Lesley in Hong Kong

Hamlet - National Theatre - The One, TST, Hong Kong

http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/ntlout10-hamlet

 

                                                                      Set at The Barbican 

People of Hong Kong!

 

I implore you to check the schedules of our movie theatres and look out for the National Theatre, London, productions which are now being screened regularly.

https://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/programmes/arts/national-theatre-live

 

There's a bar

They really are very like an actual theatre experience and a most enjoyable evening out.  There is usually a 20 minute interval, just like an actual performance, where everyone can make use of the bar, have a leg stretch and a toilet break.

Costumes

The most recent one I attended was last weekend at The One, 100 Nathan Road, when I saw the marvellous Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet.  It was spectacular.  He was spectacular.   The staging was spectacular.  I was particularly taken with the costumes which were, for the most part, 1940s style apart from Hamlet, Horacio and Ophelia who wore modern casual clothes, hoodies and jeans.  After the 'play with-in the play' scene Cumberbatch wore a long military tail coat with the words 'KING' crudely painted across his back which was quite amusing and under the coat a Ziggy Stardust t-shirt.   I doubt it had any significance to the recent and shocking death of David Bowie as it would have been recorded months ago in London, but it did make me think  - why Ziggy? 

 

Lesley in Bangkok - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I have taken myself out of Hong Kong so temporarily I am officially Lesley in Bangkok.  

As there is huge shopping mall about two minutes walk from my hotel and after a day of tiring Grand Palace -ing I couldn't face more walking around and so I purchased a ticket for 150 Baht and went to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Having suffered at the mercy of arctic air conditioning in Hong Kong I was prepared with my extra clothing to stave off hypothermia and I did truly need it.  I was pleasantly surprised at the comfiness of the seats.  They were big, sumptuous velour  that were high enough for even a tall man's head to rest on so no matter who sat in front of you there would never be a problem of a blocked screen.  They even tipped back a little for ultimate comfort and the bonus option of a double seat, more of a sofa,  for cuddly couples at the back.

Do Not Use Your Mobile Phone

While I waited for the main feature to start I had to endure what I felt was hours of commercials in Thai but they were clearly all good clean public service announcements about not using your mobile phone while driving in case you die and not using your mobile phone in the cinema and causing light pollution in case I kill you - whoops sorry, I didn't mean that last part obviously.  It was a truly welcome advert and I think Hong Kong audiences would get the message if it was pitched in such a way.  Hint hint anyone who texts in their bag and doesn't think it bothers others (me!).

National Anthem

Then after loads of trailers it felt like it was about to start.  Wrong.  Before we could settle down to watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes we were all instructed politely to stand for the Thai National Anthem.  Everyone did, most respectfully.  It was played while we watched images of the King doing good things  It reminded me that the BBC used to play the British National Anthem before the station closed down for the evening (telly used to stop in those days)  and my Grandad used to stand up, and make whoever was with him, also stand up and show respect.  

Andy Sirkis

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is part two following on from Rise of the Planet of the Apes which stared James Franco as the 'human' and Andy Sirkis as Caesar the Ape.  The skill of playing an animal who so clearly has strong emotions has become Sirkis's unique talent.  Through motion capture technology and his eyes, we become strongly involved with Caesar.

There is no Franco in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes but Sirkis again plays Caesar and we see him as the dominant male in a colony of apes in a time when nearly all humans have been killed by a Simeon flu.  Or have they?  I don't want to throw in any plot spoilers only to say that its one of the best films I've seen in along time and if you are considering going along to see it, watch the first one so you understand how Caesar's role in the film and as leader evolves.  

The CGI  is breathtaking.  The sound quality in that particular cinema meant I kept looking over my shoulder to see if there was a monkey making too much noise behind me.  The score worked perfectly to build scenes to their climax.   The stilted dialogue communicates just how two different points of view can be the same yet equally confused and misunderstood.  It touches on racism, religion, stereotypes and is a study of the human condition in adverse circumstances.  A reflection of what is still going on in certain parts of the world this very day.

