GIG REVIEW: Wilko Johnson @ Koko Camden

In 1965, when Roger Daltrey sang ‘I hope I die before I get old’, he defined a generation. Music belonged to the young, and this meant that getting old wasn’t just uncool, it was to be avoided at all costs.

The irony is that Daltrey and co – a generation who actively used rock ‘n’ roll to distance themselves from their parents – have now reached the stage in life they once demonised and decided that maybe it ain’t so bad after all. What the 21 year-old Daltrey didn’t know, you see, was that like wine, cheese and Stephen Fry, he was going to keep on getting better with age. Much like another legendary rockstar, similarly advanced in years, whom I had the pleasure of seeing recently at Koko in Camden – one Wilko Johnson, formerly of Dr Feelgood.

Who is Wilko Johnson, I hear (some of) you cry? Well, don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him. I didn’t know a great deal about Wilko myself until a good friend offered me a last-minute ticket to his gig, but I soon discovered I was being inducted into a very special circle. Wilko’s career has spanned five decades and been notable for chart hits, relentless touring and a legendary live act. In early 2013 he was diagnosed with untreatable pancreatic cancer and, refusing chemotherapy, has been given just months to live. This gig was due, in all likelihood, to be one of his last.

Stepping into Koko that night, if you forgot for a moment the rock venue setting you could quite easily have been at B&Q’s Summer Sale. The place was a sea, an actual sea, of bald heads belonging to beer-bellied men in their fifties and sixties, and I suddenly felt very young and self-consciously skinny. This was rather refreshing because these days I’m generally aware of being slightly above the average age at most gigs I go to. Prior to Wilko’s show, the most recent gig I had attended was at East London’s Queen Of Hoxton and was hosted by an edgy electro band of the sort that features more laptops than humans. Technically, I could have been approaching twice the age of some of the kids in that place, mere children who know almost nothing of Blur Vs Oasis and consider living with anything less than fibre-optic broadband to be an abuse of their human rights.

And so, standing there among a crowd of men twice my age, I was concerned about feeling like an outsider – but instead I was welcomed into the fold with open arms. Wilko fans are a wonderfully inclusive club, bursting with joie de vivre and hopelessly devoted to their idol. One guy had seen Wilko two-hundred times and received personal thank-you letters from the man himself; another was so overwhelmed at this being the last gig that he was dewy-eyed before the show even began.

The set itself was astonishing. Wilko was mesmerising, an extraordinarily accomplished musician and a guitarist unlike any I’ve seen before. He hardly said a world all night; he just played, and played gloriously, for near-on two unforgettable hours, not flagging for a single second. It was a masterclass in rock ‘n’ roll, made all the more extraordinary by his age and experience.

His style of guitar-playing is instantly recognisable. Having taught himself to play, Johnson was unrestrained by rules and so made them up as he went along, combining lead and rhythm in one bumper package. He’s basically the Buy One Get One Free of blues guitarists, easily doing the job of two players. Special mention should also go to the rest of the band – Dylan Howe on drums and Norman Watt-Roy on bass, an absolute machine of a rhythm section. Watt-Roy (in his seventies, and also of The Blockheads) plays the bass like a 21 year-old on speed, and together they were quite easily one of the tightest and shit-hottest three-pieces I have ever seen, or can ever imagine seeing. Seething, primal, unpretentious, it was a spectacle no amount of laptops and gadgets and chaos pads will ever come close to (in my humble, and probably outdated, opinion).

At the end of the evening, I left Camden with one prevailing thought in mind. Wilko, Roger and the rest of you golden oldies, thank god you failed in your quest and actually did manage to get old. Because the world will be a far, far poorer place when you’re gone.

Chris Lightyear

To retweet, or not to retweet…?

As a musician and writer, I follow a number of musicians, writers, artists and actors on Twitter, most of whom use the service at least partly as a tool for self-promotion. Recently there has been a flurry of social media debate on whether or not it’s ‘cool’ to retweet what others say about you, which in turn has led to a slew of ranty articles by ranty bloggers such as myself.

I’ll admit that, while I don’t mind the occasional glowing retweet, it can be a bit annoying when someone I follow fills up my newsfeed with huge long streams of their own praise. However, I generally keep quiet about it, and this is why:

1. First of all, you have opted in to Twitter. You have also opted in to following individual users. Nobody’s making you do it. Constantly bitching about the Twitter feed of someone you have chosen to follow is inherently cretinous. Or, to quote the great Ricky Gervais: “Following someone on Twitter and then complaining about what they tweet about is like calling them up to tell them you don’t want to talk to them”.

2. If, for the sake of argument, we ignore point 1, remember you can turn off people’s retweets whenever you want so you don’t have to read them (here’s how).

3. If, for the sake of argument, we ignore points 1 and 2, remember you can just UNFOLLOW SOMEONE if they piss you off.

4. I’ve heard a lot of people complaining on the basis that self-promotion ‘is not what Twitter is for’. Come off it. You didn’t invent Twitter, and even if you did, it wouldn’t be up to you. The only thing Twitter is ‘for’ is for some people to say shit, and other people to listen – everything else is up to the individual.

5. As an addendum to point 4, everyone uses Twitter for different reasons. Some to inform their six followers what they had for breakfast, some to let their half a million fans know when their next book/album/movie is out, some to make sure the world is constantly up-to-date on the latest pictures of hot sexy boobs. None of these people have monopoly over the ‘purpose’ of Twitter. It is a gloriously flexible tool of technology, and anyone trying to reduce it to one single ‘purpose’ is just being self-important.

6. When people have something to promote, the idea that they might want their followers (FOLLOWERS, remember) to know what other people think about that product is neither new nor the heinous crime that many are making it out to be. As the excellent published author Matt Haig points out in his recent blog, writers have been posting complimentary quotes on their book sleeves for decades.

7. Finally, there are plenty worse things happening in this world than irritating retweets. Twitter is free, and brilliant, and user-generated. Any site that depends on and is defined by user-generated content will, duh, be user-generated in content. Deal with it.

ps. I am on twitter as @sixfootpianist. If you have enjoyed this blog and want to tell me what a talented writer I am, please tweet at me and I’ll pass it on – I think I have some followers who’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Chris Lightyear

Welcome to a world of pure imagination…

Ladies & gentlemen, it’s here… the all-new Lightyears website.

While we’ve kept most of the features from our previous site, we’ve also uploaded plenty of juicy new material in shiny new packaging to tantalise and delight the senses. Here are some highlights to get you started:

THE BAND

Read the story of The Lightyears (in brief – don’t worry, there’s a novel coming out soon for those interested in the extended edition) and enjoy our individual band member pages, each with their very own photo gallery. The better-looking the band member, the fewer photos in their gallery. Go figure.

MUSIC

We’ve been in this band since we were knee-high to a grasshopper and, in honour of this, have uploaded all of our releases since 2001 (sparing you the albums we released when we were still in our teens, because… well… only our mums need to hear those). Check ’em out and get listening.

PHOTOS

We’ve been lucky enough during our time together to tour four continents, and along the way we’ve kept a series of photo albums. They’re all online here, along with two brand-new, hot-off-the-press galleries.

VIDEOS

Check out our latest live video, Blinded By Light live from Westminster Library, on the VIDEOS page – along with a series of old faves.

There’s a bunch of other stuff on here too, from the band BLOG to my international Lightyears TOUR DIARIES – so put your feet up, grab a biscuit and have a look around…

LYs release live video of ‘Blinded By Light’

We’ve just published the first live video from our recent headline show at Westminster Reference Library, featuring brand-new LYs track ‘Blinded By Light‘.

We premiered a number of new songs at Westminster on Saturday 9 February, among them ‘Embrace Of Many‘, ‘Wait Forever‘ and ‘One Way Or The Other‘. Along with ‘Blinded By Light’ and a clutch of other tunes we’re working on in rehearsal, these songs will help to make up the next Lightyears album.

