Purple Hayes

I thought I'd say a few words here about last night's Beck Theatre show- it was that rare thing for me, a local CBB gig. Having spent most of the previous couple of weeks fending off phone calls, text messages and e-mails from people asking for free tickets I spent the days before the show attempting to shake off a rather peculiar virus that among other things caused my hands to swell up (Pete alluded to it in his last posting about our Dunstable show) and my limbs to ache. Come the day of the show I still wasn't feeling 100%- I was asleep until about 10 minutes before we had to leave for the venue- but in the end everything went well with everyone I spoke to after the show saying how much they'd enjoyed it, and my Dad complaining that there weren't enough guitar solos!

Excellent!

Thanks to all who made it all happen- you made a happy man feel very old...

Leigh.

…on a wet Tuesday in Dunstable, CBB ROCKED!!!!!

Imagine a theatre that has everything a touring production needs to make sure they have a good night:
Great Parking, Perfect Access, Great Technical Crew, Fantastic Stage, Phenomenal Theatre, Helpful Front Of House Staff, Amazing In House PA Rig……..and a full house, and you must be at The Grove Theatre, Dunstable. Hurrah!!!
The Cast raised their game and the Dunstable gig will definitely go down as one of the finest in CBB history.
Leigh’s hands were on fire (literally!), the guys sang out of their shoes, Tracy was….Tracy, Marc, Ian & Squirrel out did themselves and finally the Brass players even behaved!
The show was memorable in so many ways I would not even try to list them, except by saying a huge CONGRATS to all involved – on and off stage.
Where to from here? Well, Hayes in a couple of days, and it’s Leigh's home town gig. I really hope his hands are better by then!

Pete Tobit
CBB Producer Chappie

Hello Harlow!!

Driving into Harlow I am reminded that the Government of 3 or 4 decades ago must have had a template for new towns as it feels just like Basildon or even Stevenage!
Once the ring roads and roundabouts are successfully circumnavigated (!) the Playhouse Theatre looms ahead, and very modernistic it is.
With Mario away undertaking ‘Briefcase’ duties, I, once again, am forced out of self inflicted retirement!
The theatre is great with the production crew even better and all too quickly we are sound checked and ready for the off, with one exception – Leigh O’Guitar! Leigh calls to say that he is involved in a bomb scare in Uxbridge and will try and be there before the start – well, he will be, because we can’t start without him.
With the ‘G’ forces still apparent on Leigh & Shirleys faces (they managed to make it from Uxbridge to Harlow in 45 minutes. "’onest M’lud, they didn’t break the speed limit!" Yeah, right!
The show goes up on time and is a stonker with only a couple of lapses of foot in mouth on my part – Hey, I haven’t done the theatre show since….the last time!
Onward and upward then and all go for Dunstable where we’ve got quite an audience, apparently.
Anyway, time for a curry in Old Harlow!
Pete Tobit
Producer - & still very occasional ‘JAKE’!

To Marseille and Beyond……….!!

How can anyone possibly whinge or moan when you are privileged to do our job! It would take some hard hearted person to think negatively of our trip last weekend.
We, once again, graced the shores of the South of France and the weather was nothing less than magnificent.

Following the scenic route through Marseille, arrival at Le Brusc (see pic) and the ferry across to the private island, we turned up at the venue – the ballroom of the hotel where we were staying – to a fully set up stage (did we request backline techies?) and so, sound check took a whole 10 minutes; and that included resetting some of the stage!
A private table was reserved for us in the gardens of the hotel restaurant where food and wine flowed like…….good food and wine really!
By now it’s 10.00pm and we really must do some work so we head back to our rooms and re-emerge 10 minutes later ready to rock. The show is received enthusiastically and following a couple of encores we retire back to the gardens to enjoy a cocktail or seven!
Very unusually, Leigh & myself retire around 12.30am leaving the others to make up for our shortfall – we believe the 3.00am still saw a hardy few – who shall remain nameless – still enjoying the hospitality.
9.00am welcomed more than a few heavy heads and after breakfast the ferry was waiting to return us to Le Brusc whereupon we transferred to the cars for the return to the Airport and then onto and upward to Blighty.
I would like to finish, where I started, by saying we really are privileged to do what we do, and I for one, never take anything for granted and enjoy the journey to the full.
‘D’accord’, I wish you all ‘Bientot’ and look forward to seeing you at a show near you soon,
Pete Tobit
Producer - & very occasional ‘JAKE’!

Dazed in Hayes

Just got in from the Hayes FM interview- no sign of Phil (shame!) but Jill asked me enough simple-yet-tricky questions ('so then Leigh, tell me all about the show') to leave me wondering what to say next on at least one occasion. Still I got through it all without swearing, and even managed to read out the theatre details from a computer screen (they hadn't warned me that I was going to have to do that!) without too much trouble. Oh and they played 'Gimme Some Loving' from our album and all promised to come along to the show. Yeah, right...

http://www.becktheatre.org.uk/

- we're there on Friday 26th September.

Cheers- Leigh.

Radio on!

Just a quick note to say that next Wednesday (10th September in case you've lost count) your guitarist and humble narrator will be doing an interview on Hayes FM to promote our upcoming show at The Beck Theatre. I'm on The Phil and Jill Show (yeah, I know!) at 2.30 p.m. and the station can be found at-
http://www.hayesfm.org.uk/
-or at 91.8 FM if you're in the Hayes area. I'll do my best to avoid a Pistols/Grundy style swear-fest...

Have a listen and hear just how awkward I sound when I'm doing this type of thing!

Cheers- Leigh