Mark's
Diary EntriesMark's
Diary Entries
Hello everybody, that dirty “R” word is doing the rounds and seeing that we
haven’t played since last October, it comes as no surprise that rehearsals are
needed! So, sometime in March we’ll make some noise and laugh at each other.
I’m also open to any offers over fifty quid for my Premier Resonator. I’m using
a different kit from now on and I don’t want the resonator anymore.
It’ll come with cases, some hardware and some Zildjian ZXT cymbals. So, if you’d
like a piece of Bogus Quo memorabilia then email me at premierman@fsmail.net You
can see photos of the kit on the band website.
Kit sizes: 13” Tom, 14” Tom, 16” Floor Tom,
22” bass drum and 14” snare.
Take care and see you soon.
Rock ‘n’ Roll!!
Hello Boysandgirls, are you ready for this thrilling episodual? Are you sitting
comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
Once upon a time long long ago a Roman geezer came over to Britannia to see how
his gang was getting on.
They told him that way up in the North some skirt wearing redheads weren’t being very friendly.
So, Hadrian the Roman geezer asked his men to make a big Lego wall…. Hang on…. That’s not right…. Hadrian’s Wall isn’t made of Lego is it….
A.D 122 Emperor Hadrian ordered that a wall should be built from Carlisle to
Newcastle and it reached a height of fifteen feet, was fortified and a mile
castle was built every Roman mile (1.48 kilometres) and two turrets spaced
equally between each mile castle.
The wall had defensive ditches and forts and stretched from coast to coast 80
Roman miles (120 kilometres or 75 miles). It formed the northernmost frontier of
the Roman Empire.
I couldn’t visit Cumbria without making an Inukshuk on Walney Island beach. The
stones on the beach are perfect for Inukshuk creating, even though my Inukshuk
is far from perfect!
Yes, I had a great time oopnorth, I stayed in some lovely hotels, and I shall return. A few days after I got home, I met up with Tony, Stewart and Big Dave at the Rydal pub in New Milton. We talked about the prospect of doing some pub shows (scaled down lighting productions and no backdrop) during 2010. So, the Bogus Quo pub show might just come to a pub near you. Keep checking out the website for any future news on that.
Ohwhatathrillingepisodualthiswaswasn’tit?!!!!
Keep Rockin’!!!!
Hello All, we hope that you’re all doing ok.
I’ve come to the end of my Ale journey, and my next two ales are brewed in
Victorian tower breweries. First: Old Hooky 4.6% brewed by Hook Norton Brewery,
a family run brewery in Oxford. Old Hooky is beautifully balanced, fruity by
nature and packed with malted barley and wheat, hops, and pure water from a
spring-fed well.
Second: Kingsdown Special Ale 4.8%, and another family brewer, Arkell’s. Another
tower brewery, this one steam-powered. Arkell’s tower brewery works on the
principle that raw materials are fed in the top of the building and Ale comes
out in casks at the bottom. The brewery is near to one of Henry the VIII’s
hunting lodges. It has a similar flavour to Old Hooky, but has a malty edge to
it.
I had one beer recently when Big Dave, Tony and I saw our good friends Eddie
Vortex and the Cyclones play at the Richmond Arms in Portswood. This fine
hostelry is run by Mr Diamond Geezer John Green, the same John Green that ran
the Rack and Manger where we played many moons ago and although we won’t be able
to play at his new gaff, we did enjoy catching up with him.
So, here we are at The Firehouse and we’re not taking any photos of this gig,
because the venue isn’t that photogenic (sorry) and neither are we really (it’s
true). As we normally turn up way too early, we thought that we’d get to the
venue a couple of hours later this time and I met the others at The Firehouse
after popping into see Chris at Southampton Drumzone (thanks for the sticks
mate).
The gig was a game of two halves, as those damn Gremlins returned. First, they
picked on the lighting rigs (three lamps wouldn’t work) and then they picked on
Stewart’s bass transmitter and he had to switch to a good old-fashioned lead.