The album will be released in conjunction with my Lightyears novel, Mockstars. The novel is loosely based on my Lightyears tour diaries, and tells the story of our first ever international tour to Meribel, in the French Alps. Check out a video extract here… and watch this space for updates!

Click here to view our photo gallery from Westminster Library.

Click here to read my write-up of the gig.

Watch the video below:

State Magazine (14 January 2009)

ALBUM REVIEW: London, England by The Lightyears – 4/5
14 January 2009
Phil Udell, State Magazine, Ireland

When The Feeling made the graduation from playing covers in bars in the Alps to becoming the soft rock band of choice, it was three-piece The Lightyears who filled the gap. Now on their second album, the experience is long behind them but like their predecessors, the importance of making their own material as memorable as possible has hit home. The good news is that they’ve become more focused than in the past, less likely to sound like a bizarre compilation of different acts. They’re at their best making bright and breezy pop in the Jellyfish mould, tracks such as ‘Emily’ and ‘Sleepless’ floating along on a wave of harmony-filled choruses and rolling pianos. ‘This House Will Burn’, meanwhile, sounds like Babyshambles with less drugs and better manners.

The Lightyears still can’t help themselves though and feel the need to push off in different directions, fortunately not without some success. The clunky ‘She’s The One’ and ‘Filmstar’ aside, their attempts at a harder, more rock edge work well, especially the opening instrumental ‘Firefly’ and the short, Beatles-y ‘That Was Us’.

The grandeur of the album title never really translates itself into the album itself – and lyrics about Primrose Hill and the Tube can be a bit grating – but on ‘England’ they reach for epic and manage to pull it off. In a world of passing fashion, fake credibility and media hype, The Lightyears are able to stand out for all the right reasons, but that might just make their task all the harder.

www.State.ie

The Cape Argus (8 February 2009)

“Light years ahead of the pack”
8 February 2009
Evan Milton, The Cape Argus, South Africa

The Lightyears are a hardworking indie pop group with a special link to South Africa…

British indie-pop band The Lightyears are in Cape Town to play the Cape Town Tens afterparties, hang out with their South African flatmate Andy Skinstad – and launch Johannesburg, a song inspired by a tale of two Zimbabwean refugees.
The Lightyears’ pianist and songwriter Chris Russell saw a BBC documentary about two young Zimbabwean brothers who had fled the crippled country after their parents were killed, allegedly by government militia, and trekked on foot to Johannesburg. Leaving with nothing – mugged, beaten and with their shoes stolen along the way – the boys, younger than 15, sustained themselves on their trek with little more than the hope that South Africa’s City of Gold was rumoured to be a place where they could get food and shelter.

“Even though this story was obviously a million miles away from anything I’ve ever experienced, and told of hardship I couldn’t hope to understand, something about it struck a chord with me,” Russell wrote on the band’s online journal, noting that it reminded him of the story behind one of his favourite songs, The Hollies’ He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.
The origin of the 1969 ballad lies in a tale associated with Father Edward J Flanagan, the founder of Boys’ Town: a street urchin staggering along carrying a younger child on his back is asked about his heavy load and replies, “Why Mister, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”.

Described as “Toto meets Graceland-era Paul Simon via classic Bob Marley, sung by Crowded House”, The Lightyears have crafted a moving indie-pop slow song in Johannesburg. When Russell played it to his London flatmate, a South African, he suggested that the band should get to South Africa and launch the song here. The flatmate just happens to be one Andy Skinstad, brother of local rugby hero Bobby Skinstad, and one thing led to another.

It’s not The Lightyears’ first music/sport pairing. Last year, the band re-recorded Posh We Are, the football anthem for their local club, Peterborough United.

“The original was written 30 or 40 years ago,” explains Russell. “A local charity wanted to re-record it and update it to raise money for kids and sport. We were thrilled to do it, and then we did a lot of press in the local area to launch it. We played the stadium, in one of the last season matches – thrilling again.”
Russell is speaking via cellphone from one of Cape Town’s beaches.

