Tour Diaries
The Stranglers in France 2004
 weds
3rd nov...... (Niort)
it is one thirty in the morning and i am sat in a service
station waiting for a late tourbus!!!!!....it is cold and i
am tired....we are
about to tour in our third continent in three weeks -not bad..however
the
portents are not good.....the bus is late we have missed one
ferry....a major road
traffic accident has caused us a three hour de-tour and we have
a twelve hour
drive ahead of us followed at ten thirty tonight by a show.....all
this on a
bus that has someone elses toilet overflow sloshing about beneath
us upon the
 chassis
of said bus-yuk-it really stinks.......we arrive at 6.30 local
time
......apart from these things the venue is really nice everyone
is in good
spirits and the food is -as always in France-lovely......the
audience are up for it
too-not a sell-out but a healthy size and the night goes very
well
indeed.....not too vociferous at the beginning but they soon
loosen up and by the end of
the show they are ecstatic.....we all feel somewhat more positive
than a few
hours previous..no technical problems and our new tech....charlie
-see
pic-slips in un-noticed lets keep this feelin'.......goodnight......
 thur
4th........ (Rennes)
7 hours sleep-good and it is back on the bus for the 4 hour
drive to Rennes.....fab place and a student town-this is where
some ten or more
years ago we played two night at the famous Ubu club and got
the audience to
resist smoking for the second show due to Jets ill health......tonight
is an
amazing gig as the entire audience are screaming from the top
of the
show....what is going on!?.....even ten minutes after the encores
they were still
screaming and clapping-a brilliant night and even time to meet
up with old friends
and have a serious soiree apres le gig!!!-Louie doing a stonking
job on the
sound tonight too-hotel was very noisey though and it was an
early start for
those on the bus (Dave JJ and Baz are travelling in a seperate
vehicle with our
second tour manager Big Al-see pic 'Guilty'-it is faster and
sleeker!!!).
 Fri
5th... (Brest)
Today we play in Brest and on arrival I decide to look for a
web
cafe.....so after walking right down to one end of town I discover
it is at the
other end !!!great and now I am bloody hungry too so after making
my restaurant
choice and finding the web cafe I walk in and -scary - there
is a power
cut...now this rings a bell - see Melbourne Australia - so that
knocked that on the
head...ok what now...I know a bit of retail therapy....so after
looking for
new stage-pants for a few weeks I finally settle on a pair and
go to
pay.....erm sorry sir your card is no good...ok I will go to
the ATM.....bloody thing
refused me.....erm I guess that I will go to my hotel and lay
down...half
expecting to fall into a coma of course knowing my luck!!!Alas
my luck appears
better than Baz's who now-after banging his head on the bus-has
a bad
back!........anyway we get to the gig and guess what ----boring---the
punters are freaking
out.....the poorest stage diving I have ever seen greets the
first song and
gradually dies out....as if it wasn't die-re enough already......the
stage has
to be the most slippery in my memory -even DM's could skate
on it so in my
shiny leather soled shoes my work was cut out.....ooh those
inner
thighs.....plenty of young people here too....stay over tonight.....
 sat
6th.... (Lillebonne)
Up and out at 11.30 for the 4 hour drive to BFN as we call it
or
Lillebonne as it is generally known....this is a little town
of 8000 people in
Normandie around 40 miles from LeHavre....we are staying in
an amazing
chateaux....erm no we are staying next door to an amazing chateaux!!!!!Hey
but check
the view from my room-see pic-basically we overlook the Seine
valley...it is
stunning and really beautiful air.....tonight is a sell-out
and we are going
to meet up with our excellent promoter....all in all it should
be a party night
.....erm if we make it !!!????On our way to sound check we manage
to blow our
'sleek' vehicle up and -see pic-are stranded for half an hour
at the side of
a very fast road....not ideal - but - very quickly everything
is sorted out
and we are back on our way...phew!..........however the venue
although very
nice-an arts centre-is all seated....lets see what we can do.....erm
no need as
soon as we hit the stage they are all up and at us....but ....the
sound is very
weird for us for sometime but not for the punters...they are
totally
committed..
yes another great night...are we having fun !?............
