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Let's be honest. Butlins, Skegness is not somewhere many of us would CHOOSE to stay. Indeed, Ann chose not to come this time because the accommodation we had in 2002 was so appalling. It was ironic, then, that because of a mix-up with my booking (They didn't seem to know I was coming although I had a confirmation letter showing I had paid in full. I later found out that my return slip to accept the booking was still in its envelope in my pocket.), on arrival on Friday afternoon, I was allocated an apartment that could easily sleep 7 people. This was to come in handy later - and not for what you think, either.
A quick drive down the road to a nearby off-licence ensured that my apartment's fridge was well stocked for the weekend.
After a non-descript, but adequate, early evening meal, I went first to the Irish Bar, the ‘Swinging Shillelagh’ (I kid you not), where I had arranged to meet Ruth and Lee for some start-up drinks.
The 'Festival' is centred on two main venues holding a couple of thousand each. The bands play their sets of about an hour each, with some bands playing a second set in the other venue. So, depending on your preferences, it is possible go from one venue to the other to see some bands twice. But, whichever you chose, the bar prices, when you eventually got served, were appalling.
So, the three of us started off in the 'Centre Stage' to see Paul Lamb and The Kingsnakes kick off the proceedings. They were instantly forgettable, and Lee and I found it more entertaining to count the rivets in scaffolding around the stage. Next, I stayed for Dr. Feelgood, whilst Ruth and Lee went to 'Reds' to watch Slack Alice.
The Feelgoods enjoyed a great response to their usual solid set.
Next up Was Connie Lush & Blues Shouter, featuring a short plump girl singer with a powerful voice. There were lots of - of ‘hey yey yeys’ that got a bit piercing after a while. They had a good guitarist, though.
It was after midnight when I, too, crossed over to Reds to see the Feelgoods for their second set. They had warmed up by now, and so had the audience, so it was another great set to finish off with. At about this time, we were expecting Otway and The Big Band and Eddie and The Hot Rods, to join us in the bar after their Friday night gig in Hull. Unfortunately, when the bar closed shortly after 02:00, they were still about 20 miles away. The Otway van eventually arrived just before 03:00 - just in time to get a quick bite at Burger king before it closed. They had no vegetarian burgers, and Richard was almost apoplectic at being charged £1.69 for a tiny bag of chips. The Hot Rods had apparently arrived earlier, but had already turned in. Otway's Band's accommodation was about the same as mine, and as such would have been a little cramped for them all, so Richard and his son, Jack, took advantage of my spare capacity - and the fridge. Not sure about the actual sequence of events here, but Richard managed to tip the entire contents of his wash bag into the toilet. We eventually turned in at about 05:15.
Saturday morning, I amazed myself by getting up at 09:00 in time for breakfast - again, adequate but not brilliant.
In the afternoon, Eddie and the Hot Rods, won themselves some new fans with their usual high-energy set in 'Centre Stage'. As is now becoming customary, I helped out with their merchandise sales. In the mean time, Ruth and Lee had Met Pam (from Harlow), who was later able to take advantage of Ann's dinner ticket.
The Rods also started off the evening session in 'Reds', with a slightly different set, including 'Riot In Cell Block No. 9', which they had never played before. They finished with a blistering version of 'The Beginning of The End', which had the crowd roaring at the end. I sold some more gear for them - in fact, such was the response that I sold out.
Then, I crossed over to 'Centre Stage', and caught the tail end of 'Viva Santana'. Interesting, but not really to my taste. At the bar, I was trying to explain what the next act, Otway, was all about. Well? How DO you explain it?
Anyway, our Otway was up next. He and The Band were in fine form, and soon had the crowd joining in on ‘Flowers’ and especially ‘We Rock’. As has been said before, this just gets better every time. ‘HOTRS’ had all the newbies in stitches. The rest is a blur.
Next up was ‘Lights Out By Nine’, featuring black suits and a brass section. The band’s name seemed ironically appropriate, since the venue began to empty fairly rapidly. Meanwhile, John and the Band had joined us in the bar where we stayed until closing time just after 2. After the usual ‘What are we going to do now’ session, we finally headed for a chalet where a drinking session was already in full swing – augmented by further supplies from my own stock. Final turning in time was about 4:30.