Gremlins 2-0 Bogus.
The set-list didn’t seem to flow smoothly for this venue, and my drum solo was
not as good as I had hoped, even though I added a few more toys (sorry, tools).
So overall we were not totally happy with our evenings work but, hey ho! That’s
live music for you, or maybe we are just too critical or ourselves!
By the way, next gig at Shrewton club looks like it will be moved to another
date, due to the night in question being Halloween.
As I mentioned last time, during the day once we’ve set-up, sound-checked and
been fed and watered. We mingle with the Billies and our friends or sit in a
room above the bar getting ready for the show and going through the motions
(chatting, joking, thinking or reading). Now I’ve just finished Michael Palin’s
New Europe and if you’ve seen his TV show? Then let me tell you that the book is
the same, which to be honest isn’t a great surprise, as Michael co-writes the
show. The book is however, very good!
I’ve also just finished Paul Theroux’s ‘Ghost Train to the Eastern Star’, which
is his follow-up book to his first travel book of thirty years ago ‘The Great
Railway Bazaar’. All about the journey that he undertook in 1973. It’s an
amazing account of a wonderful journey from the UK, Europe, The Middle-East,
Asia, Japan and Russia and back to the UK. The book takes you on a roller
coaster ride of the highs and lows of his journey and it’s very descriptive and
enjoyable to read.
This leads me to mention that my second book ‘Hairy Legg’s Quest to find
Zilliways’ is on sale and I’ll have some copies with me at future gigs. So, if
you fancy a copy for £5 then come and see me. TA!!
One for the road: Theakston’s Old Peculier 5.6% is based on an original family
recipe, from another tower brewery, and is a full bodied, rich, smooth tasting
ale with a mysterious and distinctive fruity, malty flavour. My first pint of
Theakston’s was had in Cumbria at a pub near the base of Helvelynn (a famous
3117 feet mountain in the Lake District). My friend Paul and I had just made an
ascent and descent of Helvelynn, and the pint was well earned.
Which leads me into telling you all that I’m going up to the Lake District soon
and that I’ll be walking some of Hadrian’s Wall. I’m currently reading Hunter
Davies ‘Walking the Wall’ which why I’ll bore you all with that in my next
thrilling episodual!!!
Rock ‘n’ Roll!!
The Victorian Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
Well hello there, the Ale Wagon rolls on and on and first up is: ‘Gentleman
Jack’ 5.0% nut-brown premium ale with a fruity aroma & bitter flavour notes.
Second is: ‘Golden Ale’ 4.5% is a well-balanced fusion of Barley malt, Crystal
malt, and floral hops with a citrus finish.
Now, Cotleigh Brewery in Somerset is continuing a 200-year-old Georgian brewing
tradition, and it supports ‘The Hawk & Owl Trust’. So, when you’re having a pint
of their great beers and ales, you’re also helping wild life. Most of their
beers and ales are named after birds.
I had the pleasure of sampling two bottles; firstly, ‘Golden Seahawk’ 4.2% a
premium beer made with local Somerset water, local malted barley, English hops
and a unique strain of “Cotleigh Yeast”. Golden Seahawk has a golden colour with
honey flavours and a citrus finish.
Oh yes, the giglet! I seem to be forgetting that that I’m supposed to tell you
all about us Quoing are hearts out for the masses.
Hang on! I’m just asking the voices to shut up. I don’t know if it’s madness or
alcoholism! Ah! That’s better, they’ve gone to sleep.
So, we motored along the highways and byways in good time (2 hours and 15
minutes) to an overcast Kent. “The garden of England. “ The venue is an old
Victorian theatre in the grounds of a beautiful mansion complete with its own
Victorian folly, a clock tower within crenulated walls.
We took many strolls around the grounds during the day, because although we
arrived in good time and load-in was completed by 11:00 we couldn’t set-up until
we got permission to proceed. The overcast weather conditions meant that a
wedding taking place at 14:00 might have to take place on the stage, which is
home to a massive pipe organ. A lovely setting for a wedding to be held.
