Well, I nearly didn't go to this one. 5.30 and I'm in the car park at work. Do I drive the 7 miles home, or do I drive the 120 miles to Leamington Spa? Really, it isn't a choice at all, is it? At 10 past 8 I was doing circuits round Leamington, asking for directions to the Assembly. Eventually I found someone who knows their way round, and in the blink of an eye I was at the venue and Tony was handing me a CD by The King. I have vague memories of John Peel playing tracks from it - it's a variety of tunes (Nirvana, Joy Division etc) sung in the style of Elvis Presley. Song To The Siren is a particular highlight. Ta for that.
I caught the last couple of tunes by the vaguely wacky support band. As usual, I didn't note the name. Their exit was the cue for the surge to the front. Many familiar faces were there, and there was a decent ruck for most of the evening. There was a stuttering start as Neil struggled to get his bass to make a sound. Nigel kept us entertained with selections from his side project "Don Powell's ELO". Finally everything was up and running as follows.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Running Order Squabble Fest
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Bob Wilson Anchor Man
Deep House Victim's Minibus Appeal
Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
Used To Be In Evil Gazebo
Monmore Hare's Running
The Best Things In Life
For What Is Chatteris?
Irk The Purists (featuring a fine drum solo)
A Country Practice
(We then were reminded by Nigel about Leamington's claims to fame. Boxer Randolph Turpin was from there, and the rules of tennis were drawn up somewhere in the hood).
Bad Review
Foot Up In Europe
Everything's AOR
Dukla Prague Away Kit
Slipknot
Trumpton Riots
(out came the caravan guitar)
Twenty-Four Hour Garage People
(plenty of booing from the crowd when the Pringles were announced at an astonishing £2.40!)
National Shite Day
Restless Legs
Look Dad No Tunes
Lark Descending
We Built This Village
I Hate Nerys Hughes
When they came back on stage for the encore, Neil started playing Holiday In Cambodia. A Dead Kennedys cover would have been acceptable. However we ended up with
Evening Of Swing
Apache
Joy Division Oven Gloves
There were a few hasty farewells and I was soon heading back up the M1. Plenty of time to listen to late-night radio and all the mediocre garbage that passes for music.