Proud Galleries, Candem Town 5th February '09

My first visit to Camden Town for about 25 years, things have changed. If I was 25 years younger then I guess that's where I would move to, provided I had the money and no responsibilities.

Its the 2nd time that Doll And The Kicks have recently played here, the last time they played they had Morrissey in attendance as he came to check them out for a second time before arranging for them to be his special guests on the tour of UK and Europe.

It's an absolutely great venue and I love the way they have kept the whole layout and a lot of fixtures from the old stables, my only gripe as a Northerner was that it was a bit expensive.

This time no Morrissey but there were a few other well know fans who turned up. Chris (McLovin) Mintz-Plasse all the way from Hollywood along with Aaron Johnson and Jane Goldman who both worked with Chris on his most recent movie Kick Ass due out later this year. Also through a "Skins" connection Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire turned up, but my personal favourite was Ben Smith who a few years ago played Damien Trotter in Only Fools And Horses, sorry Dev but Fools And Horses tops Slumdog Millionaire as fas as I am concerned.

A great show by DATK had the place packed and I got well and truly pissed on Koppenberg Cider which was really sweet so it was like drinking an Alcopop. So I did the usual Dad stuff and ended up bugging Jane Goldman about her husband "Wossy" being addicted to twitter and "FerretPrincess" told me she only had 2 followers at that time but less than a month later and she has 4,000 and is more addicted than her hubby (they now actually speak to each other on twitter). Although having been told by Doll that the motto is "Friends Not Fans" I avoided embarrassing eldest daughter by acting like a real ligger and getting some photos of me with my drunken arms around them.

As I had nothing better to do, and I was enjoying my cider, I stayed right till the very, very, very end and through my hazy memory I am pretty certain that on the dance floor Dev Patel did a reprieve of the end dance sequence from Slumdog Millionairre, I seem to remember that.

I finished the night of with a piece of Fried Chicken from the Fast Food place opposite that was still open at 3am where I finally gave in to my ligging instinct and took a photo of Dev who was with Ben. However he must have been more pissed than me as no matter how hard I tried he just wouldn't keep still for the picture.

The next time I am in Camden Town is when Doll And The Kicks are playing at the Barfly on the 27th March so that gives me plenty of time to recover. I know I can't do it too often at my age!

Doll And The Kicks hit the road with Morrissey

Great news, Doll And The Kicks are supporting Morrissey on his tour of UK and Europe. What an absolute privelige!

I am down to be the bands chief driver on the first part of the tour (Ireland, Scotland & England) but I won't be able to join in much for Europe, hopefully for a week to meet up with some friends.

Their are some great venues being visited and a few I am particularly looking forward to are the Empire in our hometown of Liverpool, The Troxy in London, Brixton Academy and of course The Royal Albert Hall!

It should be a great opportuntiy for them and I can't wait to see Morrissey's shows, Graham in work tells me he is magnetic on stage and you just get drawn to him.

Doll And The Kicks Make An Album

DATK are now making an Album which is being self financed as it will be needed for a major tour to be announced pretty soon so they can't wait for a record company to pick up on them.

I just HAD to get down to The Levellers studio in Brighton to take some pictures of me pretending to twiddle the knobs and dials and to see how its all done (slowly is the answer to that question). How wives/girlfriends of band members could go down and hang around the studio all day watching a song progress at that speed is beyond me.

A few 60 minute sessions were enough for me as a different language is spoken (I think its pulling a bit sticks in my mind) and heaven knows how anyone can understand what to do with the program on the Apple Mac and the huge desk with a hundred dials and slides on - it can all get a bit confusing for an old fart like me.

Still I heard a great song that Doll And The Kicks don't normally do during their live set and despite (to me) the slow pace it was interesting understanding how all the pieces fitted together to create the perfect recording. This week it was the drum and bass, next week the guitar and vocals. The band even offered to record me using on a triangle to put on one of the records but I was too shy.

All 4 of them are working flat out 10 hours a day to try and get it finished as soon as they can and all the songs are great tunes, but the name of the album has yet to be decided upon.

I came away from the studio really happy with my visit but with 2 unanswered questions.

Why was there an electrical extension lead in one of the toilet cubicles and do all recording studio toilets smell of vomit?

It starts to get really interesting.

So things are happening for Doll And The Kicks, more so now than at any time since they formed! Its getting really exciting and I have had some real benefits of being a groupie Dad, it looks like there may be more to follow.

First there was the VIP pass for Glastonbury in 2007, yes it was a mistake that we all got passes that gave us access to all the stages and bars, but who cares. Also somehow for that Festival there was a DATK sticker on nearly all the VIP toilets and mirrors. (The same happened to 2008 Glastonbury VIP toilets when I went with one of my other daughters and her 5 girl friends but that's another story). Even the weather didn't detract from the enjoyment and it was great to see them play on the BBC Introducing Stage, although I got a bit worried I might get stuck in the mud driving their equipment through the fields.

Then there was the backstage pass for The Beachdown Festival, where we camped behind the main stage. Bumping into most of the performers was pretty crazy. My chat with Orlando from The Maccabees embarrassed Hannah (Doll) when I told be telling him that she had called him "ridiculously talented", which he is. Their second gig at the festival went a bit mental with people climbing over the crash barrier to get nearer the stage.

Jump forward to the last few weeks and I missed the 2 gigs when Morrissey came to watch and meet up with them, and the one that Janice Long from radio 2 came to, what a disappointment that was! Especially for Graham who works with me and is a huge Morrissey fan. These visits from the man led to a couple of airplays on Radio 2 and a really great endorsement from fellow scouser Jancie Long.

But at their last London gig - the Vibe Bar on 13th November - their new friend from LA turned up for a curry before the gig plus a few drinks during and afterwards. Chris turned out to be the actor who played Fogell McLovin in Superbad, which led to jealous phone calls from my youngest daughter who at least managed to have a chat with him. So from the list of "things to do before I die" dinner and drinks with a movie star is well and truly ticked.

So what next? There are a couple really exciting developments on the cards including a single release and a major tour but its not yet confirmed.

Who knows I might end up as a the oldest inexperienced roadie around.