The Lightyears are Russell, brothers George Owens (lead vocals, guitar) and John Owens (bass player), and Tony Lyons (vocals, drums). Described as “Babyshambles without the drugs – and with better manners” by one Irish reviewer, the band found themselves winning a British Indy Award in 2007 for “Best Pop/Rock Act”.

“We were stunned to be nominated as we weren’t expecting it at all,” says Russell. “We really didn’t expect to win, which is what I think people generally do in these situations. We were on tour in New York and we were listening on the phone… Then we won, and our friend Andy picked up the award. It was great, because it meant we were recognised for what we were doing, and we’re an independent band with no record label, managing and repping ourselves.

“A couple of months after that we got to record a few tracks with Hugh Padgham. He’s produced for Sting and sold 50 million records with Paul McCartney and Genesis. Not a lot of bands get that opportunity when they’re up and coming.”
It’s not all sunshine and roses for the band, though. “In the UK it almost seems like there are more bands than fans. On the one hand it’s great because people are really hungry for live acts. But, because of the UK’s thriving music scene… it is very competitive.

“London has a massive concentration of bands… So it’s good to get your face shown elsewhere. We like to get to different parts of the world, and test out different markets.”

The band is starting to see success in America, especially the East Coast, and in Asia, especially in South Korea. “We go to America once a year and I think we have a certain appeal, partly because we are British. We have a loyal fanbase in Philadelphia where it’s as if we’re playing to people who know us really well and always pack out the venues.”
In South Korea, the band was invited to play an annual fundraiser hosted by the British ex-pat community to raise funds for charity.

With the beach wind picking up, and Russell and bandmates needing to prepare for their debut South African gig – at the city’s new Speedway 105 Cafe – the interview draws to a close. “I wish I could conduct all my interviews from the beach,” laughs Russell, and goes on to enthuse about the band’s few days so far in the Cape.

“In Hermanus we had a braai which was fantastic. It’s a bit of a shock coming from winter in England with the worst snow, and to be sat here on a beach in the blazing sun. You probably get used to it if you live here, but for a Londoner, let me tell you that i’s amazing.”

The Lightyears play the Cape Town Tens after-parties on Saturday 7 February and Sunday 8 February at Hamilton’s Rugby Club in Green Point (see CapeTownTens.com). Download the song “Johannesburg” from TheLightyears.com.

www.capeargus.co.za

Only In Philadelphia (15 July 2010)

“British Invasion: UK’s The Lightyears performing in Philly”
15 July 2010
Erica Brooke Fajge, Only In Philadelphia, USA

First, it was the Beatles – then later Oasis and Coldplay. Britain’s latest find, The Lightyears, is coming to Philadelphia this Saturday, July 17th, for a show in University City…

The Lightyears, the “hottest band in London” right now according to the London Times, is coming to Philly this weekend as part of their current American tour. They will play at the new Blockley Pourhouse venue, 38th and Chestnut Street, at 8:30 p.m.

The band won “Best Pop/Rock Act” at the Indy Awards last year. They’ve played sold out stadiums all over Europe, including a crowd of 46,000 at Wembley Stadium; they’ve been compared to Queen, Coldplay, and Keane, have appeared in (as well as writing) a TV ad for T-Mobile and were even the musical guests at Queen Elizabeth’s recent Birthday Ball.

Yet, the band is anxious to make its presence known in the states. Their latest release, “London, England,” co-produced by the renowned Hugh Padgham, who produced Genesis, Paul McCartney, and Sting, just hit the U.S. July 13th. You may have even heard tracks played on 88.5 WXPN and 103.3 WPRB.

And making themselves a household name in America won’t be hard to do, what with the band being made up of three cute guys with English accents, including a heartthrob for a lead singer, George Owens, who has already been inundated with a wealth of female fans…

In addition to the Philly concert, the trio is set to play two shows in New Jersey: Mount Holly on Friday, July 16th at 7 p.m. for an outdoor show and Asbury Park on Sunday, July 18th at 8 p.m.

www.onlyinphiladelphia.com

New York Daily News, 27 July 2010

“Lightyears ahead in Astoria – Energetic British band thrills young and old”
27 July 2010
Lisa L. Colangelo, New York Daily News, USA
CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE SCAN

ASTORIA PARK was treated to a burst of British pop rock last week when The Lightyears took to the stage for a free concert…

The energetic trio charmed the crowd of 2,000 with a mix of old favourites and self-penned tunes.

