cab in which he arrived. When he did get to announcing the main band for the evening, it was just some old guys, Bryan, Phil, Andy, Thomo and Eno copying a Dutch band, Re-do/Re-sing. And last but not least we had the Trotter trio from 'Only Fools and Horses' paying very little attention to the band on stage, prefering to maintain position at the bar. Rodney had been co-opted to assist with the lights which were operated from behind the bar, while simultaneously trying to chat up Rula Lenska. Del Boy complete with polyester cravate showed disapointment that the bar couldn't mix fancy cocktails with the tiny paper parasols, but was able to quickly resume the bubbling personality of his chosen star. I felt that despite the high standard of impersonations from the star studded list, this version of Martin Stockman was the most outstanding. Afterall, Uncle Albert dressed in a kilt couldn't even quite manage a Scottish accent, but his fanciful tales just didn't seem to let the truth get in the way of a good story. J.O'B. ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 02:17:39 -0800 From: "Ivor Canning" Subject: Re: [AVALON] You Don't Ask Why... A Canning Longpost (c) Part 1 From "Experiences of an Irish R.M.(Fan)": Upon my arrival mid-afternoon, JO'B and 'Shades' Shearer were propping up the bar (no surprises there, then !) while Emma and Jocelyn were scurrying around, wrapping prizes for the raffle like demented Santa's little helpers. Reecey was doing his usual party trick of smoking and drinking coffee while at the same time administering sellotape to multiple pieces of A4 all the while managing to not set fire to himself or put his cigarette out. Chris Turner and I exchanged the usual pleasantries - "Hello, you prog saddo !" he cried. "Up yours, pub-rock loser !" I wittily rejoined before dumping my bag on one of the nearby leather sofas. As I turned, I nearly jumped out of my skin as Emma shook a tin box in front of my nose and menacingly demanded that I hand over all my spare cash in return for some raffle tickets. Fearing for my life, I complied and slunk off to find Simon Galloway grinning beatifically (as only he can !) behind an array of CD players and assorted black boxes, trying to identify some bizarre Roxy remixes from a contributed CD. Just behind him, the low stage had already been set out with the band's equipment who, having completed their soundcheck, had gone in search of sustenance. Unable to resist, JO'B and I gleefully bashed out a barely-recognisable 'Out Of The Blue' until Reecey muttered something about Re-make's drummer being the size of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with a low tolerance for people mucking about with his kit. I took the hint and went for a yaki-soba at a local eatery with Jocelyn and Reecey. On the way back, I got side-tracked by a CD shop (well, they had a sale on !!) and by the time I returned, people were starting to trickle through - the party was about to begin. /to be continued... ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 02:21:49 -0800 From: "Ivor Canning" Subject: Re: [AVALON] You Don't Ask Why... A Canning Longpost (c) Part 2 /cont'd... Pretty soon, bassist extraordinaire (and ace Manzanera webmeister) Bill 'I told the wife I'd only be an hour or so...' MacCormick appeared, brandishing a clutch of Expression CDs for the raffle and for his pains, proceeded to have his ear bent all evening by yours truly. The arrival of Lee Sullivan and Jo did little to lift his spirits as he realised this was his worst nightmare - he was in the company of a mini-Manzahatter Tea Party !! Bill finally lost the will to live when dear old Han came over and stunned everyone in a scene H. M. Bateman would have been proud of, with the immortal words 'Ah, good to see you.....Tom !' The next five hours were a bit of a blur quite frankly, so I'm glad other people have posted about Re-make's set ! They really were tremendous fun without straying into parody and there really were moments when you could close your eyes and be transported (Han Snijders notwithstanding S8^) ) For what it's worth, this old cynic had a lump in his throat and a moistness around the eyes on hearing the opening strains of '2HB'... Impressed ? Not half ! After the great prize draw fiasco (not a single prize, dammit !) proceedings came to an untidy close, with no-one wanting to leave. We were finally turfed out onto the pavement but just stood around in the cold still talking and laughing. At 2am, we took the hint and had to say our strange goodbyes ... After an hour in the freezing cold outside Charing Cross station waiting for taxis, Messrs Shearer, Turner, Reece and I hurtled north (driven by probably the only Roxy-literate cabbie in London) only to find that Mr Reece had clearly forgotten to put any half-crowns in his electricity meter !! Huddled round the huskies for warmth, we attempted to keep our spirits up by talking of warmer times, but it was no use...at 5:45 am, I fought my way past the penguins and headed for the early train, crawling into bed at 7 am, just as dawn was peeping over the horizon...(tell me - will I ever learn ?) It was (as always) great to see so many Avalonians, especially those crazy Dutch people having a good time as only they know how !! (New York, New York, indeed !!) Here's looking at you, kids ... Regards, Ivor. n.p. The Peking Brothers CD (they were busking in the piazza at Covent Garden just before AMA - I think Guo Yue was surprised anyone recognised him, much less ask for his autograph on the CD !) ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 09:15:52 -0800 From: Betsy Fowler Subject: [AVALON] Nightingale Back in dull and rainy San Fran from sunny London~ Memory-fragments emerging from the smokey Mists of Avalon...the Dapper Reecey, King of All He Surveyed...Jocelyn laughing, always laughing...ebullient JohnOBryanFerry + radiant Emma...Mad-Max-Martino + graceful lovely wife...a clutch, a brace, a gaggle, no, a swarm of tall tall TALL dark'n'HAN-some Dutch guys (they will rule the world)...and by the way, it's a PLAStic world, Han, no tigah-skin...the elegant Chris Turner losing it completely on numerous occasions as the band ROCKED OUT...the Cheshire-cat grin on Simon Galloway's face...Andrew Shearer still has no shades, we must have a whip-round for him...Ivor trying to work out what planet I was from...waving a last goodbye to Therese and brother Raymond in the British Museum Great Court after I haunted them on Sunday... Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music - do I wake or sleep? Betsy ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 04:02:53 -0500 From: Hank Szlenkier Subject: Re: [AVALON] AMA (a relative short post) Han, Sounds like it was a great time. I'm sorry that I missed it. Was there good reepresentation from the states ? Any chance that we can see some pics or how about a copy of video highlights ? Hank Szlenkier ___________________________________________________________________________ The subliminable footer says: To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V6 #65 *************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest