Ken's diary of the Steeleye Span 'Reunion Tour'

Monday 25th Nov 2002
Rehearsals begin today. I've been anticipating this for the last three weeks - feeling very uncertain about suddenly playing with a group established in way of years spent together and the relationship they've formed with each other in that time. I can find some social situations quite awkward let alone ones where I have, in a sense, something to prove musically. However, as I get closer to Oxford I'm finding that my previous stress level is beginning to lessen considerably.
Once we actually began rehearsing, which was quite late in the day, everything went well. They were possibly quite surprised by how much material I'd learned already, well, if they were not, I certainly was.

Tuesday 26th Nov
Had a great time in the hotel bar last night, everyone in the band seems friendly and easy to get on with.
My playing today was still, perhaps, a little on the tense side - but all seems to be going well and the rest of the gang appear to like what I'm doing.

Wednesday 27th Nov
The process continues. The backing vocals are proving to be the toughest part - as I'd suspected.
The road crew - Spike and John, tour manager / merchandiser - Jackie, and soundman - Patch all arrived today. The final pieces are being put in place for Friday's launch.

Thursday 28th Nov
The last day of rehearsing, and surprisingly the music, to my ears, is becoming a bit looser, and although I'm finding it a little disconcerting I'm quite prepared to admit that it could well be my own tired ears that just perceive it to be so. Still, the general mood is very positive.
At this point, I'm very conscious of the adage I often recite to my guitar students - the one about every piece of music having to be learned twice - once at home, and then again in front of an audience.
Standing in front of an audience, in a number of ways, can affect the focus of the mind, and it is quite difficult sometimes to foresee what direction things will take. If you can afford yourself some space, and consequently, achieve a greater presence of mind, then you are beginning a process that helps you get the best out of what you're doing - you are beginning to maximise the potential of whatever you're trying to project and perform. I always think of it in terms of 'walls', and that these walls are movable, and we are the creators of exactly how much space there is in our room. We either have many separate rooms, one for every occasion and circumstance, or one room that we adjust in size for these circumstances, whichever it is, the amount of space we afford ourselves could well be in accordance with how related circumstances have gone for us in life. Consequently, we have a preconceived notion of what to expect, and hence, we move our walls accordingly to their preset positions.
This may all sound quite definite in a way, but in truth, the way it actually feels can be as though the pendulum that swings from ease to difficulty in one's life, has nothing other than a will of it's own. I find myself in constant pursuit of some infallible technique to force its position to a point of preference and reliability.

Friday 29th Nov
Civic Hall, Aylesbury. Theatre capacity: 650 Attendance: 350
Not sure tonight if I had your average 'first night' nerves, or 'first night' blind terror. Still, everyone seems very happy with the way the show went. I feel OK with my performance even if I did struggle a little with the fast tune at the end of 'Misty Moisty Morning'……… I was playing it well and confidently on the first day of rehearsals, but now I find my fingers are stiffening up and I'm beginning to find it hard to believe I'm capable of playing it at all.
I'm getting to like the band members very much, and the crew even. Quite honestly, it's difficult to recall a band situation in the past where everything's felt this comfortable. It is early days yet though.

Saturday 30th Nov
Day off. Drove back to Preston. Before going home I took one of Rick's bass guitars to repair wizard Eddie Green to have the neck adjusted. Arrived home at around 2pm. It was great to be back and to see Carol who was in the process of trying to fix the tumble dryer.
My new guitar was waiting for me. It's a Renato Giardano Signature Guitar. It has all this revolutionary circuit board technology under the scratch plate that is supposed to cut out all extraneous noise, and made in California, this model was shipped over to Italy to apparently be played in the Italian Air Force band. I don't know any more details other, than now - I have it. I didn't have the chance to acquaint myself with it though, it badly needed 'setting up', so, as with Rick's bass, I handed it to Eddie, he'll be coming to the Steeleye show next Saturday in Southport and the intention is that he'll bring my new axe with him.

