I met with Greg Fitzgerald and Mark Batchelor at Waterloo today, as we prepared footage for a promo video for the new album. Locations included Roupell Street, Lower Marsh market, Leake Street, the steps at the Station, the garden of St John’s Church and the Southbank.
Category:News & events
For Afghan women
I visited Pony Studios in Hackney this afternoon at the kind invitation of Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey to attend the recording of an anthem for the women of Afghanistan by UK based Hazara singer/songwriter, Elaha Soroor.
John Thirkell
A highly enjoyable day at John Thirkell’s studio in Buckinghamshire, as we collectively checked out both his superb contributions to the Waterloo Sunrise album and the collection as a whole.
Photo assets
A productive day in Richmond and Kingston as I dropped into photographer Jonathan Stewart’s office and Prinststore’s premises to collate and formally approve the gallery of images for the Waterloo Sunrise project.
Family archive
A weekend in the south coast sunshine as Julie, Ben, Lisa and I travelled down to Christchurch for my sister-in-law’s 60th birthday celebration at the local Sailing Club. A pleasure to join the gathering of the clan, included my brother Ken and his lovely wife, birthday girl Debz; my sister Janet and her husband of nearly fifty years, Frank; my niece Katherine, my nephew Steve, his wife Trish, and their daughter Beckie.
Mercato, Mayfair
During a visit to the West End this afternoon I walked the length of Marylebone High Street, stopping off at several of the area’s independent boutique outlets. I heartily recommend this corner of the city, just yards away from the mainstream bustle of Oxford Street.
UK Music party
An invigorating night at the IET London, Savoy Place, WC2, courtesy of UK Music and their annual summer party. So many from the music industry and politics were on hand to network and hear speeches from UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl, UK Music Chair Tom Watson, Culture Minister Chris Bryant and award-winning songwriter Michelle Escoffery.
QuizWar
A marvellous evening at the Phoenix Arts Club following an introduction to the captivating music business event that is Quizwar! Definitely for lovers of a madcap approach to testing your knowledge of pop, rock, and industry insider information. Let alone daring to meet the challenges of the lyric karaoke, Japanese horse racing, and wheel of fortune rounds.
Special Award
A proud moment last night as Ben received a special presentation from the Mayor of Croydon. 15 cadets from across the Borough and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and St Johns’ Ambulance, had been selected for the Greater London Cadet/Young People Awards.
Heart full of songs
Class hit songwriter and musician Graham Gouldman performed in Beckenham last night as part of the annual “Arts at St George’s Festival.” Graham, accompanied by an excellent acoustic trio of Iain Hornal and Keith Hayman, and Dave Cobby, delivered a marvellous set of hits including songs he had written for the Yardbirds (Heart full of soul, For your love), The Hollies (Bus stop, Look through any window), and Herman’s Hermits (No milk today).
Ben Nevis, Camden
I travelled into town today for lunch at St Pancras with one of my oldest friends, Chris Lawson. I have known Chris since we met at our first day at North London Poly in Holloway Road in September 1977. Having not seen him for some years, it was a pleasure to hear of his respected work in photography and training horses, plus to remind ourselves of our previous adventures sharing flats in the 1970s and 80s!
Cherry Lodge
I enjoyed a very pleasant few hours at Cherry Lodge Golf Club in Biggin Hill, as members gathered for the combined Clare Yonge Memorial Golf and Beckenham Sports Club Days. Over fifty players and members of Clare’s family ensured a moving memorial event to our former President and the sun suitably shone throughout the day.
Test pressings
An important development in the production of my Waterloo Sunrise album today – the vinyl test pressings arrived from Key Production! A pristine five copies for our careful checking on a range of turntables and set ups. Thanks again to Ed and the team at Tileyard for their timely delivery.
Wickham victory
With the Beckenham CC 4th XI not having a match this weekend, Ben was chosen to play with the 5th XI today at Wickham Park. Captained with verve by Peter Lee, this is always an enjoyable experience, although this particular side have had a difficult start to the season in terms of results.
Members’ Day
PRS for Music held their annual Members’ Day event at the IET in Savoy Place this afternoon. This enables songwriters, composers and PRS staff to usefully meet and exchange enquiries and experiences. The music copyright collective presents a series of industry seminars specifically designed to assist its members with song registration, understanding their rights, and to discuss contemporary issues such as AI and composition.
Rome
Julie, Ben and I flew out to Rome from Gatwick last Saturday, 25th May, for a city break to mark my 65th birthday. We stayed for five nights at The Building Hotel in Via Montebello, which proved an ideal base for visiting the numerous world famous landmarks the eternal city has to offer.
Turning 18
A special moment as our son Ben turns 18. It’s been a long but rewarding journey from Princess Royal, Farnborough, in May 2006 to being an upstanding six foot two corporal in the cadets, student in Public Services at Bromley College, a bowler for Beckenham Cricket Club and a caring and thoughtful young man.
Wembley joy
An exciting afternoon at Wembley Stadium as Bromley FC won promotion to the English Football League by defeating Solihull Moors in the National League Play Off Final.
Key Production
I visited the Tileyard office of Key Production (London) Ltd in Kings Cross today and met Account Manager Ed Cawthorne, who was extremely helpful and informative as we discussed arrangements for the creation of the vinyl run of Waterloo Sunrise. My thanks to Ed and everyone in the supportive Key Production team.
Sebright soul
Julie and I drove over the River in the rain this evening to Bethnal Green to catch Mylar performing at the Sebright Arms in Coate Street, E2. This particular live music venue is in the basement of an excellent pub.