 

Dunsinane - Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre

 

A production by the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

2nd - 4th May this prestigious production was performed in Kwai Tsing Theatre.  The nearest MTR station, Kwai Fong, exit B to be precise.  

 The Venue

I really cannot stress enough just how smart this theatre is.  I assumed that because I was going to Kwai Fong in the New Territories on a Saturday night it would be something of a sub standard forgotten building.   How wrong I was.  Kwai Tsing Theatre is beautiful, modern, clean with an excellent sound system.  The toilets were great, plenty of them and all well stocked, and most importantly the temperature was just right.  There was no freezing arctic moments to contend with.  What more could one want from a night out at the theatre?  Oh yes, now I remember.  A bar. 

Everyone expects a glass of wine at the intermission, don’t they?

 

Dunsinane is set in 1054 Scotland, written by David Greig in 2010. It is a dramatic sequel to MacBeth.  Just exactly what does happen to Scotland after the death of brave MacBeth?  Is MacDuff king?  Do Malcom's sons return to claim their right to the thrown?  These and more questions will be answered in Dunsinane.  

 Cheeky Sequel

Is it cheeky to write a sequel to a great Shakespeare work?  

It certainly is, and that's why it is so wonderful.  As we all know sequels can be bad.  Part 2’s can be awful,  with the exception of Toy Story 3 obviously.  Perhaps because hundreds of years have passed since the original work, it can be described as cheeky to take liberties; such as keeping Lady MacBeth alive and kicking, not particularly as bonkers as she was the last time we heard her scream and then go silent as she jumped from a balcony.  I suppose if Bobby Ewing can wake up and it all be a dream and Jean Rhys can rename Bertha, the mad woman in the attic in Jane Eyre, Antoinette, then Lady MacBeth, henceforth known as Gruach, can be alive. 

It is an excellent play and I suspect even more well received in Scotland prior to the coming referendum.  Keep those English out! 

 

Macbeth by William Shakespeare - Hong Kong Players Ltd. April 2014

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Production by Hong Kong Players Ltd

Hong Kong Arts Centre, Mcaulay Studio

2nd - 5th April, 2014

David Mersault - Macbeth, Thane of Glamis

 

Macbeth is one of the most performed Shakespearean tragedies, so I put it to you that going to see it is not about the plot or who dunnit or what happens at the end.  It is about how it is performed.  There is no need to alert any one about a plot spoiler because, well, you know who dies.

The Mcaulay Studio is small, seating only 76, if you all squash up cozy. Being so close to the actors, who are at floor level, the same as the first row, is intimate and a little scary, in a good way.  Perhaps not that good for latecomers who find themselves having to almost say 'Excuse me' to the actors as they attempt to be invisible and find a seat after it has started.  I hope those late comers get their act together in future and manage to be on time like the rest of us!

The set

A completely black minimalist set, with the throne at the centre for the whole performance, two swords hanging at the back and a black box to stand on to show power were the only items on stage.  All entrances and exits were simple with an interesting freeze of action to cross cut to another time and place.  This was an extremely effective technique which moved the plot along without the necessity for physical scene changes.

 

Costume

All characters were dressed in contemporary clothes of black or white with a subtle flash of red to represent all those things that temptress colour can symbolise. Passion, death, blood, anger, danger, war... Their weapons were guns and knives of various sizes.

 

Weird Sisters

The opening scene gave us those three weird sisters who we all love to hate and their presence on stage for much of the performance was wonderful.  Two young ones and one lady of a certain age who played the Punk Witch,  a terrific touch.  They each carried a large pole which they 'banged' on the floor at crutial points.  This was just one of many powerful moments of the performance.  Yes, it made us all jump.   The witches were involved in the death scenes, delivery of letters and phone calls bringing bad news and lead us to believe it was their prophecy and their meddling that made poor old Macbeth do the 'deed' which then brought him enough guilt to fill his mind with those scorpions he speaks of.  Their role stressed the importance of magic and witchcraft making us believe it was their prophecy and spells that made everything go so horribly wrong.

