Then and now

On the eve of our appearance at The Freiborg Jazz Festival keyboard maestro Ian Gibbons shares his memories of his first visit to Switzerland, and of our last performance there...

The first time I went to Switzerland was in the summer of 1965 when I was 13. We took nearly 2 days to get there leaving at 9.30 a.m. on a coach from school driving to Dover where we took a ferry to Calais, got on a steam train (!) and went overnight to Basel. I remember leaning out of the window of the train watching the cinders fly past. I had a great time in Interlaken and remember it vividly. There is a lot more to this story- maybe some other time- I didn't lose my virginity but I nearly got put in the girls' dormitory as my name had been put down as Jan on the rooming list. Needless to say a place was quickly found for me with the boys!

Back to the present day and The C.B.B. are off to Zurich. It's winter, snowing and a very early leave (4.30 the bloody alarm went off!) and after a safe trip to the airport we boarded the plane on time (well it was Swissair) but due to a frozen cargo door we were stuck for 2 hours on the plane. I slept snored and dribbled as did many others but they eventually sorted a weight distribution problem by shifting some fatties from the front to the back of the plane. Hurrah, off we took.

Arriving at the beautifully clean and snow covered Zurich we were met and taken to the gig, a pucker corporate do i.e. no thought for the band, more about the decoration. For some reason we shared our stage with petrol pumps and various other American diner props but we couldn't see each other. We were to back Steve (Elvis) and we rehearsed his set of approx 25 minutes worth of Elvis hits. Once we were down to the required volume (bloody quiet!) we went to our hotel where I got my own room and not a dorm as on my first trip. An hour later after a quick coffee shower and shave we went back to the gig for food prior to getting on stage and playing 30 minutes of lounge music whilst our guests filed in to sit down for dinner. After bluffing our way through a few favourites with much jamming and instant arranging we then had the pleasure of hanging around for about 2 hours whilst the guests were fed and watered. I have to say that we were well looked after with wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks etc but it was the usual hurry up and wait with not much to do except exchange banter with each other which is always fun and always loaded with sarcasm and putdowns which we musicians seem so good at. If I wasn't so paranoid I'd have enjoyed it! We eventually got on stage with Elvis opening the show, Steve did a great job but the Swiss can sometimes be a bit restrained and conservative it wasn't easy to get them going and they seemed happy to sit and watch. Then again dancing might have been a bit risky given the amount of food and drink that had been consumed. I must say that Steve looked great in his Las Vegas suit and £9.99 wig! The voice was spot on and the leg was perfect. Anyway he did ok; it was then time for a short break for speeches and then on with the show.
So here we are on stage. After the Peter Gunn theme and the brother's entrance there was a stunned silence as the suits took in what was happening. It sank in and we got a round of applause, a few numbers in and they were dancing at the sides and a few people got to join in with the singing as Pete and Mike went into the audience with radio mic's to get them a bit more involved. An hour later we were at the bar being complimented on the show by all and sundry. Meanwhile we were getting on with the complimentary drinks!! An hour after that I was tucked up in my enormous bed reading and looking forward to a good kip.

The journey home was on time and Swissair proved once again that their in flight mag was great for inducing a nod on the plane. The drive home was uneventful but I couldn't help noticing the tons of filth on the side of our motorways made even more obvious by the comparison with those wonderfully clear verges on the Swiss equivalents.

Nice one Ian! - L.H.