Entries for 2003:

 

Wednesday – December 31 - Berlin – For me the year ended with a flat full of people. We trooped the rocket-stained streets of Berlin - it was like a war going on - loads of whiz-bangs - one contingent of Turks was unleashing relentless mortar-like fire on a block of flats across a street!  We ended up at Harry Cotello’s party where I complained, to no avail, about the music… Eventually we left… 

Tuesday - December 30 - Berlin - Spent yesterday and today making up song titles for some of the  blues adverts which will form part of the Treasure Island cover artwork. Some of the songs such as Black Root Boogie and Aeroplane Blues already exist. Some are new one's that will probably be on the next album. Other's fell out of my head. Coming up with song titles is an art. Some titles, Back To The Coast; Debutante Blues; Jigsaw Blues; Flying; Dresden Style, etc. have nothing to do with the lyrics but just sounded right. Others take in a hook line: Pin Your Heart To Me; When The Lord; Don't You Ever Leave Me; Liquor, Guns & Ammo, Don't Let Them Mess With You. Others pull at a certain phrase which encapsulates the whole feeling of the number: Paying My Way; The Rolling Of The Hearse; Blenheim Shots. But what they all have to do is too sound good.  The most difficult thing is thinking up a band name followed by coming up with a good album title. Band names have to be perfect - two of my favourites are Swell Maps and T.Rex. Neither of them really mean everything but both are so perfect.

I don't (often) like naming an album after one of the songs on it. Treasure Island is an exception - it's a song title but it also conveys the whole feel of the album. The next LP will probably be even more pirate orientated than this one. What the title of the next record will be though I have no idea...

Saturday – December 27 - Berlin –  Back to the West. We were taken to a great Cossack / Ukrainian restaurant for an extremely long and good meal. Then to a shop full of army uniforms, rifles, machine-guns, etc. I bought a second world war vintage black-leather KGB coat. It had never been worn before which makes it’s history less questionable than it could be. Then to the airport for the flight back to Berlin. 

Friday – December 26 - Moscow – Woke up after dreaming about Ronnie Wood - two of the Faces in one night. 

I really can’t understand how Russians can stand the cold. Today was minus 10 but with the wind seemed more like minus 20. It got slowly warmer as the day progressed and the later and the darker it got the milder the temperature became. When Grigory and I first ventured out into the bleakness of a Moscow midday it was so cold! So cold! Met up with Svetlana and did a photo shoot in the magnificence of the Moscow underground – John and Stephane joined us at the end – then Grigory, Svetlana, John and I went off to a music market - hundreds of stalls full of official and unofficial CDs. I didn’t buy anything but it was interesting to see. Then for a meal, the on to the Four Post club where I got up and played two songs with the band - I also played an impromptu thirty minute solo acoustic set for 30-40 people. Last rendezvous was at a club called Schwein. John, Stephane and I played three songs: Aeroplane Blues. Countess and Fortune Of Fame. John and I went back to the hotel. Stephane danced the night away… 

Thursday – December 25 - Moscow – Woke up after 5 hours sleep - in the middle of a dream about hanging out with Mac at his house -- must have been in Austin, but seemed more like in old England. Mac had shown me loads of rare photos of the Faces (for the box set) and then the house had hanged into a pub... This guy (Guy Stevens?) was spinning records and suddenly this girl gets up and starts singing into a microphone. The tune was great, the melody was great... At that moment Grigory calls me and tells me breakfast is about to finish and if I want some I should get downstairs. Down from the 22nd floor - the song vanished from my mind. After breakfast we repaired to the new Moscow Hard Rock Cafe for soundcheck, more and more photos and lunch...

The first show, the one at the Central House of Artists, was a real gas. After soundcheck I did two newspaper interviews and a TV one. Interesting questions from people who seemed to know a lot about me. The gig was recorded and will be released as Nikki Sudden & The Last Bandits Live In Moscow. Second gig was an ‘aftershow party’ at the Moscow Hard Rock Café. Opened three weeks ago, we were the first band to play there.

Central House of Artists gig: It was one of those gigs that go like a dream - nothing can go wrong. Sure I played a few wrong notes, but what's new in that. Funniest bit of the gig was half way through Too Bad For You, at the end of my spoken bit, when I opened a bottle of water which fizzed all over my guitar neck. I had to carry on talking for a minute or two while I wiped the neck down.  Before the gig I had to sign around fifteen Nikki Sudden / Swell Maps and Jacobites LPs which people brought along. How they got them in Russia I have no idea. 

I was given copies of the Russian edition of The Last Bandit / Solo Acoustic II was issued to tie in with the shows. Solo Acoustic II is an expanded version of Solo Acoustic I (issued with the US / Bomp Records release of TLB). The Russian version includes around 10 more tracks... Treasure Island will also be released in Russia. The guys from the Russian label were crazy. But then they were very drunk!

December 24 - Moscow - We arrived and cos our visas didn't start until Christmas Day we got charged an extra $46 per person! Met at the airport by Grigory Feldman and Paulina and their crazy photographer. Back to the Cosmos hotel - checked in and for a drink in the bar.

Tuesday - December 23 – Berlin – Woke up convinced  it was Sunday- it isn’t! I don’t know whether it’s a relief or not. In Germany they celebrate Christmas Day on Christmas Eve – which, I assume, means everything will be closed tomorrow. Everything save for the buses, U-Bahn and Schönefeld Airport where we’re flying from. 

Monday – December 22 – Berlin – New copy of It’s Only Rock’n Roll  in the post. Issue No. 49 includes part one of my piece on the European leg of the Stones’ Licks tour. Then I headed off to meet Hans in Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free, the cool record shop at Nollendorf Platz. I bought a handful of albums, then we went to the video transfer company so I could get copies of the two Swell Maps’ videos – Midget Submarines and Let’s Build A Car – transferred to Beta Cam to send to Polystar in Japan. The Japanese CD reissues will include these as bonus video tracks. Then a quick meal before trotting off to pick up the Russian visas and plane tickets. Finally got that sorted out and eventually made it back home for a few hours. Waiting for Chris and Isabel to come round before we go off to Casolare for a much-needed pizza ruccola. Listening over and over again to Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking by Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples off of Gotta Serve Somebody ~ The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan. Totally fantastic. Bought it today! Also got Bananamour by Kevin Ayers. I always wanted to buy it – never owned a copy before. Another great LP. Everyone should own both of these albums. 

Sunday – December 21 – Berlin – Last show… End of tour party… The Butterclub… Another show. Not as glorious as last night’s but still good and fine. Max and Katja, Chris (Trashcan Darlings – just flown in from Oslo) and Isabel, Axel and Angie, Claudine Fires, Jason Honea, the World and his wife. But where was Jessie?

I could say the whole town turned out to greet us but it wouldn’t be true but after a 7½ hour drive through snow, torrential rain and thunderstorms it was a relief to be there. We enjoyed the show – played some ‘new’ numbers like Blonde Angel and Where Do You Go To My Lovely. Hans filmed the show, but that’s what he does.