Macbeth

David Mersaultis a talented actor who made us believe it was only him who could see Duncan or Banquo as ghosts.  His portrayal of Macbeth was truly excellent.  The passion between him and Lady Macbeth was evident as well as his weakness and guilt as he deteriorates into a defeated man.  We need to see more of him in the future. 

That bitch (plot spoiler alert)

I like the idea of blaming the witches because I've always felt Lady Macbeth (that bitch) pushed her husband into brutally killing the King while he was asleep in his bed and then, pretended he had no idea how it had happened and then, because he wasn't sleeping too well at night, took it upon himself to arrange for the death of his best friend Banquo and then the wife and young children of Macduff.  While the whole incident filled Mr and Mrs Macbeth with incredible guilt, enough for her to top herself, Macbeth continued, as best he could, in his new King role believing that no man not born of women existed or Burnham Wood could get up and walk.  

Oh how wrong he was!

The young MacDuff and his death scene must get that young man an A* is whatever drama course he is on?

Music and Lights and even smoke 

There was smoke, there was the music of Nick Cave, there was a multi media video showing red blood and skulls.  This all added to the experience and a very unique production of Macbeth.  I did find that the music wasn't faded enough at certain points so the delivery of some crucial lines was lost.  This is a minor point and I do applaud Adam Harris for his dedication and commitment to theatre in Hong Kong.  This was a truly powerful production, full of witchcraft, fight scenes, murder, violence and lots of blood.  Isn't it marvellous that Shakespeare wrote this for an audience in 1606 and those themes and exploration are still a full-on family favourite today.

 

 

 

Enough Said Directed by Nicole Holofcener - is there hope?

Enough Said

Staring  James Gandolfini off of The Sopranos as Albert

and

Julia Louis-Dreyfus off of Seinfeld as Eva

Enough Said is essentially a love story to make the hoards of baby boomers, now finding themselves divorced, alone and single, but still with the responsibility of having dependent children, feel like there is  hope.  In their new dating world Albert and Eva go through the crushing discomfort of their first date that progresses to plain awkwardness and then, happily, to the thrill of new intimacy.   The dramatic irony we are then party to causes us to beg Eva to behave like the grown-up she actually is instead of the fool she appears to be and just be honest with Albert. 

I will not be a plot spoiler.  I do recommend you go and watch it.

What I particularly liked about this film is the way Gandolfini, a larger man, was cast in a romantic role as opposed to the typically handsome Brad Pitt, Hugh Grant or Colin Firth type.  Hollywood rarely makes the fat man the one who gets the girl.  

I know that there are a zillion perfect 10 actresses out there but we also have our fair share of curvaceous women who have rallied the cause for girls bigger than a size 10.  Miranda Hart, Oprah Whitney, Queen Latifah and Dawn French to name a few.  We see such women being happy and successful and loved.  They have the 'Love me for who I am" vibe going on loud and strong and we love them for it.

In Hollywood land we don't see very many men who are not conventionally handsome and I found it really refreshing to see a larger man in a role that involved romance, sex and genuine care for the women in his life.  In an experiment, in my own head, I changed the body types around to make the female role the 'larger' lady and the male role the trim, six pack firm bicep one and played out some scenes from that point of view.  I doubt if the crack about the calorie counter book or the digs about how much dip was consumed would have been received with anything but aggression and plate smashing.

As I said both characters have children who get on airplanes and fly to distant colleges, to be educated and make their own way in the world.  I REALLY cried at that part.   

 

 

On The Road the movie of the novel by Jack Kerouac

On The Road is an autobiographical novel by Jack Kerouac, published in 1957, depicting his own journey across America in the 1950s and in particular describing the relationship with his friend Neal Cassidy. The names are changed presumably to protect the innocent however there is absolutely nothing innocent about any of the characters. There is more than a smattering of staying up late and upsetting the wife/girlfriend/mother/grandmother to drug taking, stealing (hearts as well as tangible items), reckless driving and sex with a creative mixture of gender combinations.