Sunday: Once again, I amazed myself by getting up in time for breakfast.
Otway and Richard were due on at ‘Centre Stage’ at noon, but at about 11:00 nobody had a clue where Richard had got to. But he arrived on time for the set, which is more than could be said of the sound crew. ‘Really Free’ and ‘BOTF’ were followed by ‘Blockbuster’ which, John announced, was especially for those who had missed ‘Sweet’ the night before (while John & Band were on). Then Willy Barrett (“I used to be wild but now I’m livid”) came on and continued the sound check, giving us a few songs with his ‘Sleeping Dogz’ at the same time. The result was hilarious. Finally, John & Willie gave us their special version of ‘Headbutts’. Later, backstage, Richard was asking Willie for tips on the headlock he uses on John.
Next on was Wreckless Eric. After he shouted a couple of numbers accompanied by his guitar, Ruth, Lee, and I decided it was time to go for lunch. We went for a help-yourself Pizza and salad buffet in Papa John’s, which, considering this was Butlins, was actually very good.
Some time during the previous evening’s festivities, we were given an invitation for this afternoon, as follows:
“Honest John & Sensible Soo Will be 'Holding Court' at The Sun & Moon On Sunday afternoon, between 2.30 – 7.30 to give advice and answer questions on a wide range of subjects. These include (not in any particular order) Weight loss. Sheds. Interior design. We-Evil. Moles. Butlins booking policy. Janet and John books. All aspects of Brewing. John Buttertleld. Socks. Lord of the Ringpiece. Motor vehicle construction & use regulations. Death. The unacceptable pricing structure within the British Brewing industry. Social services. Sue’s current outfit. Illegal "Bootlegging" of music. Who is, & who is not "A C**t'. Guitar playing. The work of Edward Lear. British thermal units. The Hartlepool Mafia. All aspects of Dr. Feelgood, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Nine Below Zero, Wilko Johnson, John Otway, The Sweeney & Sarah out of Two Timers. Jumble sales. Jack Russels. Cheese. The relative merits of both The Spitfire & ME 109. Refilling ink cartridges. Motor homes. Breakfasts. Dishwashers. Formula 1 + 2 Stock Car Racing. Southern Softshites. The weather.
Ruth, Lee, and I duly attended after lunch, and sank a few more beers. It has to be noted that most of the drink appeared to be coming from carrier bags under the tables rather than over the bar. I expect the cleaners would have had fun when they found the empty beer cans in the flower vases.
For the evening’s session, I decided to go ‘Reds’. It was evident that many of the weekends inmates had already left, so the tables had been rearranged to make more room. I easily found an empty table near the stage, and settled in for a night off, i.e. no pictures tonight. The bar was easy to get to, as well.
First on were the Animals. The set was mainly good-time boogie, with a few familiar Animals songs. I managed to resist the heckles during HOTRS – but the temptation was very strong.
The next band, Len Tuckey’s Legend, gave us some good solid steady R&B. A sort of heavy early Fleetwood Mac. As soon as I thought that, they did a really good version of Free’s Wishing Well. Their singer, claiming to be an 'Essex Boy' then launched into ‘Back In The Night’ which took me by surprise, as it was the first time I had heard this done by anyone other than either Wilko or the Feelgoods. It wasn’t bad, even though the bass seemed to be plodding at times. A few songs later, they gave us ‘Down At The Doctors’
It was at this point that a couple of girls on the table next to me made me wonder: “Why is it that some girls, with thighs that Red Rum would be proud of, think they can get away with wearing mini-skirts?”
The Hamsters were on next. I had my doubts about them, having walked out on them on a Naughty Rhythms gig in Aylesbury a few years ago. Fortunately, I overcame my prejudices, and thoroughly enjoyed the set. They finished with a superb version of ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man’, during which their guitars lit up whilst the walked off stage into the audience and swapped guitars before returning to the stage. Once there, the lead guitarrist (who now had the bass) swapped with the drummer before finishing the opus – all this accomplished without breaking rhythm. Superb!
By this time, I was completely knackered, so I decided to have an early night. 1:00 a.m.
So, there we are. Three great night of music and socialising with friends without the worry of driving home after the gigs. Roll on the next one! Roll on Dunkerque! Roll on the World Tour.
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