7th.... (Ris Orangis)
 erm
of november no idea what day it is but we are going to Ris
Orangis-south of Paris to play La Plan a venue we had to re-visit
on a tour many years ago after Jet had fallen ill......however
tonight we play at 7.30.....so we have the rest of the night
off...we are welcomed by a sell out audience who treat us like
old friends-we made a promise to return at our own expense and
they showed us their appreciation tonight-from the first note
of Waltzinblack this was a warm and totally relaxed vibe...it
was a pity we had to stop really but thats life haha also we
stayed behind to eat with our promoter and drink of course ...and
we still had time to prepare for our big day out tomorrow in
Lille........
...tues 9th nov..... (Lille)
 ahhh
a grand day out was had by all.....except Baz who has now developed
an abcess on his front tooth-OUCH-so it was up at 9 for him
and down to the dentist.....meanwhile some of us were piling
down oysters by the bucket load....nice u think but i don't
actually like them!! but we had ordered a seafood platter and
it arrived with fruits of the sea all cold and i ended up with
15 down my neck which made me sleep rather easily that afternoon.......so
easily that i nearly missed soundcheck....weird old theatre
this one.....Baz looking in pain.....showtime 9.30 two thirds
sold and very cold here....like 6 degrees......also we have
been informed that our Mulhouse show has been cancelled due
to bad sales and therefore we drive straight past it and on
to Tulle.......bit of a slow audience tonight but again they
get well warmed up -with the help of a few Anglaise to sing
along with......back to l'hotel and up bright and not very breezy
for the drive to the sea-side at Boulogne....
....weds 10th nov...... (Boulogne)
 wow
this is a really old theatre-see pic - not unlike the Grand
in Blackpool where we have played a few times.....Baz starting
to feel better but now we have bass problems and the rig is
not working and there is no spare -however the company director
is in town so we let him know what is happening and so a new
rig is on its way......all seems a bit fraught today but thats
the way it goes - some days are shitty......but most are excellent!!!!!sell-out
too but all seats......also
 weird
sound onstage but the punters are well up for it and only have
to be invited once to leave their seats and enjoy the show.....the
best audience so far -although there is not a lot in it between
most of the gigs.......they actually clapped in time!!!!!all
this a big suprise as we have never been here but will be back
one feels....anyway all aboard the bus for an overnighter to
Nancy and a day off....so it is obviously party time......erm
see pics....however we are all in bed by 06.30am......haha
 ...11th
nov.....
armistice day and everything is shut....so it is a long day
off and me and the crew find a lovely Morroccan restaurant and
sit down to a very civilised meal ......bed....for 13 hours
in this chaps case.....!!
....nov 12th.... (Pagney)
tonight the show is an hours drive away to a very famous venue
called Chez Paulette..-still trying to find out why-.....it's
a tiny tiny
place with a tiny stage and tiny people ...no backstage and
more smoke than a very smokey thing.....on at 11...no oxygen
to speak of but what a fantastic night this was....600 people
crammed in to a 350 space.......Baz breaks strap on first jump
and a very pretty woman insists on dancing on stage with me
to Peaches-oh dear oh dear........best night for me now......2
weeks to go.............
...sat 13th nov..... (Strasbourg)
 four
hours sleep...nice.....up at 9.30 ....4 hours drive to Strasbourg-not
our best place for fans but those who showed were shall we say....erm
into it....the trouble here is that they need to be told how
to enjoy themselves - so it was my pleasure to illustrate the
point....took a while but got there in the end.....strange art
centre kind of vibe ...we played here many moons
 ago......not
the greatest gig i have ever done but u can't have it all your
own way .....or can you??.......tonight is a mega-drive and
therefore a bit of a party was had hhmmm.....see pics....we
are going to a place called Tulle....kind of mid France -very
pretty town indeed....looks a bit Balkan in the surrounding
country-side....cold too - and i feel like a little cold is
coming on...two nights off here ..see pics.....oh dear......me
and crew drink all first day.....yes see pics..... and so we
need to eat today hahaha........