After filling the hours by taking walks (and photos) here, there and everywhere
we finally got to work setting-up and sound checking. The new lighting rig
worked really well (Tony has worked on it for weeks) and the on stage sound was
very clear. We had a good time, I put my drum solo back in its original placing
(after Down Down) and it was rather good!!
After the show we mingled and enjoyed some lovely party food. A most welcome
undertaking.
Many thanks to everyone in attendance, it was a pleasure to play for you.
One for the road is: ‘Barn Owl’ 4.5% is a copper coloured Ale with hints of
toffee and nut and has a malty, bittersweet finish.
Take care and stay safe.
The Empire Club, Lancing, West Sussex
Pick me up!
Please, pick me up!
Well hello, and welcome to another edition of Wino’s Ramble. Three more drinky
poohs quaffed, and the floor can get so uncomfortable if you’ve been laying on
it for too long!
First up: Tribute “The Ale of Cornwall” 4.2%. A full-bodied malt flavoured ale
with a citrus aroma. Brewed using Cornish spring water, Cornish Gold and Maris
Otter malts, with a hand picked blend of aromatic hops. Very moreish! And very
Cornish!
Second up: Bateman’s Victory Ale 6.0%. Victory is brewed to celebrate the
courage of Admiral Nelson and his crew and in honour of the fleet’s success in
keeping Britain free! It is brewed at Bateman’s old windmill on the bank of the
river Steeping and it contains Maris otter pale and crystal malts, and English
Goldings and American liberty hops. The aroma booms with peppery hops and bitter
oranges, balanced by fresh bread maltiness.
‘What about the gig?’ I hear you say. Well, before we get to that I’m going to
tell you what goes on before we go on stage.
Big Dave does a final check on all of the systems (lights, PA and monitors) and
then he radios us when it’s time to be on stage.
Backstage Pete usually tells many jokes, Tony tells us a few stories from his
colourful past (he should write a book), Stewart sings all sorts of songs and I
read, and listen to the others doing all of the above! I’ve just finished
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s motorcycle Diaries. I saw the film on TV recently and
enjoyed it immensely (even with the subtitles). The book is equally enjoyable
and Guevara was a talented descriptive writer. If he hadn’t taken the
revolutionary path, he would have been an eminent doctor by all accounts.
The Bogus-mobile stopped for me at 11:00 and after picking Pete up, the trip to
Lancing took a little less that two hours. Not bad concidering some of the
traffic that we encountered!
Load-in and set-up started at 13:00 and sound check began at 16:00. The whole
day was rather relaxed and a meal of fish and chips went down well, and
afterwards we had a stroll around the town.
The gig itself was a blast! Top Billy and no gremlins! We had issues with
lighting the stage because of its shape, but we got around it and Big Dave
managed to get some good photos. It was nice to see our two top fans Scouse and
ginge.
Strip-down and load-out completed by 01:00 and I was home by 03:00. This,
funnily enough, is about the time I usually get home from a Firehouse gig in
Southampton. Unbelievable!!!!
I leave you with one for the road: Hen’s Tooth 6.5% this fine ale matures in the
bottle and is a warm blend of fruit and malt flavours followed by a smooth
finish. This flavour is said to be as rare as a Hen’s Tooth!
Take care and stay safe.
Toodle-pip!
Welcome to wino’s corner, the ale wagon has been rolling on since my last
ramble! Moreover, some strange and wonderful names have helped me get giddy and
fall down!
First up: Jennings Sneck lifter 5.1%. A smooth but complex tasting Ale with
abilities to help one fall down! A Sneck is a door latch and a Sneck Lifter was
a man’s last sixpence from which he would lift the latch of the pub’s door and
buy himself a pint, hoping to meet friends there who might buy him one or two
more. A true friend buys you enough beer to help you fall down!
