No 21: Leeds Irish Centre, 8th April 2005

Leeds is a Friday night so Lizzy and I are staying over, in the Jury's Doyle Hotel which Multimap shows as the nearest hotel to the venue. I've got a lunchtime meeting in Sheffield, so go straight to Leeds from there - I need to get some work done at the hotel in the afternoon but its worth it to miss the late Friday afternoon rush on the M1.

I check into the hotel and we've got a nice twin room on the 1st floor. I get changed, get my work stuff sorted out then decide I could do with a bottle of mineral water so go down to the hotel bar to buy one - and who should be there, sitting in the corner, but Mr Lee and Mr Echols, just finishing a late lunch.

I try to act cool and walk up to them and say "Hello gentlemen" - Arthur says "Hello Lizzy" (not that old one) and I say "Its Tina, the other one". He asks what I'm doing here and I tell him I'm here to see them perform tonight. Its obvious from the ensuing conversation that Arthur associates Lizzy and I very strongly with videoing and not just as fans, as he immediately starts to tell me about his video camera being stolen by his ex-girlfriend, and how good it would be if we could video some of the upcoming shows, and also let him know which gigs we filmed last tour - the tapes presumably are with the New Guy. He also tells me that someone wants to make a documentary about him here in the UK. Johnny is silent all through this exchange, I then say that its great that they're over here at the moment and how great it is to see Johnny touring - Arthur tells me that Johnny can't believe what a good reception he's getting over in the UK and thinks he in Disneyland! Johnny continues to be silent but smiles happily throughout. After that I leave them to their lunch and repair to the room to try and get some work done.

Lizzy, Chris and Scottish Keith arrive at about 7pm - only Lizzy is staying because she's coming back to Nottingham with me for the gig on Sunday night at the Rescue Rooms. She's not very well, full of cold. We have a drink in the bar and then set off for the Irish Centre.

The venue has the appearance of a working men's club - there's a party going on upstairs with a big "Dad" poster in the window. Downstairs is very much the same, with a seated area with tables at the back, and a standing area at the front - its quite a large place. We immediately see Mike and Rusty who are there with a number of the York crew including Ringo's parents who we are introduced to by Mike. The lovely Coops is there as well, the man with the strange licking fetish - more about that later.

We stay at the back while the support band is on, a different band tonight and IMHO not particularly memorable. The place is filling up and its obvious we're not going to get our preferred spot of down the very front, so we don't even try. Love come on and we can see quite well from near the back but is not the same, we need to be near the action, so we move down one side and end up fairly near the stage. Then Lizzy and I stand on chairs to get a better view - everything is going swimmingly until I decide to try standing on a table and send several glasses flying, so give that idea up as a bad job. Its a lively gig with a crowd who are really up for it, a really good show.

After the show, we see Glenn guiding Arthur and Johnny out towards the merchandise stand which is right at the back near the door, quite a long walk from backstage. There's a buzz around the venue, it seems like everyone wants to get Arthur and Johnny's autographs. There's a young lady standing near us who is desperate to get herself signed for some reason, I take it on myself to guide her to the table and she gets her arms signed by both Arthur and Johnny!! I take her picture and promise I'll send it on to her.

Mike is around at this stage and Coops starts licking his face - I take a picture of this lovely scene as well. Lizzy and I have a quick chat with Kose and Troels, they're staying at the hotel as well so we say we'll meet up with them for a drink later.

Chris and Scottish Keith drive us back to the hotel and then leave us to drive back to Newcastle via Darlington. I have had the foresight to bring along a bottle of whisky (extortionate prices at these hotel bars!!) so we collect that from the room, Kose and Troels join us fairly soon once all the gear is packed up. We engage the Polish barman in conversation to see if any food is available - it isn't, but he gives us some leaflets from nearby takeaways which deliver so we order some pizzas.

Sometime after that the bar is closed, although we're still drinking the whisky, when two chaps arrive who engage us in conversation. It transpires that they have just been to see British Sea Power at a venue somewhere in Leeds, we tell them what we've been doing and how wonderful Love are (they've never heard of them) and invite them to have some of our whisky. The pizzas have arrived by this time. At one stage one of the chaps ( I won't call them young men, they were probably mid 30s) who is an accountant from Middlesborough, tells me I'm quite attractive for an older woman!! I'm regaling Lizzy with this story the next day when she reminds me that I was sitting in a closed hotel bar with a bottle of whisky in one hand and a pizza in another - in those circumstances even Camilla Parker-Bowles would look attractive !! I take her point and decide to forestall my career as a femme fatale.

Lizzy isn't too well through the night, nothing to do with the drink, she's got a terrible cold and gets the shivers. We get up for breakfast the next morning, a quick hello to Kose and Troels who are down there as well (dear readers, read into that what you will but I can assure you the assignation was pure chance). We're checking out when we see Mike and Daddyo walking into the lobby, each wearing a fine hat - its fairly cold in downtown Leeds today. They've slept on the tour bus but are swapping over with Kose and Troels - oh what a life of luxury these rock star types lead! We say we'll see them in Nottingham on Sunday - they've all got a Saturday night off in Leeds. With that its off down the M1 back home, with a sick Lizzy who needs some more sleep.