 .......tues
16th nov (Tulle)
......at least i know what day it is now........it is show day
in Tulle !!!!
feeling worse for wear..miserable weather...me and Jj do quick
TV for evening news.....bored of this town...bored of days off.....9.45
show.........erm well we have had better nights....nuff said
17th..... (Clermont Ferrand)
8.30 call for the drive to Cleont Ferrand and the hometown of
our support band Asyl.....half full house .bit slow to start
but got quite noisy after a while....this was always gonna be
hardest part of the tour.deepest darkest France .fatigue setting
in and we have been on tour for two months almost....this happens
and sleep and re-charge are all that is needed........off to
Bordeaux tonight....
 18th......
(Bordeaux)
ah 10am and off to our hotel........and pretty it is too.....will
tonight be fun-who knows.......sadly our tour manager has a
bereavment and has to leave the tour for two days .our thoughts
go out to him.....10pm show......wow full house and they are
rocking this is a fantastic night.makes up for two shitty days
easily...except i pull the power on Dave and Baz with a left
foot special during Heroes..........drum and bass strangs?????erm
no i dont think so hahaha...belter of a gig..up at 8.30 again
tho..............to BFN....
nov 19th..... (Montauban)
no sleep since wednesday night...........and today could be
disappointing.stagetime 9 then 9.30 then 10 then 10.30 then
back to 10..........no confusion there then..well this is the
suprise gig.....the club is full..of men women AND children..........weird
but what a great night from the first note to the last and beyond.........lovely
people and a big relief too......i think we will be back but
please can we round up the La Folie brigade and leave them outside....there
is always some drongo screaming it out at the very front of
stage every night.............we only do like 21 songs................boring
or what.....10 am run to Tarbes..............
 nov
20th......... (Tarbes)
in the shadow of the Pyrenees stands a lonely venue which -by
10.15 is two thirds full of people who just love music........they
are a wee bit quiet for three songs but eventually even the
Slipknot fans are lovin' it............result i
 think...lovely
food here too... another suprise night and off we go to Lyon
over night.. very messy... 6.30 to our bunks but up
 for
the first of two big nights out here except on the second the
crew and i go to Mont Blanc for an awesome day out up the cable
cars and then the search for cheese begins....fondue that is............wonderful
day and lots of sleep for the next show..........
23 rd...... (Lyon)
well i played here on my first French tour and once more since........as
far as audience numbers we do not expect a full house but it
should be a fun night.............................
  ..........after
2 days off in Aix en Provence (cause we never liked the look
of Istres-nothing to do)we are in Istres with 2 shows to go.....this
was a 'we love you but we are gonna be a bit cool' kind of audience....however
for those who need to know there was a bit of a 'we're bored
lets do something to ourselves ' vibe between me and the crew
which is why Louie shaved his head and I got a full BLEACH....others
of course never bothered so my mate and I held the flag proudly
aloft!!!..........anyway 2 days off is no good for mind or body
and the last shows never quite took off as
 planned
- but - never mind there was nothing wrong with them and it
was lovely to see so many brits in Nice so thank-you and hope
you all got home safely..oh and for the interested among you
yes in 'All day' i did in fact tear the arse right out of my
trousers for the last time(pics to follow)so thats that..more
strides perlease!!! also it was really good talking to some
of you at the airport...well all in all it was a great tour
and now onwards and upwards (north)to Iceland and the U.K. and
some interesting stories too...BUT you will have to wait until
my christmas holidays are over but in the meantime have fun
and again so many thanks for your loyal support ......xxx........
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