After the show it was another ‘back to mine sort of night. Sometimes I feel like an eternal host… Most times it’s fine… 

Saturday – December 20 – Ebensee – Woke up feeling fine… Dave and Justin regaled me with stories of what I’d done the previous evening. Ah well! We drove to beloved Ebensee (see November 1). Got to the Kino early. Roland was still setting up the PA. Soundcheck sounded fine. Chris Cacavas was supporting. Nice chap! This show was the one – the best of the tour by far. This is how every gig should be. We love Ebensee and I think Ebensee loves us. It certainly seemed that way tonight. Even Dave’s guitar being out of tune for the first number and making exploding noises in the encore couldn’t dispel the glory of a show like this. Some nights you feel like you’re walking on water – nothing can go wrong. This was one of those… Things went wrong but it didn’t matter. After the show Justin, Konrad and I ended up at the Ebenseer – some things never change. Mind you, Dave and Lesley went back to the hotel – some things do change. 

Friday – December 19 – Memmeningerberg – A short drive today so we sauntered around Augsburg. Hölle and I went into town and ended up at Hut Neubarth – I ended up buying a top hat. I’ve worn bashed-up old ones in my time but have never owned a new one before. It’s hardly been off my head since. It’s great for a Flanagan and Allen, Underneath The Arches, bow at the end of the set

Arrived in Memmeningerberg in good time – we found the street and the house but no bar… Drove up and down a few times – I asked someone, “Wo ist Bapsi’s Pilsbar?” They told me it was down the street next to a fitness studio. It was actually part of the same building. You might think Bapsi’s Pilsbar sounds like a strange venue for us rock’n roll legends to play… and you’d be right. We had a day off today – I’d tried for a show in Nürnberg. Konrad in Ebensee had tried for a gig in Vienna. No luck! My friend, Thomas Zott was in Berlin a few weeks back. I asked if there was any chance of playing at his mother’s bar. He called her up and a date was arranged. It’s always better to play than not too play. The worst thing on tour is having days off. Instead of making money you’re spending it.

Wolfgang Gürster, ace photographer was there – we did a shoot in the fitness studio, “This is for increasing your biceps, etc.” I’ve never been in one before. Strange idea!

Thomas greeted me with two bottles of port, something which has long been a favourite tipple of mine. His mum fixed me a very large glass - I drank it. Never drink port before you play! I spent 10 to 15 minutes of the set sitting down – too tired to stand. By the time the second bottle had been started and Bapsi had coerced me into drinking a few vodka and oranges with her I was pretty drunk. I can’t remember the end of the night. 

Thursday – December 18 – Augsburg – Up and down Germany – how many times do you want to drive the same autobahn in a few weeks? Don’t ask me… It’s just the kind of thing I do. We arrived late – true to form for this tour – but still in time. Herbert Jennissen, Hölle and Peter Bommas were waiting for us. Herbert presented me with his latest creation. It’s the perfect bicorn – you’re all going to see this one! I have to get used to wearing it, but it’s fantastic. Justin ‘Darrell Bash’ Farrow supported again and we followed. Not many people there but I always like being in Augsburg – one of my spiritual homes. Dave, Lesley and Justin stayed at Frau Pfaud’s centuries old house opposite the cathedral. Hölle and I trekked through the night-time streets – me with my bicorn on my head – we slept at his girlfriend’s place. 

Wednesday – December 17 – Berlin – Instead of going to the Jacobites’ soundcheck at Prater John, Stephane and I went across town to order our Russian visas and plane tickets. I called up Justin and Dave and asked them if they could do the soundcheck without me. “Yes!” they said. Dave, however, couldn’t get ready in time so they missed it. We met up a couple of hours later at Nova Sound where Dave and I put vocals on one of the versions of Half Of This World. We did the soundcheck at 11pm as people were trailing out of the theatre at Prater. Mark Mulholland did the support this evening and sounded as good as ever. Dave and I played a good one and the audience liked it. Hans Kröninger and film crew filmed the evening. A good time was had by all. We didn’t make any money but we had a good time. 

Tuesday – December 16 – Hamburg – Woken at 9.30 by Grigory Feldman from Rockmusic.Ru. Grigory tells me that due to terrorist bombings in Moscow – I never watch the TV, never read newspapers, so I didn’t know there were any bombings in Moscow – most musicians have cancelled their proposed concerts. Typical of so many people, to always want to close the stable door after the horse has bolted. Anyway Grigory also told me that we have to organise our own visas and plane tickets. I first asked about the visas when the trip was proposed. “We’ll sort it out!” was the response. Now we have to do everything ourselves at the last minute. Hopefully we can get the necessary plane tickets and paperwork organised. Me, I’m off to Hamburg to play a gig… 

Monday – December 15 – Berlin - We turned up at Nova Sound studio at midday as scheduled to find a room with no microphones, no amps, not even a mixing console. We were assured that if we returned in 3 or 4 hours everything would be ready to go… We finally started recording at 10pm! The last time I recorded onto ½” 8-track must be way back when.

In the studio Dave Kusworth, John Barry, Stephane Doucerain, Justin Farrow, Clark Nova, Johnny Zabala, Hans Kröninger and Lesley Sevan did sterling work on the two June Panic songs I’m covering for Secretly Canadian’s 100th release. Dave and I played guitars and sang. SD drummed. JB bassed. CN and JZ recorded and engineered. Hans and Lesley filmed the proceedings. A smashing time was had by all.

And the songs? They need some work on them but what went down on tape sounds great! They don’t sound much like the original versions. June’s song, Seeing Double, went from a Neil Young / Harvest Moon feel to pure T.Rex (Raw Ramp / Electric Boogie). Half Of This World changed from soul to deep r&b Stax-flavoured soul. We really hit a groove on this one – Dave and I interchanged licks – and that’s a first…

I could never see the point of doing cover versions unless you put some of yourself into them. Most times when I cover someone else’s song it ends up sounding like I wrote it. I wish I had written these two. These tracks will probably be credited to Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth (with The Last Bandits). We’ll go in and finish the vocals on Wednesday. When life is as fine as this who could want for more? 

Sunday – December 14 – Berlin – Drive, drive, drive. Drive, drive, drive. It’s at least 650 kilometres from Wörgl to Berlin. If you did that in the British Isles you’d have driven into the sea long before you got there. Today was Lesley Sevan’s (DK’s girlfriend) birthday. Last year I sang my song, Happy Birthday, to her in Taunton, Somerset. This year Dave and I played the song in Wörgl. Happy birthday, love. I got back and jumped in a lovely warm shower. Clean body, clean hair, clean soul. Sweet Dreams! 

Saturday – December 13 – Wörgl – Another town with long associations. Günther Moschig has been booking me in an assortment of the local venues for over ten years now. It’s always a joy to return to the Austrian town nestling in the shadow of the Alps. Tonight we were playing in The Club – a familiar location. They’d moved the stage but otherwise little had changed. A sparse turn out. Some of the audience were drunk, some were very drunk. They seemed to have a good time – we did! So Far So Good gets better with each day.  

Friday – December 12 – Geislingen - A drive to familiar territory. I first played the Rätschenmühle in 1986. I’ve returned to the town and the of late relocated club most years ever since. The Rätsche is booked by Rosaria and Frieder Steinbach – two of the best friends Dave and I have. They have twin sons, Flavio and Fabrizio – young when I first met them they now play in an assortment of bands. One brother plays drums, the other the guitar. Flavio was there, his twin was in Italy. A good crowd, good gig, good version of So Far So Good. 