The main character is Sal - really Kerouac, his friend is Dean, really Cassidy - both are writers, both young and completely and utterly concerned with their own self exploration in an effort to be inspired to write.

The movie, directed by Walter Salles, is beautifully filmed so we are treated to vast and varying landscapes, intoxicating jazz and dance scenes in Harlem and plenty of male nakedness, namely Garrett Hedlund, which always brightens up a movie in my opinion.

The love interests, I stress on the plural here, are played by Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst who are both captivating on screen.

My overall experience was a positive but spoilt by the two young women and one man sat next to me who continually text on their bloody mobile phones throughout the movie causing distraction in a completely selfish way. I tried my best not to turn into my scary school teacher role, I shielded my eyes from them in an attempt to block out their annoying little lights but it didn't work. The longer it went on the more my cinematic experience was spoilt and the more I began to think that if I didn't say anything I would kick myself tomorrow. And so I told them off! "Will you please stop it with the mobile phones now". I guess if I had been any where else in the world this could have turned into a nasty uncomfortable incident that I could have seriously regretted, instead the two women were mortified, apologized sincerely and left!

I recommend this film and I recommend telling people in movie theatres to behave themselves and abide by the rules.

Mad Men

The American Man

I've come late to this series but in a way I like that.  It means that I am never left wanting.  There is no end-of-episode tension or end-of-season bereft feeling when I am waiting for the next installment.  There are a whole six seasons just sitting there waiting for me to enjoy as and when it suits me.  The whole series is at my beck and call.  I can view them at any time or any place.  Mad Men is a whore for me.

Over the past few weeks I have become intensely interested in those New York accents.  I just love those dastardly characters with their side partened brylcreamed hair and suits.  I am strangely attracted to the smoking and drinking funk that must emanate through their clothes, their breath and every piece of paper they handle.

The Playtex Pitch

The silhouettes of the secretaries are so carefully and skillfully shot so as to frame the outline of each playtex clad breast and most likely 24 hour pantie girdle Playtext 60's ad keeping everything just so pert and firm.  Christina Hendricks is a siren in red and I think I want to be her.

Joan on the sofa

Joan at her best. She is a present.  You Tube clip - Christmas Party

I am fascinated by the sets.  The attention to detail is tremendous.  Every item is so well placed from the desks in the office to the fridge in the Draper's home to the art on the walls and the style of glass used to neck back yet another whiskey before lunch.

Drinking at lunch time, drinking at any time you care to mention, followed by a fag (a cigarette for our American friends) and then the whole routine repeats.  It's an unsustainable work ethic that I crave to be part of if only for the dresses.  I would be a secretary as I'm a girl and that's what girls do - happy, actually grateful, just to sit outside Don Draper's (who is unfeasibly handsome) office waiting for a task "Yes Mr Draper" I'd say- whereupon I would spring into action ordering flowers for his latest woman, lying over the phone to his latest woman or actually lying on the sofa in his office being his latest woman.  Oh yes I would!  And then I'd be promoted to be Roger Stirling's secretary

Yes Mr Stirling?

Its the Americaness of the whole concept that really appeals to me.  More specifically the New Yorkness of it.  Its a place I've never been but its calling me.  In the last year I have read the poetry and discovered Langston Hughes, I've experienced Jack Kerouac's journey into New York, I've researched the documentation of graffiti art on New York subway trains by New York photographers and I've even watched Metropolis which is based on a futuristic New York. 

Poster for Metropolis

 I need to go there.

Skyfall Daniel Craig is the best James Bond (and a bit like Harry Potter)

I have not been a real James Bond fan until the beautiful Daniel Craig stepped into the role for Casino Royale.  Those Christmas Day moments, meant to be so special because a Bond movie was on, were not that special for me.  But now it's a whole new world, a new exciting place to be - 007 is Daniel Craig.

He is a beautiful man.  His chest, his eyes, his chin, his stance, his slim fitting suit all make me gasp in delight as I wallow in the sheer enjoyment of just being able to look at him on screen. 

