The Tour Continues.....

Hi everybody. Clive here. What a busy time we've been having! Talk about cramming it all in. On Saturday we played St David's Hall in Cardiff, a local gig for me so for once instead of drivng I caught the number 17 bus to work. Battilng my way through 75,000 Welsh rugby fans on their way to a wake at the Millenium Stadium (mind you , England and Scotland didn't fare any better - and don't even mention the 'Ashes!!) I got to the hall feeling a bit nervous, because I knew that there were family and friends in the audience. It was fine, of course. The show rocked and the kids laughed at my 'tottering' Elton John (how did he walk in those platform boots?).

Next day, St Albans, and the Christmas army routine went in. We have to grab an hour here and there for rehearsals because on tour there is just no time. Fortunately, the experience of the cast and crew and a very forgiving audience meant we got through the routine, although I must learn which is my right foot and which is my left in "GI Blues"!

And if that wasn't enough, the very next day in Crawley we opened the infamous 'Panto'. This is the bit where we ask the audience to hiss, boo and suspend their disbelief. Disbelief that anybody would have the nerve to put on dresses, tell jokes about doughnuts and get a laugh from calling someone 'Dick Whittington'! Personally , I think the Turkey steals the show, although the critics gave his performance a bit of a roasting. Catch it soon as he is only there for a limited season!

Anyway, we're all down in Cornwall for a couple of days, so if I don't blog for a few weeks, can I wish all 'That'll Be The Day' fans Nadolig Llawen and a Happy New Year.

Canterbury Tales

Hi! Katy & Andy at the keyboard after 2 days in lovely Canterbury.

Day 1

At last we had time to do some Christmas shopping and quickly filled the car with heavy bags full of lovely things. Then a superb gig to a full house at the Marlowe.

Day2

No chance to empty the shops today! All down to the pasty shop before a one o'clock start. Rehearsal of the (legendary) pantomime and other key Christmas show elements kept us busy right up to teatime.

Another fab packed audience helped us through to the end of a long day.

See you all soon after a day off!

Packed house see Christmas come early at Cliffs Pavillion.

Hello, Mark here.
Last night saw us play our new Christmas show in Southend,we played to a full house and although it seems a little early to to "Rock around the christmas tree" we had em up and dancing singing and stomping by the end!

Tomorrow we finish rehearsals for the Panto and I have been hand plucked to play the turkey!! (again!),not many lines but a role i feel i can get my claws into.

Anyway,time to go and sit in the carpark........ (M25!)
I find it quite difficult to drive at this time of year as the feathers keep making me sneeze and my big clawed feet keep slipping off the clutch!!!

See you soon,
Cheers!!
Mark.

Oh What a Night!

Hi Trevor here again,

Bristol Hippodrome (Sunday 19th) really lived up to its reputation as one of the best dates in the country.
There's always been a buzz and last night the atmosphere was electric. A lot of people were obviously using That'll Be The Day's Christmas Show to get in the mood for this year's festivities.

It's quite a sight, even for us, seasoned performers, looking out from the stage at over 1800 people, filling three tiers of seating.

Are we nervous? Maybe a little, but mainly it's wanting the show to run smoothly without any wheels falling off.
Changing the show for Christmas is like getting rid of an old comfortable pair of shoes and putting on new ones. It didn't really matter that it was November 19th, Bristol was up for it alright, swinging and swaying throughout the evening. Brilliant.

We've gone for a blue Christmas look this year and we've been asked by a lot of people where we got the trees from. The answer is I saw them in an arcade in Preston on the way to the show recently and I bought them there and then.

We are on the road to Southend-on-Sea right now and a sold-out Cliff's Pavilion. And no, it's not named after HIM! It's Mark's home gig though and it should be a stonker!

More from the tour soon..

Trevor

On the road to Christmas!

Hi everyone, Trevor Payne here, hoping you're liking our new website. I'm first up for the blog and we're going to try to keep it up to date and give you some idea of life on the road.

We're in the busiest period of the year and I can't believe the Christmas season is upon us. Theatres these days are putting on their pantomimes earlier and consequently we have to time our Christmas show dates accordingly. We rehearse this show on the road as there's no time to go into rehearsals proper. We're used to it though and the experience of the company is invaluable in making sure it all comes together.

We started putting Christmas pieces into the show at Peterborough on Friday in front of a sell-out crowd. The atmosphere was just like the concert at the end of the 'Blues Brothers' film - superb. Some more seasonal bits were added for the Skegness show (another sell-out) and the reaction was fantastic.

As many of you know, we collect monies for BT/Childline, but when we arrived at Skegness the management asked if we could possibly make an exception for the evening. Nick Adams, a local 24-year-old, was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and without expensive drugs would not survive beyond a few weeks. We made a special appeal on his behalf and over £700 was raised to help him. Thanks to everyone who donated, what a wonderful response.

Got back from Skeggie at 3.45am and managed to grab at least four hours sleep! At least I could listen with pleasure on the way back to the reports of United's win at Sheffield. A third of the season gone now and they're flying, and remember they always play better in the second half of the season. Big game next Sunday though (vs Chelsea).

Off to the Bristol Hippodrome now, which is one of 'the' gigs of the year. Again, we're sold out and it's a marvellous feeling on that stage when Bristol rocks and rolls. Can't wait. Must go, I've got stage decorating and sound checking to do.

Trevor

PS Look out for one of the special pieces in the Christmas show. A great performance by Alf Garnett (alias Gary Anderson).
It's brilliant.

That'll Be The Blog!

Welcome to our brand-new web blog. Fans of the show are always keen to hear what the cast and crew get up to on the road as they trundle around the UK and Europe with the UK's favourite Rock 'n' Roll show and this blog should provide an entertaining insight!

Each week, on every day the show is touring, a different member of the 14-strong cast and crew will host the blog and write their very own personal diary of life on the road. There may be the odd picture posted too.

You'll be able to write your own comments to each entry in the special comments section. Please make sure you keep your comments friendly (Inappropriate words will be removed!)

First up hosting the blog is TBTD creator Trevor Payne. Expect to read a quite a lot about Manchester United!! Trevor starts his diary on Sunday at the Bristol Hippodrome. It should be posted on Monday.