Thursday – December 11 – Berlin – I first met Tim Smith at a Stranglers’ gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street towards the tail-end of 1976. He was with the girl who’d go on to be the pin-up for a generation of punks. “Hello, I’m gay,” was her opening line. It should have come across as, “Hello, I’m Gaye,” but I was younger then and for a second misunderstood. TV Smith and Gaye Advert from the legendary Adverts. Except they hadn’t got the band together then… That’d come soon after…

Tim and Gaye were fresh up to the smoke from the West Country - I’d been born in London but my folks had moved out but I was back in town again for a while. They ended up inviting me back to their place that night. We sat up until the wee hours talking about bands and our plans. They recruited a guitarist and drummer – Gaye played the bass because someone had to - Tim wrote the songs because he had to. The Adverts got signed and released One Chord Wonders – was there ever a better song title - on Stiff Records then followed it with the chart hit, Gary Gilmore’s Eyes. I ended up getting Swell Maps together and released a record or two.

Gaye and Tim were always friendly. I used to get dragged back to their manager, Michael Dempsey’s place in Fulham / Chelsea. Used to go and see them play in Birmingham – the opening night of Rebeccas in early 1977. I saw ’em on tour with the Damned: “The Damned can play three chords, the Adverts can play one – hear all four at…” Along with Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer Tim was the most literate of the punks. The Poet Laureate for the punk generation. They probably thought of me as a sprog who was just hanging round – like so many others – but they were always friendly.

One time Gaye wanted to trade her leather jacket for mine ’cos mine was brown, just like Scott Asheton from the Stooges who she’d met when he was playing with David Bowie and Iggy Pop. If Debbie Harry was the Marilyn Monroe, Gaye was like the Elizabeth Taylor of the punk movement. Which makes Tim quite rightly the Richard Burton of his day.

Another night after a gig at the Vortex on Wardour Street they gave me a lift back to their place – Hartswood Road in W12. They picked up two others in need of a ride – Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen – the only time I met Sid and Nancy. Both of them were as sweet as lambs. The van detoured to Maida Vale to drop the doomed twosome off at their mews flat. I later slept in the flat, unknowing… I slept in Sid and Nancy’s old room. My dreams that night were drenched in blood – dripping down, pouring out. I found out whose room it had been the next afternoon.

The Adverts hit the big time with Gary Gilmore and Top Of The Pops – Swell Maps hit the small time. But we both rode the same road.

Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts – title chosen by Sounds journalist, Jane Suck - still sounds as strong today as it did back when. And there’s not many other ‘punk’ albums you can say that of. Bombsite Boys (great title!) was always my favourite Adverts’ track - why I don’t know… I think the first time I heard it – the first time I remember hearing it – was at Barbarellas – the legendary Barbarellas in Birmingham. Or maybe it’s No Time To Be 21 or, of course, The Great British Mistake… The coda is just so perfect… like the Velvets if the Velvets had been English. The songs are hinged on simple riffs – riffs underlaid by Gaye’s bass. Gaye with her copy bass - Gibson marker-penned onto a piece of cardboard and glued to the headstock. Tim – the words and the vocals - always cool in a badge drenched velvet jacket. Howard Pickup on SG was the ungainly muso of the band, Laurie Driver (great name) was the thug, but Laurie and I always got on fine… Both of them died before their time, but so do many…

A Cast Of Thousands – released by RCA was, by comparison, watered down. But as Tim wrote, “We didn’t know that punk rock meant having to make the same record over and over again.” There’s never been a thing wrong with trying something different. A different angle from the same pair of eyes is always worthwhile if the eyes have got a good view. And that is something TV Smith has always had.

The Adverts broke up way too early but so do many bands. TV Smith carried on because unlike many of his contemporaries he had the talent. The Adverts split apart just before the 1980’s started. TV Smith embarked on a solo career. He’s been carrying on to this day. He made a few early solo albums with just too much keyboards – produced by the keyboard player in the early 1980’s. I went to strange places like Clapham to see him play – listened to most of his records as they came out. Even ended up on the same label for a time.

There’s very few ‘punk’ bands I still rate – there’s Generation X, The Boys, The Lurkers, The Pistols, The Clash and the Adverts. I like the Boys and the Lurkers ’cos they wanted to be the Faces. Gen X ’cos they were so fucking cool – they were into going out with models and air hostesses. One time I bumped into Mark Laff, Gen X’s drummer – in McDonalds on High Street Kensington. If you’re gonna meet someone in McDonalds it has to be a cool McDonalds. If you’re going to eat in Taco Bell – make it the Taco Bell in Las Vegas. You know why the Pistols and the Clash were good… The Adverts – well Tim and Gaye – were always cool – they didn’t have to try – they just were.

In the early nineties Gaye and Tim came to see the Jacobites playing at the Powerhaus in Islington. Neither of them looked a day older. Over the last decade Tim’s hair has grown greyer but his gift remains – that way of twisting words. If you’ve got god-given talent you can never lose it – even if you try – and TV has never had the need to ditch his glory. We meet up as musicians do over the years – in dressing rooms, over Viennese hotel breakfasts – chat away an hour or so. It’s a strange kind of life we’ve chosen, but I guess we’re almost good friends. If he ever wants to make a record together then I’m up for it… There’s worse things I could do with my life.

On another note… I finally arranged a gig for Dave Kusworth and Justin Farrow to play. They went on tonight at the Mudd Club on a bill with Methylated Spirits, Torpedo Suckers and Rock Ass. 

Wednesday – December 10 – Berlin – Dave and Justin didn’t get to play last night – they got to The Club and there was no PA so they decided not to bother. We went to see the Devastations at a club in Hackescher Markt. Just back from Serbia where they’ve been opening for the Tindersticks and prior to heading off to Finland Conrad, Tom and Hugo played another stirring set. The photo is evidence...



Alex Hacke from Neubaten was DJ. I saw a lot of the old faces there. Dave and his girlfriend, Lesley, left early… Justin and I made it back to my place by bus, foot and taxi. Today Justin and I sat round working out the parts for the two June Panic songs I’m covering for Secretly Canadian’s 100th release. Seeing Double and Half Of This World from the Baby’s Breadth LP – Secretly Canadian S50. Dave, Justin, Stephane, John and I are recording them at Clark Nova and Johnny Zabala’s studio next Monday. Then we went record shopping with Dave Kusworth – down to Comeback Records, just off Hermann Platz. A more expensive outing than I’d anticipated – but I did come home with a bunch of Jacobites’ CDs and vinyl that I’ll be able to resell. Plus the German release of Ian McLagan’s last album, Turn Faces – first time I’ve ever seen a copy - and the Vicious White Kids’ gig from the Electric Ballroom in London. I was there back then!

This evening we’re going to Wild At Heart to see TV Smith. The Adverts are one of the few punk groups I still rate. The others are Generation X, The Boys, The Lurkers, The Pistols and The Clash. Mind you it partly depends on what you define ‘punk’ as.

Tuesday – December 9 – Berlin – It’s always worth waking up when there’s something good in the post – today brought a bumper bundle of CDRs from Scottish band, The NoMen. Tributes to Epic Soundtracks, Swell Maps, The Cult Figures and even Steve Treatment! See the entry for December 2 for cross-referencing. You can get copies of the NoMen’s releases from www.topplers.net - and this is something I’d highly recommend. Apparently their next project might well be a Jacobites set.

Yesterday afternoon Justin and I took Glenn Tranter’s acoustic guitar – which Dave is using – to Lutz, the Guitar Doc, for a few minor repairs. I went and collected it when I woke up – cheap repair – new jack socket for 26 Euros. Dave’s friend, Katja fixed up a last minute acoustic show for Dave and Justin at The Club in Immanuelkirche Strasse tonight. A report will follow.