Sunday 1st Dec
Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. Theatre Capacity: 326 Sold out
First thing, 9am Eddie brought Rick's bass round, and then I set off for my train journey to Wales. I arrived, after all the usual and predictable delays, just in time for the sound check.
The Borough Theatre is possibly the smallest theatre we play on the tour holding a max of 326, however, we've sold it out for two consecutive nights……… apparently, it could've been three if the band had been available. This was our second show, and already our confidence has increased significantly. The audience seemed to love it. Peter (Knight) is having a problem with his newly acquired mandolin - it doesn't seem to want to stay in tune.

Monday 2nd Dec
Abergavenny.
A slightly more controlled performance tonight. Last night, during our second set, we started to get some high frequency feedback, and more likely than anything else, this was largely due to having too much volume coming off the stage from drums and the back line. So tonight we kept the volume down a bit, it's a shame though; I always like it good and loud. Basically, the smaller the theatre, the more careful you have to be. The problem with electric guitar in relation to this is that unless you push the amp and speakers quite a bit, the quality of the sound suffers tonally. That said, people were still telling us after the show how great the band sounded.

Tuesday 3rd Dec
Day off.
Travelled to Leicester. Arrived at the 'Leicester Stage Hotel' at around 2.30pm. It's quite a 'swish' place with a gym, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room, and we'll be staying here for the next three nights.
I began to feel a little rough this morning, and suspect I'm coming down with something, so I spent all afternoon in bed.
In the evening took a walk with Liam (Genockey) into Wigston - about 15 minutes. Ended up in an Indian restaurant 'The Jewel In The Crown' - brilliant food.

Wednesday 4th Dec
Assembly Rooms, Derby. Attendance: 750
I've definitely caught something; the throat's feeling pretty rough. Spent about 50 minutes in the steam room this afternoon. Also, did some work for my University course and began writing about the subject of 'Performance Anxiety' & 'Stage Fright' for my dissertation. Once I started, it just kept on developing. I'd intended to work on my presentation for the 'Devising Techniques' module.
The theatre is lovely - and again, it had sold very well. Tonight's first set was very uncertain, and I had to do a little work on myself in the interval. I did actually succeed in convincing myself to 'loosen up' a bit and not worry too much about the mistakes, consequently, I felt the second half was much better - and the show was received very well. My friends Bill & Sue, and Paul & Lyn came tonight.

Thursday 5th Dec
De Montfort Hall, Leicester. Attendance 1250
Still feeling rough and tired. Did a lot of lying around during the day, some of that, of course, in the steam room.
Arrived at the hall at 4pm - early so we could have a leisurely sound check and a longer spell to relax before the show began, but I'm afraid there was no such luck on both counts. All of our intentions were ruined by what is so far the event of the tour. All the equipment was on stage and in position and one or two band members had done their individual sound checks, then there was sudden turmoil and I noticed that the drums were actually going up in flames. Spike (road crew) acted very quickly and was on the scene within seconds armed with a fire extinguisher. Amazingly, the drums were still playable. It seems someone had placed a powerful floor spotlight too close to the kit.
The night was good…. very good.

Friday 6th Dec
Grand Opera House, York. Attendance: 500
Arrived at the Meridan Hotel in York at around 1.45pm. It's a very majestic building that stands adjacent to the railway station. When we began checking in, some of us were told (including myself) that the rooms wouldn't be ready for about half an hour - well, it must've been a good hour and the rest before we got our room keys. At least while we waited, the hotel consoled us with a selection of some of the best sandwiches, cheeses and coffee you could wish for - all on the house. Still, various band / crew members where quite upset by the long wait, which is somewhat understandable, after all that travelling and days on the road it really is the last thing you need. When I finally got into my room the first thing I saw was a large TV staring me in the face with 'WELCOME KEN NICOL' on the screen, there's something disconcerting about that.
The Opera House is not a large theatre, with a capacity of about 500. Apparently, someone I'd worked with over thirty years previously was in the audience. It was when I'd worked as a cadet male nurse at the age of sixteen at an institution called Whittingham mental hospital, just outside Preston - a grim place. Anyway, this chap talked to Deborah (Peter's) partner, and she passed on the message. At the end of the show I went out to the foyer hoping to find him but he must've already left. He didn't leave his name, and I'm very curious to know who it was.
From a playing perspective, I definitely need to tie up a few loose ends. I'm continuing to make the same mistakes, and my soloing was poor tonight.
Troy Donockley came to the show, and backstage it wasn't long before we were being dazzled by his card tricks.