Second is: Adnams Broadside 6.3%. rich aromas of fruit cake, almonds and
conserved fruit. Adnams Broadside commemorates the fierce battle of Sole Bay
where England fought against the Dutch Republic in 1672.
Really people, there’s enough beer to go round, there’s no need to fight!!
So, on with the gig and many thanks to Carrie for the lovely cups of tea.
load-in and set-up started at 3:30 and was gremlin free! All systems were go and
sound-check went well. Stuart used a smaller bass amp for this show and it
worked really well.
Sir Dave of Dell has taken some great photos. The billies were on fine form and
all had a good time. It was a pleasure to play for you all!
One for the road, is Brakspear Triple 7.2%. Crystal, Black, and Maris Otter pale
malts are the backbone of this rich beer, and hops are added three times to
provide a good balance. The trouble is, if you drink too much of this lovely
brew, balance becomes a big problem!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
Just a quick one! To celebrate 25,000 hits on our website.
Weeelllllll hello, we hope the whole world economic Blah! Blah! Blah! Isn’t
hurting you all as badly as they say it is? Who are THEY anyway? Although the
hospitality and entertainment industries are suffering too, we all still need
cheering up! And there may only be a few gigs for now, they are still slowly
coming in!
On a lighter note; and in tribute to James May and Oz Clarke’s T.V. programme,
I’m leaving the wino-trail and I’ve jumped on the Ale-wagon. So, the first two
sampled are: Old Tom strong ale 8.5% and brewed since 1899, it’s dark and warm
with aromas of dark fruit, ripe malt and hops, followed by a port wine finish,
lovely! The second: is whitechapel porter 5.2% balanced with a fusion of malt,
floral hops and a citrus finish. Yum! Yum!
P.S. I thought that I’d just add one for the road: Olde Trip is a fine 4.3% ale
that takes its name from ‘Ye Olde Trip’ to Jerusalem (AD1189) which lays claim
to being England’s Oldest Inn. Carved into the sandstone rock of historic
Nottingham Castle, the Inn was reputed to be a favourite ‘watering hole’ for the
brave Knights who rallied to the call of king Richard The lionheart to join the
Third Crusade to the Holy Land.
It contains malted barley and THEY say if you drink too much of it you may fall
down!!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
The Firehouse, Valentines Day Gig
Hello, although it’s been six weeks since our last gig, it feels a hell of a lot
longer! We had a quick rehearsal two weeks ago to learn some new material, but
it isn’t ready yet! The snow stopped play because we were freezing (we suffer
for our art)!
Well, Status Quo’s rescheduled gig at Portsmouth Guildhall happened to be the
same night as our gig, which meant that the billy count wasn’t as high as we’d
have liked. So we went on early, blasted through the set, and set about packing
away.
Tony, Big D and I have come to think of the Firehouse as our new Rack & Manger, a home from home type of place, and always a pleasure to play at.
A big round of applesauce (applause) for Ian and his staff. Cheers!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
Weeke Social Club New Year Gig
Well, well, well a New Year and a new wine for the wino. Not exactly, I’m having
a pint of Magners cider, and listening to John Williams’ Jaws soundtrack. I do
love soundtracks, sometimes more than the films that they accompany. But you
aren’t reading this to find out what makes me tick!
Our gig at Weeke Social Club in Winchester was fantastic, if you don’t count the
dual attack of Gremlins! Oh yes, they struck at one bank of lights and then at
the monitors!
Gremlins 2-0 Bogus Quo at half time. Big D managed to sort the monitor problem
by changing leads, but repair jobs have to be sorted before our next gig in six
weeks time. So, the final score. Gremlins 2-1 Bogus Quo.
Anyway, back to the main action, the gig itself. We thoroughly enjoyed playing
to a very enthusiastic audience; some of them took photos of our gear before we
were on stage (probably the best photos to take).
There were several young Drummers up front watching me very closely, and I gave
the eager youngsters several pairs of signature sticks. One lad asked me where
he could get a kit like mine and he was very disappointed when I told him that
it was a one off. I let him and one other lad play on my kit later on though.
