22 April 2007
Quote:
"I could lie and say that I don't need
revenge, but I'll be fighting for it till the bitter end..."
-- Don't Get Over Me,
Eve Gallagher
Canada III -- Toronto
Friday night we were all shattered but dutifully got ready and drove into town for the last gig in the This Is London club. We were a bit late for the guest list but we shouldn't have worried because due to the complete absence of promotion and the secluded location of the club in a back alley the queue was virtually non-existent and we got in without any problems.
This is London... apparently.
Susan had emailed earlier that Karen had told her that she would be there on the night, and she was. Good for her! It would have been stupid to miss a gig in her home town because of some arsehole "upgraded rowdy". Darren and James were there again, and Erin from Michigan. The club was run by the same company as the Niagara Falls venue and was "London"-themed with plush armchairs, log fires and other gentlemen's club interior. The lighting was really low so you couldn't really see much. They had another DJ before Marc, so he came on a bit later than usual and George didn't turn up before 2. Before George started DJing he amazingly did some Turn To Dust voiceovers to the last track Marc was playing. His set was shorter than on the other two nights, and the security in front of the DJ booth was stricter. The security guards were the biggest I had ever seen, they were like double wardrobes! One guy kept blocking the sight, and because the dancefloor was so crowded it was quite uncomfortable, but I still managed to get the best photos out of this gig.
This one was taken by an over-zealous
photographer who grabbed my camera to "help" me get a good shot. George
looks like he's falling asleep but he was actually doing vocals over the
Turn To Dust track before he took the DJ desk over from Marc.
After his set George walked off and straight out of the back door, so we didn't think we'd catch him again. But when we left he was still waiting for his car outside, chatting to people. We didn't get to speak to him this time though. We took some group photos with Darren and James, and then parted ways.
Barb had to be up at 8 to attend Shawn's son's hockey match, but Kristine and I managed to get some sleep. We spent the rest of the Saturday just lounging around, downloading photos and giving Barb some internet lessons. We also introduced Barb to Sam whom she had not laid eyes on before. She had to sit down to get over the shock and wasn't feeling too well afterwards. At 5PM they drove us to the airport and we said goodbye. It had been an amazing week, and I feel very privileged to have met Barb and Shawn who let a complete stranger take over their van and house! Hopefully they will make some of the October dates, that would be fab.
My Transat flight was not
the most comfortable, but it took only 7 hours and I was so tired that I
would have fallen asleep anywhere. The two ladies who sat next to me were
rather strange. They were real duty-free junkies and bought watches,
jewellery and perfume for hundreds of pounds to add to their already
impressive body armour. Perfectly manicured, Heat-magazine reading,
Bacardi guzzling... like they were making conscious effort to appear
shallow.
No delays this time, and gorgeous weather also in England. The train to
Sheffield was packed, but I could plug my laptop in and catch up with this
blog. I have barely slept 6 hours in the last 4 days, but am feeling
alright. I will probably break down at work tomorrow though...
Apparently... Sam is no more!
According to the Dark Side forum George has taken legal action against the
new Culture Club which has caused them to put the DVD on hold, fire Sam,
and withdraw all photos of Sam and the new band. Now it transpires that
this also was the reason why Phil Pickett left a couple of weeks ago. What
kind of legal steps on which grounds George could have undertaken
is not clear. He surely wouldn't be able to stop them from performing and
recording his songs, so it maybe it has something to do with them using
the name Culture Club?
It's also unclear why he would suddenly have decided to stop them.
Paranoia seems to be the mood of the moment...
The only thing I worry about is - if this is true - whether or not it
is a good idea for George to take legal action. He might end up losing
money, or get lots of negative press.
I love this man and I worry about him all the time and I will always be protective of
him. I will always support him, even -- as Kristine put it "if he's just
being stupid". Especially if he's just being stupid! LOL
I'm naturally biased and it doesn't take any effort at all.
Poor
little Sam, it definitely is not his fault. I blame Jon and Mikey.
What were they thinking? I do not want to suggest that the
whole thing was planned all along as some sort of revenge, but if not...
then what was it? A midlife crisis thing? So who has those holes in
the brain?!
If they wanted to make music, nothing is stopping them. They can go on
making music with Sam. But if they now stop just because they cannot
be "Culture Club" and even fire Sam who apparently has such a great voice
and personality, then doesn't that prove George's point that they are only
after the money and that they are dragging the name of the band through
the mud?
Anyway, it's all just rumours at the moment and nobody knows anything for sure.
Toronto International
Airport,
British Airways gate...
Finally back home. Not a pretty sight...