“They really won over the hearts of Astoria,” said City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. “I have been going to these concerts for a long time, and I have never seen so many people at the end of the show looking for autographs and buying CDs.”

Vallone, a guitarist, even joined the band for a cover of The Monkees’ classic, “I’m A Believer”.

“It seems like our music has a connection here,” said keyboardist Chris Russell. “Americans are really open to that kind of uplifting, good old-fashioned pop music.”

The band’s eclectic set ranged from “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Hey Jude” to “Great Balls Of Fire” – a nod to the mixed crowd, which included 20- and 30-somethings along with seniors.

“They are really good at gauging what the crowd is looking for,” said Raima McDaniel, a fan who has seen the band several times in recent years. “They really know how to get a crowd going, plus they’re British, so that’s fun.”

The free Thursday night concert series features country, big band and even 1960s bubblegum pop.

But it’s rare for an up-and-coming young band to take the stage.

“It was the first time I had seen or heard of them, and I actually bought their CD,” said Astoria resident Teresa Ciattei, who has attended many of the Thursday performances.

Russell said he and his bandmates love visiting New York City for the people, the culture and the food. The steamy summer weather, however, is a different story.

“We really eat when we come here; the food is great,” said Russell. “We’re British though, so the heat is a bit much for us…”

www.nydailynews.com

The Lightyears in the New York Daily News (July 2010)

“I’ll have a Gibson please, stout yeoman…”

Saturday 13 October, 4.45pm (Gothenburg, Sweden):
The Lightyears have landed, for the first time ever, in Sweden. We’re playing a gig with a superband of rock legends on Monday (what’s the official collective noun for that? A ‘crowd-surf’ of rock legends, perhaps?!) and so John, Tony and I have flown out a day or two early to get the lay of the land.

Gothenburg’s an interesting place. To hardened Londoners, its most immediate features are the pervading sense of calm, the blissful lack of traffic and the extraordinary price of booze.

In fact, after just an hour or two here we have decided that Gothenburg is way too expensive a city to get drunk in, so we’re just going to have a quiet one.

[Five hours later.]

We are in a Swedish cocktail bar, and we are drunk. And poor.

I can say with almost unwavering certainty that this bar is in Gothenburg, but other than that its whereabouts are unclear. We wandered in earlier this afternoon and have somehow never left, perhaps due to the fact that a pint of beer in here actually costs less than £9. The cold, driving rain may be pounding the cobbles outside, but indoors The Lightyears have found a candle-lit jazz enclave, perfect for an evening reminiscing about old tours and looking forward to new ones.

The waiter returns, for the twenty-seventh time, to our table.

“I should like a Gibson please, stout yeoman,” announces Tony, who is by now feeling really rather saucy. The tremendously-cheekboned waiter falters, and narrows his eyes.

“What is a Gibson?”

Tony looks stumped. I guess he wasn’t expecting that (at least not in a cocktail bar).

“Um… well…” He looks to us. We both shake our heads, and he returns to the waiter. “I saw Cary Grant order one in North By Northwest. But… erm… I’ve got no idea what’s in it.”

Slight pause.

“…Although it definitely involves one of those little onions.”

This is classic Tony. The waiter looks back over his shoulder, then clears our glasses.

“I will figure it out,” he concludes, with all the confidence of a man about to entirely make something up. Fifteen minutes later he returns, looking somewhat sheepish.

“I’m afraid we have run out of cocktail glasses,” he says, producing a wine glass from behind his back. “And also cocktail onions.”

In front of Tony stands a comically enormous wine glass containing the smallest amount of liquid I have ever seen pass as a drink. It is the colour of wee, and half-submerged within it is a huge slice of raw onion on a stick.

