Blog » Bill's Blog - May 26 - June 5, 2008
Sunday 15th June 2008
Monday, May 26, and Bill is hard at work in Gedding continuing his work on his projects, only stopping to watch the forth day's play in the second cricket Test Match between England and New Zealand. With Bill shuttered away, he continued throughout the next day, before calling it quits and driving back to London on Wednesday, May 28. He had also been burning the midnight oil - often heading to bed around 2am - so had to cancel attending that night's Mark Knopfler concert that was being held at the Royal Albert Hall. The next day was spent working on business, before packing for a Europe road trip on Friday.
A Bill isn't much of a flyer - he prefers to drive - Bill and Terry loaded up the car and drive to catch the Euro tunnel, arriving in Calais just before lunch. Bill pushed on to Isadrome, arriving in the evening and nearly 600 miles later. The next day, Saturday May 31, Bill and Terry were back on the road at dawn, heading to St Paul de Vence and meeting up with Tony and the Rhythm Kings for dinner and drinks.
Sunday, June 1 - and after what seems quite a break, Bill is back with the Rhythm Kings. It's also Ronnie Wood's birthday! At noon, Prince Albert and Jean Renee arrived and had lunch with Bill, and Bill bumped into Roger Moore's (of James Bond fame) wife Kristina. The gig was for a wedding held at St Martin Hotel, Vence, with Bill and the Rhythm Kings playing exclusively for the guests.
The weather wasn't with them, however. Following an afternoon of sun saturated sound checks, by late evening the it was hammering down with rain. Bill and the Rhythm Kings had kicked off the gig on the open stage with two Jewish songs, including Hava Nagila, then embarked on an intimate performance of their own songs. But, as the rain started to pour, the band had to retreat.
"We had to set up a mini band inside the hotel," says Bill, "and we played for an hour as best we could." The crowd certainly appreciated the effort, with the evening ending with huge applause.
On Monday, June 2, Bill learnt of the sad passing of Bo Diddley - one of the leading lights in rock 'n' roll and whose innovative guitar effects have inspired an army of other musicians. Bill spotted an Associated Press article on Bo, which cited:
"The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man.
Bill says that the Stones had first met up with Bo on their first UK package tour in late 1963. "We all became great friends with him and his bands," recalls Bill. "Later, Ronnie Wood toured with Bo a few times."
The next day - Tuesday - and Bill heads back to London, arriving in the evening having clocked up an impressive 851 miles (or, as he was travelling from France) roughly 1,362km.
On Wednesday, after a day of paperwork, Bill, Suzanne and their daughters headed out to see The Jonas Brothers in concert at the O2 Arena, in support of Avril Lavigne. Bill reckons the band were very good visually, though he was less impressed with Avril Lavigne. He reckons that she sang well, but her dance routine lacked a natural feel. It wasn't helped with a loud, blurred sound with a strong echo that a but killed off any sense of clarity.
The next day, and Bill noted a piece in The Sun that said that Ronnie Woods is hiring dwarfs to perform at his daughter's wedding. The rest of the day was spent how he started this blog entry - hard at work on some up-coming projects.
A Bill isn't much of a flyer - he prefers to drive - Bill and Terry loaded up the car and drive to catch the Euro tunnel, arriving in Calais just before lunch. Bill pushed on to Isadrome, arriving in the evening and nearly 600 miles later. The next day, Saturday May 31, Bill and Terry were back on the road at dawn, heading to St Paul de Vence and meeting up with Tony and the Rhythm Kings for dinner and drinks.
Sunday, June 1 - and after what seems quite a break, Bill is back with the Rhythm Kings. It's also Ronnie Wood's birthday! At noon, Prince Albert and Jean Renee arrived and had lunch with Bill, and Bill bumped into Roger Moore's (of James Bond fame) wife Kristina. The gig was for a wedding held at St Martin Hotel, Vence, with Bill and the Rhythm Kings playing exclusively for the guests.
The weather wasn't with them, however. Following an afternoon of sun saturated sound checks, by late evening the it was hammering down with rain. Bill and the Rhythm Kings had kicked off the gig on the open stage with two Jewish songs, including Hava Nagila, then embarked on an intimate performance of their own songs. But, as the rain started to pour, the band had to retreat.
"We had to set up a mini band inside the hotel," says Bill, "and we played for an hour as best we could." The crowd certainly appreciated the effort, with the evening ending with huge applause.
On Monday, June 2, Bill learnt of the sad passing of Bo Diddley - one of the leading lights in rock 'n' roll and whose innovative guitar effects have inspired an army of other musicians. Bill spotted an Associated Press article on Bo, which cited:
"The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man.
Bill says that the Stones had first met up with Bo on their first UK package tour in late 1963. "We all became great friends with him and his bands," recalls Bill. "Later, Ronnie Wood toured with Bo a few times."
The next day - Tuesday - and Bill heads back to London, arriving in the evening having clocked up an impressive 851 miles (or, as he was travelling from France) roughly 1,362km.
On Wednesday, after a day of paperwork, Bill, Suzanne and their daughters headed out to see The Jonas Brothers in concert at the O2 Arena, in support of Avril Lavigne. Bill reckons the band were very good visually, though he was less impressed with Avril Lavigne. He reckons that she sang well, but her dance routine lacked a natural feel. It wasn't helped with a loud, blurred sound with a strong echo that a but killed off any sense of clarity.
The next day, and Bill noted a piece in The Sun that said that Ronnie Woods is hiring dwarfs to perform at his daughter's wedding. The rest of the day was spent how he started this blog entry - hard at work on some up-coming projects.