Many very happy people thanked us during what was left of the night, and then we
all celebrated the passing of the old year and the birth of the new one!
The nice to see you to see you nice list is a special one, as Tony’s daughters
Rebecca and Selina brought along their other halves, Phil and Kieran to see us
play. Thanks for the champagne!
Also congratulations to Shane and Lisa on your engagement, well done!
Thanks to everyone at Weeke Social Club for a grrrrreatttttevening!!!!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Goodbye 2008!!
Well, well, well it’s almost the end of 2008 aye! Overall, it’s been a good year
for us and hopefully 2009 will prove to be even better! We’d like to wish you
all a Merry Christmas (Humbug!) and a happy and prosperous New Year.
The Firehouse gig on the 22nd November was BQ Mk VII’s fourth gig, and Stewart
has settled in nicely. Unfortunately, there were no photos of the gig as we had
no camera and our PR man was taken ill and was unable to attend.
A jolly Rockin’ night was had by all and our return in February will be equally
good. We will have photos of that gig for sure.
Our gig at the Weeke Social Club in Winchester is technically our last gig of
2008 and our first of 2009! The gig report will feature in my first diary of the
New Year and the photos will follow!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
Shanklin & Chessington (16th November)
Hello people, as this is a double helping of gig reports, so a double wino
gargle has to happen too! First slurp is a South African First-Cape
Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, not bad, but as I prefer Californian and Australian
reds, the second slurp is a Jacob’s Creek Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon and in my
tiny opinion number two slurp is the more superior! Talking of superior….
WELL DONE Lewis Hamilton. FIA Formula One World Champion. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!!!!
Now then, over to a 70’s weekend on the Isle of Wight at the Shanklin Hotel.
Friday night, a Tina Turner tribute act sadly failed to please the billies! This
is not a pop at the act by us, it’s the opinions of the patrons that attended
the event. Saturday night, a certain Quo tribute rocked, rolled, and boogied the
billies, and a great night was had by all. Lots of billies said how much they
enjoyed the evening. Some told us that night and some told us in the morning.
The resident DJ Dave Cannon topped the bill all weekend and his show was great.
He’s also a very nice bloke.
We’d like to thank the Hotel proprietors, Gloria and Jeff Holt, Debbie, Victoria
and all of the staff at the Hotel. Also thanks to Adam for our excellent service
at dinner and breakfast. TA!!
The Rhodron’s Club gig was also a very good gig and the trip up to Chessington
was painless! The billies did the best Oh, oh, oh, oh’s ever at the beginning of
Dirty Water and were a pleasure to play for. TA!!
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
Saunders Field Tadley (6th September)
Hello ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, I have a fellow wino, our newbie Stewart
is a kindred spirit! We had a good chat as we travelled cargo-class in the Bogus
bus; we enjoy a love of motor sport too, and we waffled on about F1and vino for
most of the journey to Tadley.
We arrived at a very boggy Saunders field, and since the gig was cancelled in
May because of rain, we couldn’t believe that we would still be playing the gig
because of similar weather conditions!
Load-in started a 13:00 and we had a few problems with a dodgy sensor on the
generator, so we sound checked at 17:30 and Melissa and her band sound checked
till 18:00.
We then trudged off for some well earned dinner and then got back to the venue
for the start of Melissa’s set. Overall, the billies were a good sort!
Our show started at 22:00 and generally, everything went to plan, Tony broke a
string in the middle of Rain (not planned), Captain Feedback made several
appearances during the evening (Oh David!), and we rocked and rolled until
23:55. We had to stop before midnight, as I turn into a Watermelon at that time
(which is a vast improvement, but I can’t hold onto my drumsticks).
On the nice to see you to see you nice list were, Sir Dave of Dell, Andy, Eve,
and several people whose names I’ve forgotten! Sorry!