Tony’s suavity points plummet immediately from Cary Grant to Russell Grant.

“Right… thanks,” he replies hesitantly, peering into his drink and proceeding to suck on the onion as if it were some kind of disgusting lollipop.

After this, the remainder of the evening passes in a blur that definitely involves venison, and more beers, and something with fish. Happy and full-bellied, we crash out onto the rain-whipped street in the wee small hours in search of a way home.

Now, take it from me – Sweden is an extremely wholesome place. The people here are sophisticated and polite, everyone drinks in moderation and they all look like they get plenty of sleep. The wages are high and crime is low, all of which makes Gothenburg the kind of the city where, for example, you’d never expect to get ripped off by a taxi driver.

Sunday 14 October, 2.30am (somewhere in Gothenburg):
We are being ripped off by a taxi driver.

And I don’t mean by a sneaky quid or two – this guy just charged us TWENTY-SIX POUNDS for a four-minute cab ride. His official fee was twenty-five, but when he handed back my change he had sneakily tipped himself another pound, the flagrant apple-john. I suppose in a way the Gullible Tourist should expect certain rites of passage when visiting new cities – being humourlessly grilled at customs in New York, for instance, or discovering that nobody likes you in Paris – but I tell you what, when I get back to England that fellow’s cab firm will find themselves opening up a really quite severely-worded e-mail on the subject, so I hope they’re ready.

Sunday 14 October, 6.30pm (The harbourside, Gothenburg):
During Lightyears tours, Tony has two modes – ON and OFF. When he’s on, your liver had better watch out; but when he’s off, he mostly lies in bed in his pants watching football in the dark. Today is one of those days, so before the rest of the band arrives John and I have ventured back out into the city to see what it looks like minus the hazy filter of alcohol.

We have an absolutely fantastic day, largely due to Gothenburg’s equivalent of Boris Bikes. Public transport karma is definitely on our side after last night’s taxi debacle, and for a mere pound we purchase free cycling for three whole days… glorious. And it’s stopped raining.

At around midnight, the rest of the band arrives at the hotel. Soundman Danny is looking bleary-eyed on account of coming here straight from a European tour with Belleruche (a band who are way cooler than us and, I expect, know how to properly order a Gibson), George is looking fatigued on account of having a ten-week old baby, but Owen – our lead guitarist for this trip – is looking sprightly on account of being back in one of his favourite cities. He immediately takes us on a trip around some of his old haunts, including an Irish pub called The Dubliner and an achingly cool club called Park Lane.

Everyone – everyone – in Park Lane is stupendously attractive.

“This is insane,” I remark to Owen, as we stand on the dancefloor balcony watching chiselled beauties with amazing hair moving under coloured lights. “It actually looks like people have been auditioned to get in here.”

“That’s because they have,” replies Owen, with a twinkle in his eye, as another procession of impossibly beautiful women passes by. “They don’t let the ugly ones in.”

In reply I offer some quip about how on earth we managed to slip through the net, but it gets lost in the steady thump, thump of the music.

Monday 15 October, 4.45pm (Gothia Towers, Gothenburg):
It’s the day of the gig, and we are sitting in soundcheck watching The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Queen’s Roger Taylor and their backing band SAS (made up of many of the world’s top session players) rehearsing Baba O’Riley. This is surreal, and brilliant, and not something I ever quite expected to witness. We used to come onstage to this song at the Clapham Grand, and now we’ve got a behind-the-scenes peak at The Real Deal. We are all doing our utmost to come across as cool and aloof, and not in any way starstruck.

Danny breaks the illusion, however, when Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden turns up and he bounds over to get his photo taken with him (and here it is —–>).