Some of the cinematography in Skyfall was breath-taking, particularly the Macau and Shanghai scenes when I was thrilled to see those locations featured, although frankly it wasn't as exciting as that when I was there.  I wonder if it's something to do with not having the sound track in life?

I loved the inclusion of the classic Aston Martin with every old-school feature still in place, ejector seat button, machine guns under the head lamps and bullet proof glass.  Excellent.

Every boy had one.

 

The opening scene has everything a Bond fan could possibly want.  A British made Land Rover speeds through the street markets of Istanbul upturning baskets of fruit and spices, crashing through streets of locals who all move out of the way spectacularly.  All that is missing are two men carrying a large plate glass window.  Then we move quickly onto a motor bike chase over tiled rooftops culminating in a fight scene on the top of a moving train.  We are hooked and ready to be immersed in the full-on new and improved gritty Bond experience.

There are sad bits and obviously the most beautiful female character doesn't make it through for a happy ending but I don't want to include plot spoilers here.

It is the uncanny links to the Harry Potter story that interested me and I did wonder if J.K. Rowling's name would be in the credits.  We see Bond returning to his childhood home where it is revealed that both his parents were killed in a strange and other worldly incident when he was a boy, the same as Harry.  We even see their grave stones showing their names and we are given to understand that because of their death James' childhood was not a happy one, the same as Harry.   In fact, it involved a cupboard under the stairs albeit a little more gothic than Harry's, in fact a priest hole,  but they both spent time in a cupboard.  Significantly the vibe of Skyfall itself has definite links to Hogwarts and was I the only one who made the connection with Ralph Feinnes who played the one who shall not be named in Harry Potter and his role in this movie?  Was that just coincidence?

Is Harry 007 in the making?

 Is it just me?

 

 

 

 

The Temperature in Hong Kong Cinemas is too cold

I have just returned from a visit to the cinema at Mega Box, Kowloon Bay.  I saw  Wrath of the Titans  in 3D and I could write at length about the irritation of wearing the silly glasses and constantly jumping in an alarmed way when rocks, spears and snot nosed monsters appeared to be landing on my lap.  I don't think 3D is the future although I certainly do enjoy the IMAX experience.  Can I have the IMAX experience without the silly glasses please?

More importantly it is the freezing temperature of the cinema that I need to complain about.  I have special cinema clothes which I wear for such an outing regardless of the weather outside.   Hong Kong cinemas are so uncomfortably freezing cold that previous miserable cold shivering experiences have taught me that I must don my North Face jacket, woolly hat with ear flaps and compulsory thermal underwear in order to get through a movie. 

I have tried complaining to the staff and asked them to turn down the air conditioning so that they save money and keep me warm.  I have been told I can hire a jacket for $100.  I protested and missed bits of the plot in my attempts to creep to the front to, yet again, plead with the staff to raise the temperature so it is not necessary for the audience to wear ski clothes so they can watch a movie in a comfortable environment.

This situation has being going on for far too long.

It is typical of Hong Kong to ignore such environmental factors.

Nowhere Boy - directed by Sam Taylor-Wood

John Lennon  1961

Aaron Johnson  plays John Lennon 2010

 

I enjoyed this film a lot.  It is the story of John Lennon's adolescence, an important period in his life when his beloved uncle died suddenly leaving him with his Aunt Mimi and  also explains the very very complicated relationship he had with his mother. It ends, and I don't think I'm giving away anything here, as he heads off to Hamburg with his new band, what were they called again?  The Beatles, that's it.

We meet Paul and George fleetingly, it's too early for Ringo, but it's not about The Beetles, it's about John as a teenager and the relationships in his life which probably had a massive influence on his music and choice of instrument later.

It is British.  I am a total fan of the quiet portrayal of a character who comes alive in an authentic setting.   The attention to detail in every frame and set is delicious.  I was enthralled by each room, perfectly constructed to transport us to 1955 Liverpool.  If it was Aunt Mimi's semi detached middle class parlor or the Head master's office it was so good you could almost smell it. 