Breakdown and load-out stared promptly at 0:00 and finished at 02:30. As we
drove across the field, we were stuck in some mud! After a push and a shove, we
freed the Bogus bus and made good time on the homeward journey.
Take care and stay safe.
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
August Update (24th August 2008)
Hello ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, and welcome to wino’s corner. A lovely
Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah from Chile has tickled my taste buds this
month, but of course, I should be informing you all of what’s been going on with
the band!
Well, the band has had a touch of (Bassistitus) a disease that makes Bass
players disappear! Basically we parted company with Billy, and immediately got a
replacement in the shape of Sir Alex of Quo, a friend and fan of the band. Being
a keen and dedicated guy, he settled in very quickly, and was great to play
with. However, another attack of (Bassistitus) hit us out of the blue. Another
one bites the dust!
Unperturbed by these events we simply got in contact with Stewart. A rock ‘n’
roll, no nonsense, superb bass player type of chap. Just what we needed, with
gig commitments on the horizon. A big push to get ready in time was our new
adversary!
We feel that we’ve conquered ad-vers and sary, and armed with a new drone intro.
We’re confident of playing a top-notch show at Tadley. We’re looking forward to
sharing the stage with the very talented Melissa and her band. Checkout her
website NOW!!
http://www.melissaandmore.com
Take care and stay safe.
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
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The Southampton & District Motorcycle Club (7th June 2008)
Hello ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, and welcome to wino’s corner. I’ve
savoured a very nice red wine from South Africa, a Kumala Zenith Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz with subtle flavourings of Red cherry, plum,
blackberry, verrucas, blisters and corn plaster! I’m not into that entire
descriptive tasting malarkey, I’m obviously not a connoisseur, but I do like a
good drop of juice.
Many thanks to Pepsi-P for allowing us the use of her great photos of the
Firehouse gig, and hopefully Sir Dave of Dell will have got to grips with his
new camera. I know how you feel mate, as I’m still learning how to use mine
(more on that in a shortly).
We’re all sorry that the Tadley gig got cancelled, as we were looking forward to
it so much. The opportunity to have Eddie Vortex and The Cyclones with us again
as our special quests was an exciting prospect. However, plans are underway to
reschedule the event and we’re hopefully going to have EV and The Cyclones with
us, but there’s a possibility that they’re booked on the date in question. Which
now seems to be the 6th or 7th of September.
And so onto tonight’s gig where we took the gamble of moving a couple of songs
on the set-list and opted to ditch the drone for a new intro-theme and all of it
unrehearsed!
Well that idea became the “best laid plans of…. “ Intro ended and we never left
the starting blocks! Then lighting gremlins again! Then a technical problem with
a guitar, but we soldier on and overall the evening went rather well. Many
thanks for the BBQ food and thanks for being a great audience.
Haste ye Back!
A common phrase found on many a roadside sign up in Scotland, and that’s exactly
what I’ve done. Oh yes, I’ve been up there again (Ooh er!).
Iain and Lynn have looked after me very well as usual and made me feel very
welcome at my little home from home. I won’t tell you the name of the place in
Prestwick, because there’ll be no room for me when I return. However, the hotel
begins with a letter K and ends with a G. Ok I’ll tell, it’s the Hotel Kincraig
39 Ayr Road, Prestwick Tel 01292 479480.
I enjoyed my week away immensely, I had great weather, good food, and I took
many photos with my new camera, an Olympus E410 DSLR. I also left a couple of
inukshuks dotted about the coast, these man shaped stone cairns were created by
the Inuit Indians of the Canadian Artic Circle, and Rush’s drummer Neil Peart is
the cause of my mad crusade to build the things when I’m on my travels, with
only natural materials available (no superglue) just balancing stones. Maybe I
should refrain from reading his excellent travel books? No chance!
SA was as wonderful as ever, maybe more so!
Take care and stay safe.
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
The Firehouse Gig Report! (18th May 2008)
Hello ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, I’m typing this latest (wine-free!)
instalment whilst watching Moto GP at the Le mans circuit on T.V. So, this
ramble may go on longer than the race!
