The day hadn't begun particularly well as made-up T-shirts from the Isle of Man had not made it into the suitcases of Drink Problem and his wife. Consequently, this meant that civilian clothes would be the main attire for the day. Drink Problem's other half had also had a turbulent morning having been accosted by a sales assistant in Primark who accused her of deliberate injury after innocently returning some clothes!
By 1.30pm DP and Regurgitator had met up with Rusty at the Porter & Sorter, adjacent to East Croydon, for an introductory pint of ale before leaving and heading towards the station to move closer to the venue. Many Oasis fans were seen during our journey up to London Bridge, obviously, unaware that the main attraction was in Kentish Town. Further ales were consumed in The Market Porter.
Midway through the afternoon we joined up with the final two members of our group, Oik & Homme at The Assembly Room (?) ...well, it wasn't the Bull & Gate as there was no real ale. To pass the time we asked the staff for the question cards to the Sports Edition of Trivial Pursuit. "Which Liverpool player scored a disallowed goal in the 1974 F.A.Cup Final?"
We managed to time our entry into The Forum (I've always preferred the name "Town & Country Club") as the support band were ending their set. Having seen HMHB in many small venues it was strange to see this well regarded club near capacity although this may have something to do with their aversion to playing in London and not realising the fan base level they have in the South East.
A quick drink and it was time to move forwards to the area known as 'le moshpit.' You would think that the five of us would be the only 40 year olds in this vicinity but there were some other brave middle-aged soles who thought they would join in the melee also. With our group all being over 6ft tall we thought we could handle any potential rough stuff and to be fair there was an excellent, friendly atmosphere in the moshpit as Nigel & Co began their show.
Restless Legs and Fred Titmus got the crowd buzzing and, later, classics like Bob Wilson and Dukla Prague began to be sang word perfectly by many near the front of the stage. But it wasn't until Wrong Grave and Bad Losers on Yahoo Chess were played midway through, that the gig began to hit almost impossible highs.
The second half was faultless as Nigel began to take on a Rock God persona as his guitar playing became more animated and his enjoyment of the performance seemed to increase. London's not that bad, Mr Blackwell, is it?
Country Practice, AOR, Shite Day and Joy Division were other major highlights as the gig rolled on seamlessly. There must have been 30 odd songs in a two hour set that will sit well in the memory.
A kebab on the run was welcome as we ran for the train and on meeting some very young Oasis fans we poured over the value for money and why Nigel is a musical legend and Noel is a musical has-been.
As I return to Antipodean life in Sydney the rest of my crew will undoubtedly be searching the website for future gigs wherever they may be.
On my next visit to the UK I hope to once again coincide it with a Biscuit gig.
Marvellous.