Monday – December 8 – Berlin – Drove back after the gig – arriving in Berlin around 4.30am. Beds were found, or made, for the troops and everyone settled down for a good night’s kip! Come the morning Justin woke up and announced that he’d been lying in bed thinking of loads of songs he’s written that he could have played – none of which came to mind the previous evening. Roll on the return of Mr. Bash. The post came with five boxes full of CDs from the States – so most any title any of you want to pick up and get signed at any of the gigs should be easy enough to supply. The other day two boxes arrived on my doorstep from Glitterhouse Records. Today’s box came from Secretly Canadian Records. When you come to see one of the shows bring some extra cash for CDs, vinyl, photos, badges, what have you.

Photographer Michael Witte did up some beautiful prints from the original negatives of shots such as the Robespierre’s Velvet Basement cover; the cover to Jacobites, the cover to the Shame For The Angels EP. All in all I’ve had eleven different negatives printed up. All the photos will be signed on the passepartout will be signed by the subject, or subjects – and all will look wonderful framed on your walls. I started off trying to get prints of all my album covers. Then I thought, “If I like these photos enough to get them printed up and framed maybe some others out there would also like them…”

Other shots include the photos on pages two and three, plus the No! No! No! shot from the Hawks Get Religion booklet – Dave and Nikki in Dublin. Two shots of me in the waiting room at Leamington Spa station – one is the photo from the back cover of the original Glass Records version of Jacobites, the other is another shot from the same time. There’s the photo of me holding two matches – page three from the Regency Sound edition of Jacobites. There’s a cool shot of me in a German café taken by Trevor Austin on tour in 1986 – this one will also be signed by the photographer. The last shot is the great photo of Epic, Rowland and myself from the soundcheck at Bay 63 in London – October 21 1986. As featured on the inlay tray of the Secretly Canadian release of Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc. I’d never seen the picture until we were scanning the photos for the cover… A real knockout!

Unfortunately the last time I had contact with Sandy Fleming-Cooley was when I bought her negatives from her around ten years back. Carol Walters is probably somewhere in London or Dublin. If I can get the prints signed by the original photographers I will. But you will get them signed by Dave Kusworth and myself.

We have to get the passepartouts organised this week – then the prints will be for sale from the website. Price per 16” x 11½” (410mm x 295mm) photo will be 400 Euros (or equivalent) inc. registered postage. On the cheaper side we also have some signed colour prints of Nikki with a 1950’s hollow-body electric guitar for 20 Euros inc. p & p each.

Listening to The Turning Point by Peter Karp (w/ special guest, Mick Taylor). The first track is perfect – totally inspired. It’s called Train O’Mine – unfortunately after that the album seems to slip down hill a pace or two. I’ll give it another few listens before I put it on the shelves. I always listen to a record two or three times before I file it away. Some days I just pull anything down to listen to. Of late my listening has been a lot of Charley Patton with a few other extras. Blind Willie McTell, The Stanley Brothers, you know the kind of things. In the car driving to gigs Dave has been playing the usual stuff: Rod, Faces, Bowie… The DJ at Kronski on Saturday excelled himself – especially be playing New York Groove by Hello two or three times! I’d forgotten what a great song it is. Everything else he played was up to the same standard. Now I’m listening to the Stones – a new Vinyl Gang boot I got in the post today - Stoneaged · San Diego Sixty-Nine. As Jerry Lee once sang, “Rockin’ my life away…” There’s worse ways to live.

Sunday – December 7 – Kiel – First stop was at Jörg Röschmann’s place in the hamlet of Gross Vollstedt for a delicious meal of stuffed peppers. Jörg, who organised tonight’s show, lives in a secret passage type of house filled with countless guitars – there were more there than I can remember anyway. Then onto Schaubude in downtown Kiel – I’ve played the same bar before when it was called Tanzdiele. Arriving we found the posters was announced, ‘With special guest, Darrell Bash!’ The original idea for the tour was to have our friend, Darrell Bath as support. One letter changed and Bath became Bash! Driver and merchandiser Justin Farrow was nominated to play the rôle of the elusive Mr. Bash. He took the part on with firm stance, righteous shoulders and a winsome way. At the soundcheck Dave and I worked on the new song - So Far So Good. I suggested to Dave that he come up with a middle eight – he wrote some lyrics and changed a few chords – another winner! We played the song on stage where it went down well enough. As did Mr. Bash’s rippling set. Another good evening!

Saturday – December 6 - Gelsenkirchen – Thorsten Brockmann’s birthday party! All through the day the courtyard at Linden Strasse 10 resounded with the noise of carpenters and hard-working dwarves and gnomes. While Barbara and I explored the various delights of Gelsenkirchen’s Christmas market they built a stage for Dave and I to play on. I’ve played open air gigs before, but never in minus 5 degree temperatures! It was fun, but it was also bloody freezing! We had to make a break after half an hour – my fingers were so cold it was almost impossible to form chords, let alone strum them. The set had it’s moments though. Especially the version of Dave and my favourite song ever, Peter Sarstedt’s Where Do You Go To, My Lovely? The first time Dave and I ever launched into the song was one late evening at Carl Bevan’s (Rag Dolls drummer) parents’ pub, The Gate in Sutton Colefield. Where Do You Go… is the sort of song people should be suggesting we cover on the forum at www.davekusworth.com rather than some of the ideas that are flashing up. Mind you, some of the suggestions are no more incongruous than some of the songs Johnny Cash ended up doing on his American Recordings albums. Out of the proposals too date I quite like the idea of Flanagan and Allen’s Underneath The Arches – we could probably give that a good seeing to… Keep your ideas coming in. Maybe some one will suggest something that catches.

Friday – December 5 – Gelsenkirchen – Still trying to finish the Swell Maps’ sleeve notes… I ran out of time. At 1pm we set off for Gelsenkirchen – I last played the town in 1986, at a club called Voodoo. Everyone who was there back when seemed to be at the two shows we played this time round. Kronski seemed one of the most unlikely venues I’ve ever played but the 200 + crowd enjoyed and we had a gas.

Thursday – December 4 – Berlin – Trying to finish the Swell Maps’ sleeve notes. A bulky envelope arrived this morning from Michel Bastarache in Cambridge, MA. Michel seems to be writing the Swell Maps book and has cuttings that I can’t find: fanzine interviews, Cliff McLenehan’s Swell Maps’ article for Record Collector with a great Epic interview! That kind of thing. And then we were off to Trödler for the first gig of the second part of the Jacobites’ Acoustic Christmas tour. This was a low-key warm-up gig and consequently rather sparsely attended. Dave and I played for 2 or so hours and it was fun. What more can you want?

Wednesday – December 3 – Berlin – I now have a Russian web page here.  

Dave Kusworth and driver / merchandiser / Tenderhooks’ guitarist, Justin Farrow arrived in Justin’s car early afternoon after driving from England. Phone interview with Japan to tie in with the Swell Maps’ reissues. Then to a small home studio with Dahlia Schweitzer. I wrote music to some of Dahlia’s lyrics a month or so back. She’d got together with a German programmer and programmed backing tracks. Dahlia asked if I could put a guitar part down on a song called Star. I played the track to Dave and he came up with a part that sounded pretty good. In the end Dave played his thing and then I did another guitar part. Miss Schweitzer seemed happy enough. Justin and Dave went to Hans Kröninger’s for a much needed sleep and I went home.