Saturday 7th Dec
Southport Theatre. Attendance: 800
Very tired today, but conveniently close to home. Left York at around 11am. Everyone except myself booked in at the Moat House hotel in Standish, I sat in Jackie's room for a while watching Man United versus Arsenal… United won 2 - 0.
Had lots of names for the guest list - Carol, Mum, Val, Andrew & Sue, Phil & Jill, Terry & Shirley, Ian & Janet. To be truthful, I didn't enjoy the show as much as some of the others, I was just that bit too tired. Consequently, I am looking forward to spending the next three nights at home.
Eddie and family came to the gig and explained that he couldn't get my new guitar to work, I was a little disappointed as I'd been hoping to use it on the rest of the tour.
Maddy and Daughter Rose stayed over at the house tonight, Rick stayed at Val's. First of all though, we had a bit of a party, and were joined by Ian & Janet, and Phil & Jo Widdows.

Sunday 8th Dec
It's good to be home. Still, I have quite a lot of work to do for the Devising Techniques module assessment, which takes place on Tuesday. Carol is of great assistance with my course work - as she is with many other things in my life. I wonder if I'm of any help to her.
I'd been having difficulty placing lyrics (I'm using emagic Logic Audio) under the notation on the score that is part of my presentation, but today, hallelujah, I've sussed it.

Monday 9th Dec
Tutorial this morning at 11am, I was late - of course, I'd been trying frantically to get everything into an almost completed state. Wayne, the course leader, seems pretty happy with everything, and he's booked the room in which my presentation will take place from 9am to 3.30pm tomorrow. I'm unsure as to whether having all that time is overkill or it tells me that the considerations I've made thus far are inadequate.

Tuesday 10th Dec
Eventually got to the room where the presentation took place at 11.45am after having spent forty-five minutes trying to find a parking space. I have no idea whatsoever as to how well (or otherwise) the presentation went. Comparatively speaking, I think it was probably better than average, although, I must admit that to some extent as I was speaking I was losing touch with the meaning of what I was talking about. There were no disasters though - and I'm glad to have it out of the way. In the next few days I'll give some thought to the documentation process, and also spend some time on the dissertation.
Feeling as though I'm 'hitting the wall' and have reached saturation point, I need some time to think about nothing - not that I ever think about nothing.

Wednesday 11th Dec
The Corn Exchange, Kings Lynn. Theatre capacity: 750 Sold out.
Took the train from Preston at 10.45am, arrived at Kings Lynn 4.30pm.
It's a lovely theatre, quite long and narrow. This was the most enjoyable show so far, I had a great time and it was great to see everyone. Rick had a nightmare gig though; he couldn't hear his bass very well, if at all, for large parts of the night. Today is Rose's eighteenth Birthday - and we celebrated by opening a bottle of champagne as we took to the stage for the encore 'All around my hat'.
Stayed tonight in a Travelodge hotel much to everyone's displeasure, apparently, the management got some kind of deal. It was an unpleasant place, I think we're going to have to sort all this out with John (Park records) and make sure we don't end up 'roughing it' too much for the sake of saving a few bob.

Thursday 12th Dec
Town Hall, Reading. Theatre capacity: 750 Sold out.
This morning's journey started in a slow and frustrating manner - travelling down a very narrow Norfolk country road with a learner driver, a tractor and a large truck - one in front of the other with us following behind. What are the chances of having all three directly in front of you? Arrived (eventually) in Reading and booked into the Quality Inn, with a name like that one suspects it might just be the opposite, as it turned out though it was a very comfortable hotel, and was very welcome after last night's accommodation.
I need to get my voice back into shape, it's the usual thing, anything from a middle C up to an E is proving to be problematic. Recently, I've been doing some work on it and it's been paying off, however, all it takes is a cold and a sore throat and it feels like I'm back to square one. The harmony I sing in Gaudete is right in that range.
Tonight's show was very smooth, everyone came off stage looking happy - including Rick, who'd earlier spent a lot of time sorting out his bass sound and seems to have resolved the problems he experienced yesterday evening. At last, I felt as though my solo's really had some shape to them tonight.

