"Firstly, the biggest of “thank-yous” to everyone who has left the comfort of their fireside, braved both elements and British road network (no mean feat sometimes, M6 on a Friday, etc.) to come and see us down the years; I hope we were worth the effort as I can’t remember us having a bad gig, even under severe bombardment conditions - broken strings, dodgy cables, disappearing monitors, momentary power cuts, that sort of thing (even, dare I say, when hidden doors in walls suddenly give way to the pressure of relaxed guitarists).
And this is where my next “thank you” comes in – band members past and present have consistently played their hearts out, Bob’s fantastic material bringing out the best in us. To be up there trying to enter “the Zone,” aware that the melody in the monitors is, in my opinion, produced by one of the niftiest voices that the twentieth century ever turned up; aware of a world-class bass-player and drummer providing a groove that reaches the toenails; hearing Phil’s fantastically sympathetic, authentic and cool keyboards slot into that groove. Well, I don’t mind admitting that I sometimes hear myself play something and think “Wow, did I just do that?”
So thanks chaps, you have made it very easy to keep lugging from the van and setting up the large pile of electric string, pedals, big black boxes, stands and that annoyingly complex bit of machinery that is the pedal steel guitar, night after night (and to think I was in a band once where I only sang and blew a bit of harmonica..).
Suffice it to say, as long as the two previously mentioned groups of people keep showing up, God willing, so shall I – our own version of Bob’s Never Ending Tour would be just tickety-boo with me."
More in a few days time.
PJ
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