Tuesday – December 2 – Berlin – If you haven’t heard of the NoMen then don’t be surprised, I hadn’t until recently. Jowe Head introduced me to their music… The Scottish band’s music is basically their recordings of late ’70’s underground heroes such as The Cult Figures, Swell Maps, Steve Treatment, Thomas Leer, Robert Rental… Plus tribute recordings of songs by Jowe Head, Epic Soundtracks, Television Personalities, Slaughter Joe… As they write:

 “Swell Maps are the band without whom none of this would have happened! The NoMen got together with the sole purpose of recording songs by Steve Treatment that had never been commercially released. Steve sent cassettes of his songs which the band interpreted in their own fashion! Being big fans of late 70’s DIY music, the NoMen continued by doing a series of recordings based on these long forgotten records, not only interpreting the sounds in their own fashion, but recreating the original artwork to suit their needs! In these days of quick digital recording and instant pressing of CDRs the NoMen are a Lo-Tech Cottage Industry - knock ’em out fast… they’re not meant to last!”

If you don’t know Steve Treatment, he used to be a friend of mine – we met through a mutual fascination in Marc Bolan and T.Rex. When Swell Maps started Rather Records, I had the grandiose idea of releasing a Steve Treatment 7” as the second release – to create a label identity. Why I thought we needed a ‘label identity’ I don’t know. If only the others had insisted we release a second Maps’ single. We financed the recording and release of 2,000 copies of Steve Treatment’s 5 A-Sided 45. We played on all the numbers! After we’d sold around 1,000 copies ST absconded with the remaining copies – I didn’t see him again for around ten years. He since apologised to both Epic and myself… We get on fine when we meet, but…

Monday – December 1 – Berlin – Another month… Dave McNarie has been working like a good ’un and has got the Nikki Sudden (and friends) photo gallery refurbished and up and running. Check it out here. It took a long time but it was worth the wait. More details of who and where will be up soon as will even more snaps.

If anyone wants to reserve a copy of the first, gold CD, pressing of Treasure Island then please let me know. The artwork should be finished by the end of December – good fun – touring and getting all this stuff together at the same time. When the artwork is finished I’ll be able to get the CDs pressed and the booklet / cover, etc. printed up. I was hoping to have the album out by January, but February 2004 seems a lot more likely.

Listening to Led Zeppelin—How The West Was Won—and Ike & Tina Turner—a lot of different things today. I have to wait for the right time to listen to the Dave Swarbrick box set. With the Fairport one, Fairport Unconventional, every time I’ve heard it I have to listen to the whole thing. I listened to the whole Swarb! box during the early hours of Saturday morning. It was definitely worth waiting for. I’ll probably listen to the whole thing again tonight or tomorrow.

When the Nikki Sudden box set finally comes together I’d like to base it on a cross between the Free Reed boxes and those released by Bear Family. Bear Family set such high standards in both musical quality – they always go back to the original master tapes – and the books with their releases are always impeccable. But Free Reed add something special. The first of their releases I bought was their Martin Carthy set, The Carthy Chronicles, when it was released two years back. Carthy has long been one of my all-time favourite guitar players. I’ve never seen him live – I saw him on Leamington Spa station one morning with guitar in hand, but never caught him in concert. Which is something I should rectify ASAP. The Carthy set was inspired in it’s brilliance. The Fairport and Swarbrick sets follow on admirably.

I wanted Swarb to play on Debutante Blues from Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc but was overruled by Rowland… I wanted him to play on Highway Girl from Treasure Island but ran out of time and money… I’ve seen Swarb on stage a whole bundle of times but I’ve never really talked to him yet. There was one time at a party at Joe Boyd’s house in Notting Hill in 1980, but I got drunk… I was younger then…

Someone should do a Paul Kossoff box set called Koss!  There’s the Free box, but that’s not enough. Just as the Fairport box set wasn’t enough for Swarbrick, the Free one isn’t enough for Kossoff. The trouble is though Swarb has had a forty-five year career Koss’ only lasted for ten years (maximum). I cried when he died. I’d never seen him on stage, never met him, but like so many others including Richard ‘Biggles’ Earl and my brother, Epic, his death affected me. (note: Island was about to release a boxed set of Kossoff in the early 80s.  I first heard about it when interviewing former Koss manager, Johnny Glover, in 1983.  Of course, Island scrapped it.  However, David Clayton, who was compiling the box, was able to get them to release a single-disk collection culled from the box, called "Blue Soul" (Island IMCD 144 512 730-2).  Well worth seeking out, if just for the cut "I Know Why the Sun Don't Shine" by the Rumbledown Band (Koss, Andy Fraser, and Frankie Miller) fan-f-ing-tastic!! - dave m)

Sunday – November 30 – Berlin – The good thing about having a few days off is that you can actually get things done. This week’s task is t-shirts. Jacobites t-shirts for the upcoming German / Austrian tour and Nikki Sudden / Swell Maps t-shirts for the general future.

Saturday – November 29 – Berlin – An email arrived from Dimi Dero asking me if I’d like to contribute a track to his planned Rowland S Howard tribute album. Contact Capitaine Dero at: dimidero@yahoo.fr. Now I have to think which of Rowland’s songs I could do justice to.

The second Michael Witte photo session for the Treasure Island cover saw John Barry, Stephane Doucerain and myself assembling at my place at half-past midday. Dolled up as 20th Century bucaneers we trooped out into the Kreuzberg / Berlin afternoon. We took a bundle of shots in the Hinterhof of the house next door to mine – then drove to Fischer Insel for some piratical shots with river craft. Michael finished off the second film in the park by Schlesische Strasse then we repaired to my gaff for afternoon tea.

John Barry writes, “A memorable meander dressed to kill./ Steffie looked absolutely dashing in a gay French way.” To which Stephane replies, “I don’t know what ‘dashing’ means but I trust my friend bandit, Johnny…” Obviously we have a very trusting drummer! Which is how it should be…

Tonight’s scheduled gig was rather a disaster. I turned up at Mýslioska as booked to be told, “We thought you weren’t coming because you didn’t call to confirm the gig.” Apologies to all who turned up expecting to see me playing.

Friday – November 28 – Berlin – A very short, but extremely enjoyable tour over. Got to sleep around 4am – up at 6am to catch the Trondheim – Oslo flight at 7.30. Said goodbye to DK at Oslo Airport and waited till just before midday for the flight to Brussels. I was drifting off to sleep most of the way to Berlin – trying to read Knight With Armour, the Alfred Duggan book I mentioned a week or so back. “One of the best historical novelists of this century,” was how the TLS described him, while Evelyn Waugh wrote of KWA… “A notable feat of historical imagination which, for one reader at least, has given a more vivid picture of early medieval life than all the works of scholarship he has read.”

I think that’s one of the main reasons I like Bernard Cornwell’s books so much – they actually put you there – or somewhere that seems like there. Alfred Duggan does the same! I’ll have to track down the rest of his writings now. Discovering a new author is like discovering a new musician – it opens up yet another whole world.

I’ve written an as yet unpublished BC article – I’d like to interview him – to fit it all together. I think I should also do a piece on Simon Scarrow  – both of these will probably be for Collector’s Digest – a magazine that has been going since 1948 – I started subscribing in the early ’80’s. I’ve written one item for it in all that time. It was a piece on the derivation of the name Bunter – as in Billy Bunter – as in the German word ‘bunt’ – meaning coloured.