The SAS Band is run by all-round legend and fellow keyboard player Spike Edney. Spike has long been Queen’s keyboard player and musical director, and is very kindly letting me use his piano during our set. I note with excitement that the instrument patch he has set up for me sits next to ‘Rock You’ and ‘Champions’, which I decide is extremely bloody cool. Then, whilst waiting for our soundcheck to start, I spot a white Roland AX-7 – that’s a keytar to you cretins – propped up against his amp, and resolve to ask Spike if he’s ever played it at Wembley Stadium (not out of the question, since he did perform with Queen at Live Aid). This might sound odd to you but I was keen to discover whether or not he was eligible to join my exclusive club for People Who Have Played Keytars At Wembley. So far it’s just me and Gary Barlow, so we could do with bumping up the numbers. Sadly, however, there simply wasn’t time.

With the venue about to fill up with people, we speed through our soundcheck and head back up to our hotel rooms to kick back with a beer and ‘Transformers 3 – The Dark Of The Moon’ before showtime (we do consider asking the Rogers if they fancy two and a half solid hours of autobot action to help them relax before the gig, but they’ve disappeared).

12.45am (backstage at Gothia Towers):
Now here’s something I never thought I’d experience. We are standing backstage planning our set, trying to decide whether or not to play Bohemian Rhapsody with Queen’s actual drummer standing actually right behind us. Being a plucky young fella, Owen opts eventually to just come out and ask him, and Roger graciously replies ‘Sure, knock yourself out’ on account of the fact that they’re not doing it tonight. Then he walks onstage to perform We Will Rock You.

Epic.

SAS end on We Are The Champions (you kinda have to, right?!) and leave the stage to deafening applause from the crowd. It’s getting late and closing time isn’t far off so we pile onstage and get going as quickly as possible. This has to be one of our latest starts to date – 1.15am! – but we go at it like buffalos on a jet-ski (that simile is new to me as well, and to be honest I’m not convinced by it. But hey, moving on).

I have a whale of a time up on my piano player’s riser (normally I’m stuck behind the speaker, so this is a real boon for me) and, if I’m honest, spend much of the set trying not to watch myself on the big screens. Tony pounds the living heck out of the drums and John, George and Owen bomb about on the massive stage soloing like loons and grinning from ear to ear. In the end there’s not enough time for Bohemian Rhapsody, but we don’t mind. The adrenalin rush is absolutely killer.

Tumbling back into the wings at the end of our set, we conclude that there’s now only one thing for it – head backstage to party with The Legends.

Sidling into the SAS dressing room with all the subtlety of excitable children allowed to stay up past midnight on New Year’s Eve, we fall into conversation with the stars. I spend a while chatting with Patti Russo, the super-lunged rock chick famous for being Meat Loaf’s lead female vocalist. She’s an absolute hoot, although annoyingly it didn’t occur to me until the next day to ask her what it was that Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love. In the absence of the definitive answer, I’m going to say it was doing the recycling. Because that can be well annoying.

We manage to engineer a quick chat with Daltrey and Taylor before they leave for their hotel, asking Roger D how he finds performing Baba time after time, after all these years. “I just sing it like it’s the first time, every time,” he says, very simply, and you can tell he means it. At the end of the day, I guess that’s the basic secret of performance – and there’s a man who should know.

Roger T is wearing an amazing fur coat and is, unsurprisingly, effortlessly cool. We have our photo taken together, shake hands with them and eventually part ways, genuinely humbled by the experience.

As the SAS Band disperse from the dressing room, their publicist Roxy tools us up with a few leftover bottles of wine and a box of beers and we stumble back up to our room to see the tour out in style (well, perhaps not in style. But definitely ‘in room’). More tour stories are shared, anecdotes performed, debates had and wine spilt, until the night begins to fade and morning greets us with its wide-eyed glare. Danny, Tony and I have remained standing long enough to hit breakfast at 7am, which we do with extraordinary gusto and almost certainly an embarrassing inability to hide from the assembled business folk that we’ve been up all night drinking Merlot from tiny hotel mugs.

An hour later, as the sun starts to come up, Danny and I crash back into our room and fall asleep to the sweet refrain of Zooey Deschanel doing her kooky quirky thing from the flickering TV. Sleep soon descends.

What a night, boys… and thank you Sweden!

Chris Lightyear

ps. click here for our Swedish tour photo album.