I’d like to thank Big D for pointing out that Bogus Quo played in Southampton at
Nexus five years ago! So, my last diary had a slight error in it. I didn’t like
the gig, so it’s kind of been erased from my memory; I tend to forget some of
our poorer moments as quickly as possible, even though we do tend to have an
autopsy after every gig!
We had a relatively quick load-in and set-up time (about 2 hours) and
immediately had an attack of the gremlins! Number one lighting rig only had two
of the twelve lights working, which vexed us somewhat as we’d recently spent a
whole day checking that everything worked! The best laid plans of mice and men!
BQ hit the stage at 21.30 and it felt good to be playing live again after our
two-year break. Pete enjoyed his first gig, and we had the odd moment of guitars
losing tune, bum notes, and an occasional squeal from Captain Feedback and a big
cock-up from yours truly during Spinning wheel Blues. But that what live music
is all about, and another reminder of the best-laid plans of … Well you know
what!
It was great to see Rob J, Sir Dave of Dell (who was doing a great PR job), Sir
Alex of Quo (Very nice to see you again mate), Pepsi P, and some other people
who’s names I forget, and apologise for. There were some of our friends in
attendance and some missing, they know who they are so I won’t mention you.
A big thank you to some members of another tribute band, Stayed as Quo from
Bristol. It was great to meet you and talk to Paul, Kev, Ron the jacket, and the
very lovely Lorna. Thanks for your support and we hope to return the favour in
the future.
Load-out and van loading took a little longer than usual, but we had a great
evening and look forward to playing the Firehouse again soon.
Many thanks to Ian and his staff and everyone who took the time to rock with us,
Thanks a million!
Take care and stay safe.
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
The Firehouse (Southampton) (7th April 2008)
Well hello, it’s wino time again and I’m fuelled on a rather nice
Shiraz/Cabernet from down under. We’re all okay, rehearsals are going well and
we have finalized the set lists.
We have our first gig (for BQ mark VI) on the 17th of May
at the Firehouse in Southampton.
We have several other gigs booked, but they’re private functions. So, it’ll be
great to see you all in Southampton. Although it’s our home city, we have never
played at any of its venues, so this’ll be a double first!
See you all at the gig.
Take care and stay safe.
Keep Rockin’
TA!!
October Update (15th October 2007)
Well hello ladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls, your resident BQ reporter here again!
I’m having a lovely glass of milk whilst I type this latest instalment.
It seems that it’s a case of “Tempus Fugit” for October and 2007 in general! I
say this because, the year has just flown by and we’ve finished rehearsals for
the rest of this month.
The reasons for us stopping for now are; it’s Pete’s birthday at the weekend,
and Tony has a function to attend at the end of the month. However, we are at
the phase where we are sorting out set lists!
Before I end this gripping instalment, I just want to tell (BORE!) you all with
a mention of my recent holiday to the home of the brave and free, the best small
country in the world! SCOTLAND!!
Yes, I’ve been to the land of HaggisGolfWhiskyThistlesandLochs. SA looked as
lovely as ever!
Biggus Davus and Lisa accompanied me on what was going to be a road trip, but I
changed my car just before we were going to go. So, we flew with Ryan Air, and
hired a Hertz car.
We had a very enjoyable break, and saw lots of wonderful countryside. I’m not
going to tell you to go to Scotland, but miss what it has to offer at your own
peril!!
I also recently saw super rockers Rush at Wembley Arena, and I actually
witnessed Neil Peart drop a drumstick! It happened during a gap in YYZ. I was
stunned, that a Drum God could do such a mortal thing! But Neil is a consummate
professional and if you blinked you would have missed it.
Neil, Geddy and Alex you’re all amazing!
That’s it from me for now.
Keep Rockin’!
See you out there soon!
Take care and stay safe!