In the post when I got back to Berlin was the Classic Blues Artwork from the 1920’s calendar complete with a 15-track CD. Loads of great images, some of which could well be utilised for part of the Treasure Island artwork. Hadley and Sean on holiday on Maui, Hawaii are hard at it. I also sent off for the Charley Patton poster – get them both at http://www.bluesimages.com. Some things in life are essential. I think I have now found a blues advert that can be suitably emended to suit each song from the album. The idea of pirates merging together with 1920’s and ’30’s blues adverts works well enough / fine enough in my head – I just hope it translates itself into the heads of others. It’s the best album I’ve ever made so the artwork has to be the best I’ve ever had. It’s coming together slowly, but at least it’s coming together…

When Creation Records decided to issue the Nikki Sudden / Rowland S Howard album, Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc, on CD I asked if we could have the lyrics in the package. Dick Green, one of the Creation partners along with Alan McGee said that it was too expensive so they’d have to pass… A few weeks later I asked how much extra it would cost to have an extra four pages in the booklet. I was told that it would be another half-penny to a penny a copy! Like the law record companies are basically asses.

Thursday – November 27 – Trondheim – A short flight from Oslo – it’d take 10 hours by car over the mountains, a picturesque 6-hour train journey or a 45 minute plane ride. The fourth time DK and I have been in a plane together. First was the flight to Milan for the Jacobites `1985 Italian tour – we caught the train back. Second and third were Berlin to Vilnius in Lithuania and back in August 1993. And today… Met at Trondheim Airport by Joar – pronounced – Ju-ard – a bit like ‘steward’. Dave and I stayed at Joar’s flat and watched parts of the Stones’ Four Licks DVD set. It should have been called Four By Four. If you check out the July 30 diary entry you’ll see that I was asked for suggestions for the title of the set. My friend in LA who’d been commissioned to do the artwork for the box later told me that Mick Jagger had taken his company’s ideas and given them to his regular artwork people… C’est la vie.

We went to På Credo Bar for soundcheck. I came up with the threatened, So Far So Good, song – asked if there was any chance of recording the show so we could get a tape of the number. Joar arranged a DAT machine. The flyer said this was, “A night for the broken-hearted, as well as the cold heartbreakers out there…” I was really surprised by how many people we encountered in Norway knew most of Dave and my songs. How many people knew and loved the Swell Maps. At the Trondheim show I played a rare acoustic version of Midget Submarines. When I come back with the band I’d better get two or three other Maps’ numbers in the set.

Wednesday - November 26 - Oslo - Tonight Dave Kusworth and I are playing the Elm Street Cafi, Dronningensgate 32, here in Oslo. Dave missed his flight yesterday but arrived with girlfriend, Lesley Evans in tow at around 2pm. I went to a guitar shop to buy a spare set of strings and saw a second-hand electric sitar on the wall. 6,000 Norwegian Kroner - new it’d be 14,000 - maybe I’ll buy it in the morning.

Once again I’ve been welcomed with open arms. I think I picked the right profession. You get paid to travel to great places, meet cool people and play gigs. Who could ask for more?

Tuesday - November 25 - Oslo – Today’s comedy of errors saw me leave home without my passport or plane details. I quickly realised and went back and found them. Headed off for Berlin’s Templehof Airport for the first part of the journey - landing at Brussels for a one-hour stopover I bought a copy of the Lindsay Davis novel, The Jupiter Myth. I’ve been meaning to read one of Miss Davis’ books for some time now. This seemed as good an opportunity as any. 

I always like to try and play at least one new country every year - some years I succeed. Last year it was Israel, this year Norway and Russia. I was met at Gardermoen airport by Frankie and Strange? Gentle from the Trashcan Darlings who have organised the first part of the Jacobites' Acoustic Christmas tour. After leaving my guitar, bag and a boxful of CDs for merchandising we went to a club called Ble to see all-girl band, Furia. I was convinced that they were using playback but Frankie insisted they weren’t. Later we ended up at the Elm Street Cafi where a strange group, The Suspenders, were playing. The Suspenders should have been using playback as all you could hear were the bass and drums- I spent most of the evening half-awake, half-asleep. Frankie said, “If you fall asleep in a bar in Norway, you’ll be thrown out!”  I did and I wasn’t.

Monday – November 24 – Berlin – Went to court at 10am to get over with my car-crash blues. I crashed my car in late March last year… In the post today something I’ve been waiting for, for a long, long time. The box set is simply called Swarb!  which should be enough for anyone to realise it’s an essential purchase… Swarb is, of course, Dave Swarbrick – the best fiddle player in the world. The box has, ‘Forty Five years of Folk’s Finest Fiddler’ but that’s too narrow a description. For me seeing Swarb on stage is like seeing Keith Richards or Jimmy Page, or Paul (Koss) Kossoff or Johnny Thunders. He has that same charisma. And charisma is something you either have or you don’t have. You can’t acquire it.

The first time I was in New Orleans I bought some ju ju bags ‘for added charisma’. I thought ‘added charisma’ is not a bad thing too have. I lost the bags but hopefully not the charisma.

Sunday – November 23 – Back To Berlin – I was only back for a few days last week but often it feels far better to be away. And where can I really call home these days? Sitting reading Paul Oliver’s Blues Fell This Morning – there’s little better to do… Weird forgotten dreams all through the night and during a birthday / luncheon party I attended and slept most of the way though. Then the four-hour train ride back to Berlin. Barbara (fashion designer), Nicki (lawyer), Sven (drummer) and me (yours truly) went for a pizza at Casolare. Lazy day. 

Saturday – November 22 - Münster – Marineville and Jane are finished - Treasure Island is going to have to remain half-done until after Monday’s next Michael Witte photo shoot. Yesterday we scanned some of Trevor Austin’s artwork. The label should say ‘ Rookwood Records’ but doesn’t – maybe I should ask TA to redraw it – again. We scanned in the back cover drawing – which we emended a little – putting a girl from one of the other versions in the finished picture. The drawing is of a pirate meeting his deservéd fate – on the gallows down by the docks. Hanging from the yard… The girl stares wistfully into the distance as the halter is placed around our hero’s neck. We don’t see him hoisted so may’haps, like Jack Sheppard, he escapes. He’s looking pretty cheesed off / dissolute in the sketch… so maybe he doesn’t. Time will tell. 

Friday – November 21 – Münster – It’s good to be back here at Triptychon / Sputnik at Hawerkamp. Christine and I make a good team. She’s very thorough and doesn’t like to let anything go out that’s not as close too perfect as is possible. I try and be the same way. This doesn’t mean losing the soul, rather just trying to do everything to the best of your abilities. My mother’s way is, “If you want something done properly do it yourself.” And that always seems the best way. That way you only have yourself to blame if things don’t happen. I’ve had people working for me in the past – I’ve asked them to do / organise something. A few weeks or months later I start to get calls from people asking where: the posters, promo photos, whatever, etc. are. I contact the person I’d originally asked and they normally say, “Oh, I sent them – they must have got lost in the post!” In however many years on this planet only one letter I’ve sent has, to my knowledge, not arrived… I end up having to sort it all out myself.