Friday 13th Dec
Festival Theatre, Chichester. Theatre capacity: 1200 Sold out.
Arrived in Chichester early enough to have a pleasant and relaxing afternoon. The town itself is really lovely and everything is very expensive - I've been looking in some of the estate agents and have calculated that our own house would be worth at least three times it's present value here. Sensational place though. Hotel room (The Ship Hotel) was very nice and very classy, that is, apart from the two or three obligatory things that either don't work or are broken - like the shower head that won't stay in position - and slides gradually lower and lower, until eventually you end up on your knees. Hey, this is England after all, and it wouldn't be the same otherwise.
There's not a lot I can say about the gig, except perhaps a couple of minor things. On the first verse of 'King Henry' which we sing 'a cappella', the pitch has been falling by as much as a semitone by the time the instruments kick in. To solve this problem, Rick hit a G note every couple of bars to give everyone something to sing to - it seemed to work. Apart from that it was a great audience, and the show, I think, was excellent. All is going well and it feels like 'a real band'. It's always best not to check the score card too much though - it can be the quickest way to disaster.

Saturday 14th Dec
Regent Theatre, Christchurch. Theatre capacity: 472 Sold out.
The staff at breakfast this morning (Chichester) was a very sorry and disorganised bunch, it took forty-five minutes to get my order. I know if I hadn't forcibly stopped them as they repeatedly sailed passed my table I would've been completely ignored, I could've still been there now even. Peter ordered two 'soft' boiled eggs, and when they brought his food, they were bullet hard, so he sent them back and re-ordered - the same happened a second time. When he questioned the waitress, she explained that the water must have been too hot.
The theatre tonight was smaller than most on the tour. It's an old establishment run by the council, and predictably, the staff has all of those finicky and fussy characteristics that are often found in council run organisations. Despite the size of venue and audience, Jackie (tour and merchandising manager) still managed to sell £2,000 in merchandise.
We had some problems with the sound during the first set; problems that we, the band, were unaware of until a torrent of complaints were received at the interval. People were complaining, apparently, that they could only hear the drums and the guitar. The stage volume level was probably a little high for the size and/or acoustical characteristics of the hall. Patch (sound engineer) however, thought it sounded great. We brought the volume level down a bit for the second half and the evening ended in usual fashion - another very successful night.
After the show I met Judy Dunne, a friend and associate of the band and of John Dagnell's. However, to my surprise, she also works with my sister Gloria. The words 'small world' were used more than once.

Sunday 15th Dec
Warwick University Arts Centre. Theatre capacity: 1200 Sold out.
Lovely venue, and it's great to have such a sizable and enthusiastic audience.
Felt a little nervous tonight, probably because I had friends Joe & Joy Broughton there, still, I managed to play ok. Everyone in the band seemed quite happy about the gig, and about the way they performed. The feeling backstage afterwards was brilliant - so many friends of the band, drinking wine and chatting, a perfect conclusion to a very fine day. Joe and Kevin (Dempsey) are off to Austria tomorrow to tour for week.

Monday 16th Dec
Martlets Hall, Burgess Hill. Theatre capacity: 340 Sold out.
Apparently, they could've sold this show three times over. After the size of last night's venue I think we had to go through a process of psychological adjustment. Also, the room sound was quite dead, so our ears, too, had to do some readjusting.
Tonight's show was being recorded, and none of us were all that sure why. All in all, I found it to be a rather tricky gig, and made my fair share of mistakes, but isn't it always the case when it's being recorded.
Jerry Page came to the show, it was interesting to see him again - he's a retired British Airways Captain and used to fly jumbo jets. Consequently, 'flying' is the usual topic of conversation that I try and steer things round to when I'm in such company, what I find really odd is that all they seem to want to talk about is music.

