Mon 10th Jul 2006. Posted by Bryan Davis.
You’ll be pleased to know that Chris Mann, our Frank Sinatra from time to time, has a new website; TheSoundOfSinatra.com.
Yes, this a blatant plug for one of my sites, but hey, he’s a friend of ours! Check it out and let me know what you think.
Wed 7th Dec 2005. Posted by Bryan Davis.
May I be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! It seems appropriate today, our last day in Glasgow, as so many of us will be off in separate places for the next little while.
For the uninitiated looker-in to our Rat Pack world, we’re splitting off into 3 groups for the Holiday season. The Tour proper is returning to Zurich next week but, simultaneously, others of us will be performing RP Christmas shows in Birmingham and Cologne.
I hope that this site might come into it’s own over this period. We all have an opportunity, wherever we may be for the next month, to share the good and bad of our particular gigs and all keep up with each other. Certainly, this site was much busier at the beginning of the year when we were still away in Germany. I’ll be encouraging you all to get posting and keep the Rat Pack Gossip Mill at work!!
While I’m posting, I should say a couple of fond farewells to those of the group who are leaving us, or who (mostly) have just left.
Firstly, a big thankyou to Craig Oxley who left us this week to join the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tour. Craig was with the tour all the way through from Frankfurt back in April 2004. Craig, amazingly in the face of all the depping going on, only missed one show (to attend a funeral) during the 19 months he was with the show, despite breaking his shoulder in a skiing accident at the start of this year! It’s been odd to not have him on the bandstand the last week or so. We will certainly miss his “rare” wit!!
Secondly, a goodbye to Henry Prego who quit his role as Frank Sinatra a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the problems he was having with the show producers became insurmountable and he chose not to return from his week off at home in the USA. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye in person Henry.
Finally, best of luck to Mark Crowe. Mark’s been playing Lead Alto since the 2005 Tour started in Belfast back in January. He’s taking a break from the road to take up a resident gig closer to home. He may not be with us but his catchphrases will certainly remain!!
Fri 21st Oct 2005. Posted by Bryan Davis.
For posterity, I thought I should finally sit down and document the bizarre happenings of our recent trip to do a Rat Pack Corporate gig in Thessaloniki, Greece. I’d obviously like to say it was a Greek tragedy but shambles would be closer to the mark.
We set off for Greece on the Wednesday. A slight delay at Heathrow marred proceedings a little but spirits were generally high as you can see.
We arrived late on Wednesday evening. The cast and band went our various ways to find food and drink. The crew members we’d brought with us headed off to the venue to check out how the setup was going. They returned later proclaiming that everything was going well and that the setting for the gig was beautiful. The show was taking place in the grounds of the palace of the Interior Minister of Macedonia. All the equipment,as ordered, had found its way there and we were all set. We retired looking forward to the day ahead.
It was on Thursday that everything went wrong or, to be fair, strange. We assembled at lunchtime to head to the gig for rehearsals and sound check but were met with the news that the main show was cancelled!! Originally, we were to do an hours set with the whole Rat Pack show and then follow it up with a “Dance Set” by the band.
It turned out that when the Tour Manager and crew returned to the venue on Thursday morning, they found that the PA speakers they’d left set up the previous evening had been moved. Upon enquiring why, they were told that they were obscuring the view of the palace. They had started to move them back when the Interior Minister arrived with his armed guards. He explained that he wished the Palace to be the focal point of the event and that all the sound and light equipment set up in front was preventing this. Arguments ensued amongst the various organisers and at this point he threw his toys out of the tram and refused to allow the production side of the event to take place! Thus, the crew had to take down all of the PA and lighting rig and send it away!
When we assembled at lunch we were, therefore, told that the actors had the day off and that the band were simply required to do an acoustic “function” set during dinner. The actors went off to do the “tourist thing” (i.e. get drunk) and we sorted out the pad for the gig and went for lunch - soundcheck now delayed until closer to the gig.
We headed to the venue later in the afternoon and it really was a tremendous place. These photos don’t really do it justice but here they are anyway..
The Technical crew were still packing up the rigs so we had a fair wait before we could do anything. It then turned out that the Music stands had been taken away with the first batch of equipment and we had to wait even longer before we could get set up. Tempers frayed…
We eventually got set, returned to the hotel for dinner and then returned for the gig at night. It was, frankly, bizarre - a Big Band set of mediocre library music while 2000 Doctors and Pharmacists had dinner.We got through and then went and did what we do best - go to the pub.
We left the hotel bright and early on Friday morning to head home. We had flights from Thessaloniki-Athens-London (and then to Manchester for a few of us) to contend with. The first flight from Thessaloniki was largely uneventful except that one of the Berelli Sisters was somewhat the worse for wear and threw up all over the Departure Gate area.
We got to Athens, grabbed some food and then were just heading to board the next plane when we were hit with the icing on the cake. Our flight, due to leave at 1330, was delayed until 1910 - almost six hours later. We discovered this at about 1240 and got settled for the six and a half hour wait.
Some of the group headed into Athens to explore. A few of us, not wishing to get held up in traffic on the way back, remained in the airport. We managed to remain entertained while sitting at the food court with a game of “Bangers and Crumpet” - if you’re not familiar with this game, get Mike Neilson to explain next time you see him. That dragged on for about 3 hours. We then managed to find more comfortable seating at one of the restaurants. I think these pictures capture the mood by this point:-
These were taken just as we learned that there was no flight that evening for those of us going back to Manchester - we would be staying an extra night in London and then flying first thing Saturday morning to get back for 2 shows in Stoke-on-Trent!
We eventually got the flight back to London and got in at about 2230. Then the Tour Manager, Phil Watts, announced to us that rather than staying in London, he was renting a minibus and driving us back up North. We left Heathrow Airport at around 2330.
We dropped off Henry, Allie and Miranda at their hotel in Stoke at about 2am. We then proceeded to Manchester Airport so I could pick up my car. Phil then took Gethin; the Bass player, to his home in Manchester and went home himself. I left Manchester Airport at about 3.30 and got home a little before 5am - around 10 hours later than the original schedule.
So there it is; the story of the Greek debacle. Remind me never to go back there….
Technorati Tags: ratpackontour, thessaloniki
Fri 22nd Jul 2005. Posted by Bryan Davis.
A little late perhaps but I’d like to offer my congratulations to Chris Fidler on his recent betrothal to the lovely Ulrika-ka-ka. Chris has posted some pictures from the big day (as mentioned in the comments from “More Photos“) and you can view them here.
Please join me in wishing them all the very best.
Wed 23rd Mar 2005. Posted by Bryan Davis.
You asked for photos so here’s one:-
(Click pic for larger version)
Now come along folks, I’m sure you can do better than that. Register to the site (link at bottom right) and share your touring memories with the world….