August 2007 Almost There! (26th August 2007)
Well hello boys and girls, your resident BQ wino here again! Yes, I’m having a
lovely drop of grape whilst I type this latest instalment.
My chosen drop of juice is from South-Eastern Australia; I do love my Aussie Red
wines. This one has a selection of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, and
Grenache grapes.
Glug! Glug! Glug! Slurrrrrrrrp!
We’ve had a rehearsal to forget this week. Not that once we got going things
didn’t go in the right direction. It’s just that I broke a few sticks and
Billy’s Bass amp speaker died during “Roll over lay down.” (Now he has to get a
new one!) Nevertheless, we were able to finish the session without further
problems.
It’s fortunate that it happened during rehearsals and not at a gig, because
although we have spare parts for most of our equipment, we have no spare Bass
Amps!
Pete is working really well and his playing, and his vocals are sounding good!
Billy is also doing vocals on “Junior’s Wailing, Bye bye Johnny, and Roadhouse
Blues.” And we are getting close to doing some of those new songs that have been
promised for so long, but have never materialized. We will be working on them
very soon.
Keep Rockin’!
See you out there somewhere!
Take care and stay safe!
July 2007 Rehearsals (5th July 2007)
Well hello boys and girls, we’re in fine fettle and hope that you’re okay out
there!
Our new guitarist Pete is working really well, and although we’ve been unable to
accept any bookings now, we’ll soon redress the balance.
Sir Dave of Dell is doing a sterling job as always with this website, and
without his effort, enthusiasm, and support, our efforts would be poorer!
We’d like to thank all of you for your kind words, enquires, and continued
support.
Let’s hope that summer arrives soon, or we’ll all be sprouting webbed toes and
start quacking.
Keep Rockin’!
See you out there somewhere!
Take care and stay safe!
... hmmm, lets see if I can remember how all this fits together!
Hello Quo fans, I know that it seems like we’ve fallen off the planet, and
some people out there would love that! But we’re still alive and well (just!).
First, thank you to everyone that have been e-mailing us, and making enquiries.
We’ve had a few false starts with a new guitarist, between September and the end
of ’06. Also, during that time I’ve received some early treatment for suspected
carpal tunnel syndrome! And that has had an effect on rehearsals. However, I’m
getting there, and we have a new guitarist to tryout.
So, things are starting to move in the right direction at last. We might even
announce a gig in the near future!
Take care and keep rockin’
Well hello all you quo maniacs, yes it’s me here once more to ramble on and
on about absolutely anything and everything! Only this time round I’ll do my
best to keep it cheery, but as you all know sometimes I get a bit rattled now
and then! I’m only human (even though I’m only a Drummer)!
What do you mean sort of?
Well I must say that it’s nice to be the right way up again! You see (for those
of you who don’t know) I’ve been to Australia, but rumours of my living there
are not true. But it’s a great place and very interesting, beautiful, dangerous
and far far away! Too far for me to settle in, well for know anyway.
Australia isn’t the only country that I’ve visited during my time away from the
band (more on that later). Scotland, land of the brave and the free! It’s not
the other side of the world, but it’s the greatest small country in the world
(so they say). And I have to say that I’m in love with S.A (no, not Southern
Australia or South Africa or Saudi Arabia) but it is in Scotland.
Anyway on to rockin’ with BQ again, not B&Q!
I’d been giving the idea of possibly playing with Bogus Quo again a bit of
thought, but whether I would play again wasn’t just up to me!
First off, I had to discuss it with my wife, and then test the water to see if
BQ wanted me to return? After a couple of attempts to get in touch with Tony and
Billy I managed to chat to Tony at his house and we talked. I spoke to Billy on
the phone a few days later, and now we’re looking to rehearse very soon!
So now I’m drinking a very nice Blossom Hill Shiraz/Grenache and listening to
Belavista Man whilst I write this here diary.
And as I sign off, I have to say that I reckon that we’ll hope to be gigging the
new look BQ by Christmas.
Keep Rockin’ dudes!!