Tuesday 17th Dec
City Hall, Salisbury. Theatre capacity: 950 Sold out.
Arrived in Salisbury at 1pm. I had about three hours to relax and enjoy the sites of what is a lovely town.
Tonight's show was both recorded and videoed. The show was pretty good, and it was possibly the best 'on stage' sound we've had so far, it took me a while to settle down though.
After the show I chatted to someone who was introduced to me as just Terry. It wasn't until later that I discovered he was the writer Terry Pratchett, who is, apparently, a big fan of Steeleye

Wednesday 18th Dec
Town Hall, Cheltenham. Theatre capacity: 922 Sold out.
This morning was marked by the misfortune of Spike as he was making his way back to Oxford in the van and a lady driver pulled out from a row of stationary traffic heading in the opposite direction. The collision put the van out of commission. We spotted him as we were on our way out of town, so we kept him company for a while as he waited to be rescued.
Booked in at the Hotel De Le Bere just outside Cheltenham at about 1pm. The hotel, as a building (and grounds) is sensational - quite castle-like. However, there are the usual broken fixtures, things that don't shut correctly, toilets that don't flush easily and the shabby service at breakfast, that are little reminders that the hotel is, of course, situated in Britain. But, never the less, it was not just a very majestic looking place, but also the most peaceful and quiet hotel I've stayed at so far.
I've played Cheltenham town hall twice before, first when on tour and opening for 'Cherish the Ladies', and later with the Albion Band. It's quite a stately looking place (as everything round here seems to be) that has rather 'pokey' and overly warm dressing rooms. Friends - Jill, Pete & Helen Nightingale (plus sons) came to the show, and it was very nice to chat with them again - the last time was at Huntington Hall in Worcester when I performed my final gig with the Albions, that was probably about two years ago.
I'm getting tired of writing about how good the show was, so I'll just leave it. Mind you, tonight's audience gave us our first standing ovation.

Thursday 19th Dec
For pictures of this concert, click Here.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Theatre capacity: 915 Sold out.
Afternoon.
As yesterday, this is also a venue I played when touring with 'Cherish the Ladies'. We arrived at the theatre quite early - not having booked in at our hotel first which is in St Albans, and seeing I had so much time on my hands I decided to take a walk. I was in two minds as to whether to ride on the 'London Eye', however, I just observed it's size, and tried to comprehend and appreciate the incredible feat of engineering that stood in front of me. I took a stroll down Roupell Street, which is where I used to go every week to see my psychotherapist Josephine Klein. Twenty three years stands between my last visit and the present, and even though a massive number of events have taken place in that span of time, as I stood there and looked down that street, those years seemed nothing more than a dream.
We need to be on out toes tonight, apparently, if we haven't finished our second set and are not off the stage by 10.15pm we could have to pay an extra £2,000 to the theatre.
Later.
The show was probably a little edgy or tense tonight, probably because we were all very much aware that it was 'our London gig'. I had problems with the guitar volume; I had to take the stage level down to a point at which the guitar lost some of its punch. This was somewhat compensated for by having it coming back at me in the stage monitor, however, it's just not the same. It's difficult to know what to do in such circumstances - the right sound is something that can actually be the driving force behind your performance.
Peter's voice seems to be failing him, he's caught some kind of bug and it's gone to his throat. Strangely though, I'd have to say that when he sang 'Let Her Go Down' the effect of his rough voice made it even more endearing than usual.
As it happened, we were not off the stage by the allotted time, but oddly, there doesn't seem to be a problem.

Friday 20th Dec
St Georges Hall, Bradford. Theatre capacity: 1500 Sold out.
Final show.
Checked in at the Hilton at 3pm and I'm feeling close to home now. Carol arrived about an hour later from Preston, originally the plan had been that we would go straight home to Preston after the show, but now I'm thinking that it's only right and appropriate to spend the rest of the evening with the band and crew.
Emotionally, I arrive at this last tour date with both - considerable sadness, and relief. This has been one of the most satisfying and fulfilling experiences of my career. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be the end of my working relationship with these guys.
It's possible to state that tonight's show was the very best of the tour, we were relaxed and 'up for it' as was the audience. The on-stage sound seemed faultless. There were quite a few familiar faces and friends in the audience, some of them joining us back-stage after the show for wine and food. Later, back at the hotel, the band and those closely associated with it, gathered together for one last time. We found a cosy, but appropriately sized function room, where we discussed the events of the past four weeks, and ate Indian food - after all, we were in Bradford. Tomorrow morning Carol and I will head back to Preston - and wait for Christmas.

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