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Liverpool O2 Academy
Thin Lizzy / FM / The Treatment
7 December 2012
FM Tour Diary: Liverpool O2 Academy - 7 December 2012
I wake up in a rather sunny Altrincham, get dressed and I head out into the sunshine
for today's caffeine jolly. It's a lovely blue skied fresh morning... it feels pretty
good to be alive. I read the paper, finish my coffee and head back to the hotel to
get ready for the gig and journey to Liverpool. I'm back in my luxury penthouse hotel
suite (Travelodge 8th floor folks) and it's shower time… Oh bloody hell I forgot
to buy any shower gel which means only one thing… I'm stuck with Travelodge's very
own finest complimentary soap and this appears to be the smallest yet. Ah well beggars
can't be choosers. While showering I discover another interesting fact about the
soap - its fragrance is reminiscent of cat's pee. I finish my shower, get packed
and dressed. Smelling faintly of Eau de Tomcat I venture into reception and meet
the rest of the fellas.
Today's drive is a walk in the park, just over an hour I'm guessing. The bus is loaded and we head off to the home of The Beatles. Weather's good, traffic's good and we arrive just after 1pm. We haven't played in Liverpool since the early '90s. The gig is a sell-out, it's a great room... I'll let you into a secret I'm rather looking forward to this.
We have Sharon and Lee joining us today for the VIP Meet and Greet and they're another
lovely couple. We have a natter and hopefully make them feel welcome.
Lizzy are done soundchecking, our gear goes up onto the stage. It's a little cramped
tonight but it'll be fine. Soundcheck over, Steve and I do a radio interview with
our old friend Kevin McDempster.
Showtime tonight is 8.25pm. We have another member of our management team, Steve Strange dropping by tonight to see us. Steve's always good value so it will be good to see him. I adjourn to the catering room and sit down to relax with Merv and Richard. A short while later Steve C comes in to inform us Mr Strange is in da house. We head back down to our dressing room to say hello and we take the opportunity to discuss ideas regarding opening acts for our headline tour in March. If the bill we talked about comes off you'll be in for a right old treat.
Showtime is nearly upon us so we get changed and head up the four flights of stairs to the stage. The lights go down and we make our way to the stage to the sound of The Pink Panther theme. It's Friday night and the packed crowd is with us from the start, we're in overdrive, Steve Strange is loving it from side-stage, the crowd is at fever pitch. We leave the stage with the Liverpudlian cheers ringing in our ears. Class!
Tonight after the show Merv, Adrian, Steve C, Woody and myself are driving back to
London in the bus as it's a day off tomorrow. Steve C has the short straw and has
to do all the driving as he's the only one here on the insurance. Having already
dropped Woody and Adrian we arrive at mine just before 5.00am. Steve still has Merv
to drop then he's got to return the bus to somewhere near Gatwick. That will probably
take him another hour and a half. Well done Steve, good work sir! Whoever said this
rock and roll lark was glamorous has obviously never worked with us :-)
Photos courtesy of PJ