Finishing up the artwork for the two Swell Maps albums – A Trip To Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe. The booklets are going to look super-cool, the remastered albums sound fantastic – anyone who ever described us as ‘lo-fi’ will finally have to eat their words. So many people always got Swell Maps wrong, as they continue to do with me. I could list a whole load of instances where journalists / writers / critics / musicians / the general public have totally misunderstood me but there’s little point. I’ll get the justice I deserve one day. You should never allow yourself to get bitter – nit’s difficult at times when you see yet another fallow impostor climbing up the steps to the throne. A lot of my ‘fans’ seem to be musicians – and most of them understand me and what I’m trying to achieve.

And with the Maps’ done we start work on Treasure Island. I always think the cover of an album should look like the record sounds. So how to convey this for the fourteen tracks that make up the LP. The songs took a long time to put together, I had four years – Red Brocade was finished in May 1998 – I ended up remixing it later that year - it was released in April 1999$. John, Stephane and I went in the studio to begin TI July last year. So, about four years… I had a short-list of around 80 numbers for the album. Anyway, the LP took a ridiculously long time to get done and finished – one reason was because I had released my ‘best-of’ set, The Last Bandit―one year after RB―Glitterhouse said I couldn’t do a new album for eighteen months. I thought, “That’s the last time I do a ‘best-of’! I had the money to go into the studio summer 2001 but for some reason I didn’t feel the time was right.

We started the LP two days after my birthday on July 21 2002 – we had to wait on Ian McLagan. I’d re-established contact with Mac on his British tour the previous November and had asked if he’d be up for playing on my new album. After a few drinks he said, “Yes!” Trouble is Mac lives in Austin, Texas whereas Stephane, John and I are based in Europe. We had to liase a time when we’d all be in England. Mac could have overdubbed his parts but he said he preferred to play live with us – and obviously we preferred to play live with him. We had to wait until he had an off day on a Billy Bragg tour…

Anyway, the cover’s going to look great! We worked till the early hours scanning away like good ’uns. These covers are looking great and getting done really fast. 

Thursday – November 20 – Berlin / Münster – Managed to leave town after a night without sleep and trying to fit everything into place before I went. There just wasn’t the time to lie down. I was sorting out extra Swell Maps’ ephemera and stuff for the Treasure Island booklet / sleeve. TI was scheduled to come out in January – originally I said November! I think it’s more likely to be February now – which will tie in with the premiere of Honey Baby. The premiere will be at the Berlinale – the Berlin Film Festival, but the film won’t be on general release until June or July.

So having gotten everything together I picked up my bags and left the house. Michael Witte and I met for a drink in a café on Bergman Strasse in the other part of Kreuzberg. He developed the two films we’d shot yesterday and printed seven shots up for me. The feeling I had was totally right. Now I have these first ‘real’ photos for the cover I know how the sleeve will go.

Then a walk back to the U-Bahn station, bus, another U-Bahn, walk to the S-Bahn – one stop – then off at Ostbahnhof for the 17.26 train to Münster. I was trying to read the essays that come with “Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues” ~ The Worlds of Charley Patton – the fantastic seven CD box set released by Revenant Records. The box cost me £100 – which was quite a bit under the list price – and it’s worth every penny. No one who has ever liked the blues or has any interest in where the music they love comes from should deny themselves this collection. It’s as essential as the two Robert Johnson albums, as Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade, The Hank Williams box, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed – you know the names as well as I. In England I was desperate to listen to Charley Patton or Willie Brown, Furry Lewis or Peetie Wheatstraw, or any blues’ singer. You know the feeling when you just have to hear something and it’s not there. Talking to Mika last night – Mika has three or four apartments in different countries – I said that if I had more than one place to live then I think I’d have to have the same record collection in each one. Some variations to suit the place but basically the same.

On the same lines you should read Chasin’ That Devil Music by Gayle Dean Wardlow, Deep Blues by Robert Palmer, Blues Fell This Morning and The Story Of The Blues by Paul Oliver and The Country Blues by Sam Charters. There’s a whole load of other essential books on the blues out there but these are the only ones I’ve got with me today…

Wednesday – November 19  – Berlin – Life’s incredibly frustrating at times. Last night I mentioned to John and Stephane the possibility of a photo session the following day. I woke Stephane up to ask him to meet me at Zoo Station at 1pm. John was baby sitting and unable to leave the two year old sprog to fend for itself. So Stephane and I made our way to the strange little village of Paulineaue – about 40 minutes from Berlin by train – one of the two bases of photographer Michael Witte. Michael took the shots on the cover of my So Many Girls single – among other things he’s also done a book called This Way For Everything ~ Nigel Kennedy On Tour. Pretty good if you’re into Aston Villa! 

I was, as usual, dressed up to the nines and had brought some pirate like clobber for Stephane to wear. He took to his rôle like a trooper – donning an old Yves St Laurent top and a blue waistcoat thing of mine. Michael wrapped a spread round his waist – I tossed him some scarves and tied one, pirate-style, round his head. This is not the way Stephane normally dresses but he looked cool in it. All we really needed were some cutlasses, a bottle of Captain Morgan and a Caribbean moon. Instead of which we had the desultory sultry faded autumn weather of another North German day. When you’re doing photo sessions sometimes you just know that a certain shot is going to be the one. I had that feeling during the session for the cover of The Last Bandit. I had the feeling quite a few times today. 

Photos taken Stephane and I repaired back to Berlin. I managed to fit in a short visit to my flat and then took the tube to Kollwitzstrasse to meet Mika Kaurismäki for dinner. We talked about the February premiere of Honey Baby, the soundtrack album, which I will be putting together. The evening ended up at a Cuban bar, one of Mika’s local haunts when he’s in Berlin. The drinks were beautiful and so was the company. I managed to lose a gorgeous scarf that I’d bought last year in Santiago de Compostela. Mika commented that every time I came to Prenzlauerberg I managed to lose something. Well, every time I meet him I lose something. First time I forfeited my chromatic guitar tuner and two CDRs with the sessions for the as yet unreleased Nikki Sudden / Phil Shoenfelt album, Golden Vanity. Second time I lost my driving licence. I’ll tell the story one of these days. This third time I lost my gorgeous scarf. Today’s photos have to be perfect fpor without the scarf they can never be recreated. A flash happens – you have to catch it in your hands – else it is gone forever. 

Tuesday – November 18 – Berlin – Luckily for me Barbara was driving back to Berlin so I was able to leave my guitar and some of the books / Christmas presents with her. My bag still seemed incredibly heavy, but I soldiered on back to Berlin. The train pulled into Ostbahnhof at 5.17pm and I caught a taxi back to my place where I had twenty minutes to unpack and generally relax before going out to the shops. On the way I met Katja who was off to join her boyfriend, Max Décharné, in the local Greek restaurant. I joined them for ten minutes before heading back to my place to pick up my 5-string, Flying V and my Gibson Goldtone amp. Last Bandits’ bass player, John Barry, arrived in a cab a few short minutes later and my round the world trip continued. This leg was one of the shorter ones. We were playing at the Butterclub in Friedrichshain. Drummer, Stephane Doucerain, turned up a few minutes later and we played together for the first time since June 18 when we’d played on the MS Stubnitz moored in Rostock harbour. 