It's not a new release, it came out last year, but has only just made it to Broadway Cinamatique in Yau Ma Tei click here for  On line Ticket Sales

This is the first movie directed by the artist/photographer Sam Taylor-Wood and she has obviously used her 'eye' in the making of this, I look forward to her next work.

The Internet and me, a work in progress.

Dumber

Does the internet make us stupid?

It seems quite hypocritical of me to write a blog which is anti Google.  To write anything and publish it on the internet for all to share and read while at the same time be full of doubt and worry and concern about whether it makes us stupid could make me stupid too?

 But I am genuinely worried.

 
Click Here

Is the capability of finding information at the click of a button  really the best way to run ones life?

 Who is Accountable?

The number one question has to be about trust.  Do you trust the information you are taken to?  Is it up to date?  Is it ethical?  Is it accountable?  Newspapers can be taken to Court for slander or liable if they do not report the truth.  They are accountable whatever you think of them, even the News of the World  or even South China Morning Post (actually I need to check that!).   But any old slapper can write an article and whack it up on a  website and pass it off as being true.  People can pretend to be someone else and actively try to hide their identity.  (My name IS Lesley Croft btw).

Close Your Lid

As a teacher of students who all have their own MacBook on their desk and have the capability of googling anything.  I suspect that they have all become completely addicted to their computers and are a bunch of slovenly layabouts who can't even do any thinking for themselves. The recent best seller by Nicholas Carr called The Shallows  suggests that the use of the internet is altering the way we think and we have become less able to digest large and complex amounts of information such as...books.  Are we now a world of 'slacktivists'.  More about Nicholas Carr

"Should we reintroduce the death penalty?" I ask my class in an attempt to spark a discussion where opinions will be flying around the room like electricity. (not meant to be a pun)

Then I find a student who has typed the question into google and sets about opening up the squillion results to find the right answer.  FGS (I'm not sure if that is a cool and hip acronym to write, like LOL, but For God's Sake comes natural to me so I feel it is worthy of a FGS).  Use your own brain I yell!  Close your lid!

Shirley Turkle has expressed much the same concerns in her book, Alone Together Why we Expect more from Technology and Less from Each Other.  Because when it boils down to it using the powerful tool that is the internet via your lap top or your blackberry or your iphone is just you, in a room alone.  You/we/me enjoy the contact and communication and sense of sharing we can get through the power of the internet.  As humans we want to share and we get immense enjoyment out of sharing.  This must be true otherwise why would Facebook or Twitter or the capability to comment on any random YouTube video be so popular?   But would we enjoy it more or less if we had that face to face communication as easily. In this world of social networking just how sociable are we really?

Hello FB Friends!  Come to my party

So if I was in a real live room with all my real live friends on Facebook would I be so keen to like them or comment on their new hat or latest holiday snaps?  I predict there would be lots of moments of awkwardness, perhaps a few stifled yawns where the latest photos of their latest meal would get the better of me.  Would I really be able to show the same enthusiasm towards their beautiful wife on her birthday.  In the past those sentiments would only be shared in a personal birthday card which would stand on the sideboard.  Now everyone gets to read it!   I would struggle to remember names.  And there would be at least one full-on-punches-and-everything-thrown fight, quite a few slanging matches not to mention one or two intimate, yet flirtatious, conversations in a few dark corners.  And because all of these people are my friends I would be responsible for such an event and be the one who is blamed for the disaster that would be a party.

Those Where The Days

In my day when there was no internet or mobile phone or even a phone in the house.   What did I do?  I watched the three available channels on the telly, once they came on in the evening.  Before that I read as many Enid Blyton books as I could get my hands on.  I knocked on the doors of my friends to see if they wanted to come out to play.  All friends lived no more than 100 yards away.  When the local paper came I read that and found out what was happening in the area approximately of a 50 mile radius of where I lived.  For a change we would walk to the chip shop, sometimes we would have money to buy chips.  When I got older and could venture to Stockton to buy music I brought home 45rpm singles and played them on repeat with the arm back on the record player so I would learn them by heart (ask me to sing Puppy Love by Donny Osmond).

You know what, it was boring compared to the information sharing, movies, music and breaking news we have available to us now so perhaps this 'real world' that many hark back to is an illusion and just never really existed?  Being in a room alone with a computer seems much more attractive to being in a room alone with a Danset record player and a Donny Osmond 45.

 

Gig Experience - Elton John in Hong Kong

Elton now

Elton John performed in Hong Kong on 20th May and I witnessed it.  A jolly good showman he is too.

Elton then

At almost 1am (Yes I know, shocking isn't it?) I got into bed - this was a TUESDAY night with work the next day.  Horror of horrors I broke my routine and didn't have my Ovaltine before I was tucked up with a good book (reading glasses compulsory these days) by 10pm.  It must be a sign of old age that going out to see a 61 year old perform, him seated at his piano and me seated for 90% of the time, apart from Crocodile Rock, obviously, had a dramatic affect.  I was tired for 2 days after the event and it wasn't as if I was on the Chardonnay.

Bay City Rollers

My experience of gigs has really changed over the years and it all started with the Bay City Rollers in 1974.  When I got older and the Bay City Rollers became so uncool I melted their LPs on the fire and for years denied ever even liking them.  I truly wanted to have been ultra cool and been able to tell stories of the time I went to see David Bowie at Newcastle City Hall in 1974.  My attempt at getting a ticket involved saving up the ticket money and buying a postal order, for the value of five pounds I think, from the Post Office.  Dutifully sending it off to the City Hall only to have it returned it a week later stamped 'Sold Out'.  Newcastle was over an hour away on the bus and I couldn't afford the bus fare and the ticket.  Life is cruel sometimes.

The Globe Theatre Stockton on Tees

I have since got over the shame of The Rollers gig and can now recount proudly how I spent the whole time screaming from the circle balcony "Eric!" and dropping to my knees in a pre pubescent fake faint every time I imagined he glanced up at me.  No one else near by - ME!  And how when the gig was over me and my mates were involved in a kerfuffle outside the stage door at The Globe Theater, Stockton-on-Tees behind a line of policemen who did a sterling job at keeping us back by linking their arms and squashing us against the wall until we screamed even more.

I got home exhausted but thrilled by the experience and told my parents how fantastic it was and how much I screamed for Eric.  They laughed themselves silly about it for weeks and took the mickey out of me mercilessly!

1974 was a good year

I also saw Alvin Stardust and David Essex at the same venue circa November 1974 and have the ticket stubs somewhere to prove it.

Alvin  Stardust          David Essex

Gary Glitter

As luck would have it I was also a big Gary Glitter fan and have seen him five times.  Those gigs have involved being squashed up against the stage at St. George's Hall in Bradford trying not to spill my drink avoiding other people's mad dancing, fag ends and spilt beer while three lads sitting on each other's shoulders looked like they would topple over on to the crowd at any minute.   Health and safety wasn't an issue.  Nowadays I just keep quiet about those Christmas concerts as old Gazza is locked up safely somewhere in Cambodia.

Peter Noon                  Lonnie Donagan

My first LP was The Hits of Lonnie Donegan and my first single was Herman's Hermits Something is Happening.  I was so misguided.

Sex Pistols           Johnny Rotten

Rock Garden Middlesborough

My brother was much cooler than me.  In the late 70's he was a punk and went off to see unknown bands at The Rock Gardens in Middlesborough with his inky black hair and his PVC trousers.  He saw Debbie Harry, The Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols to name a few, and came home smelling of beer and fags with remnants of spit on his t-shirt.  His record collection is now worth something while my Osmonds and Steeleye Span LPs have been wrapped in brown paper and disposed of years ago.

Gigs for Oldies

Gigs these days are so much more orderly.  No pushing to get to the front, hardly any screaming and certainly no smoking.  You can get home smelling almost fresh out of the shower after a well ordered night out.  Or - is it just that the last few people I have seen have all been over 60 in Hong Kong.  I must write a note to myself to go and see someone at least younger than me and in the charts now.

After a quick search I find that young slip of a thing - Madonna has been number one for a few weeks...