You’d think that with a four-month lay off we’d be pretty rusty but like an old glove things slid together so well. We tried the ‘disco’ song that I’d come up with on the Stubnitz – I can’t for the life of me remember the lyrics but I did what I always do in such situations and made up a new set. This one’s a definite for the next album – it’s going to need Mick Taylor. Last time I spoke to Mick he said that anytime I need him to play on something to just give him a call. We also did a couple of run throughs of The Last Flash Of The Cavalier Nation – another number that’ll be on the next album. 

The gig was a real rocker. If anyone who attended feels like reviewing the show (or any future ones) that’d be much appreciated. Just mail your comments to Dave McNarie for inclusion in the reviews section of the site. This gig was originally booked as a warm-up show for our Russian tour – which has now been delayed until Christmas. 

Monday – November 17 – Amsterdam – Globetrotting continues. Up at 7am – train to Marylebone to find the Bakerloo line wasn’t running. Helped by the ever-helpful, Linda Raeburn, I made my way across London weighed down by my acoustic, and three heavy bags. Going back from England to Germany normally involves the carting of several tons of books and assorted ephemera – today was no different. Finally made it to Charing Cross and boarded the delayed train for Dover. Arrived there and waited for the bus to the ferry. Arrived at the docks and booked in on the 1.45pm cross-channel ferry. Arrived in Calais and waited for half an hour for the bus to the train station. Arrived there to find that the connecting train from Calais Ville to Calais Rethune had just left so me and this chap had to catch a taxi for the ten or more kilometre ride. Oh, and it was raining! 

Finally clambered aboard the French train – changed in Lille – changed in Bruxelles and made it to Amsterdam for 9.40pm. Barbara had been in the Dutch capital checking out my friend Thorsten’s ‘designer denim’ label. I called her up and was told they were in a Spanish bar close to Thorsten’s flat. One more journey – this time by the more civilised No. 2 tram. Arrived at the right stop but couldn’t find the right bar. I walked around together with my increasingly heavier and heavier bags and guitar. Asked people – no one knew of the place. So I went back to the bar by the tram stop – asked there – they’d never heard of a ‘Spanish’ bar in the neighbourhood. Tried calling Barbara’s mobile again and again but she couldn’t hear me. I was getting incredibly fed up by this point. Asked in the bar where the nearest phone box was and was just going out the door when Thorsten and Barbara turned up!  Thorsten had tried calling from the payphone in the same bar a week or so before and had encountered the same problem. I was extremely grumpy for the next ten minutes but a bottle of good wine helped enormously…

Sunday – November 16 – Leamington Spa – Woke up around 10am and after a quick bath followed a short while later by lunch I’ve been working non-stop on Swell Maps’ sleevenotes and other last minute stuff that has to be done before I leave for Amsterdam at 8.26am in the morning! I’ve been sorting through a whole pile of my brother’s papers – finding loads of great stuff – original Swell Maps’ artwork, album cover slicks, that kind of thing. Some really great photos including a great promo shot of the Faces. I’ve just looked Alfred Duggan up and it says – someone wrote that, “Alfred Duggan died in 1964. In his youth and early manhood he had the reputation of being something of a rake and he was forty-seven before he published his first novel. His substantial life's work was produced over a period of just fourteen years, having emerged, in Evelyn Waugh's words, ‘with the mind acute, his remarkable memory unimpaired and a prose style already perfectly fitted for his use’.” Sounds a pretty neat chap. I’ll have to take the book on the train with me tomorrow along with Christopher Ricks’ Dylan’s Visions Of Sin. The two of them should keep me going at least until Dover or may’haps Calais.   Treasure Island still sounds brilliant!  Oh, and I haven’t had a cigarette since Monday… This’ll never last…

Saturday – November 15 & /16 – Leamington Spa – I need a day off – which I’m not going to get! Finally fell asleep at 10am to be woken by John Rivers calling at midday. Back to the studio for 4pm to burn the final Swell Maps’ masters and work out the revitalised and revised running order for Treasure Island. On the way down I stopped off at Portland Books, the second hand bookshop in town – bought a book by someone I’d never heard of before – Alfred Duggan – the book’s called Knight With Armour – it looked pretty good, so I bought it. Back home started listening to the new rockin’ Treasure Island. And it sounds brilliant!

Friday – November 14 – Leamington Spa - Today, joined by drummer, Pascal Manganaro, and bassist, Vinz Guilluy, both from Paris and Mr. Tim Chaplin from just down the road Joey, Mike and I recorded three neat numbers.  First up was Pistol In My Pocket – it took a long while to find the right groove for the track but in the end Mike, Pascal and I nailed it. Next we did two quick versions of a song of mine written in Tel Aviv exactly one year ago and finished up with a new one of Joey’s, Ventriloquist Doll. Ex-Jacobite, Carl Eugene Picôt turned up with a bag of his old stage-clothes for me. Nice gesture - nicer still if he’d washed them first! Carl took a whole bunch of photos – some of which should accompany this report. We finished at midnight and I made my weary way home.

Thursday – November 13 – Leamington Spa – In March this year I met Joey Skidmore and Mike Costelow from the Joey Skidmore Band in Berlin.  Picked them up from Tegel Airport and later that evening we went for a meal at Casolare… The next morning over and after breakfast Joey and I ended up writing a song together called Pistol In My Pocket which came out rather well despite – or perhaps due to – my condition at the time… Mike filmed Joey and I singing the song. I wrote the chords on top of the lyrics and lost the piece of paper somewhere in my flat and consequently forgot how the number even went. From time to time Joey would mail me or call and say that we had to go into a studio and record it… Joey and Mike arrived in London on Wednesday – Leamington today – Justin Farrow (Tenderhooks) and I went to The Talbot for a drink with them after the studio. Best pub in Leamington!

Wednesday – November 12– Leamington Spa – Spent two days at WSRS remastering the Swell Maps first two albums – plus a few bonus tracks – with John Rivers. The Maps' stuff sounds so much better than I ever remember it sounding and I always remember it sounding pretty damn great. That and not sleeping much at all.

Tuesday - November 11 - Leamington Spa - In answer to the question raised by the ever-gorgeous Miss Loukia Kinali from Greece of, "How do you usually spend your time when you are in your parents house?" Here are the following options:

i) Sleeping - my favourite!
ii) Reading books - not enough time to do this at the moment!
iii) Answering emails - I do too much of this - but it's necessary...
iv) Sorting out tapes for the Swell Maps' reissues - I had to do this today so that they can be baked all night in my mother's oven which is luckily electric. Don't try this with a gas oven!
v) Writing sleeve notes for the Maps' reissues - this I'll continue until the last minute and then think, "Fuck it! That's as good as they're going to get..." which will hopefully be true.
vi) Sorting through my brother's stuff and other stuff that's been up in the attic for the past years - occasionally finding negatives I thought were in Berlin and other goodies.
vii) I have a bath most days - in Berlin I have a shower and being English I don't much go for showers - once a week is enough...
viii) Occasionally I eat... but only if there's enough time. Today there wasn't.
ix) I don't smoke.

Monday - November 10 - Birmingham - Spent the afternoon rehearsing with Dave K for this soon-come Jacobites tour. We ran through at least 30 numbers - some of which we hadn't played since we recorded them - plus a new number or two. One good title came up, So Far, So Good - Slade used it already but so what! A number of this name could well appear onstage somewhere in Europe this November / December. Expect quite a few old faithful's, some newer songs and some even newer ones.

After rehearsing Dave, Lesley Evans and I trooped off up to Bob Lamb's Studio for a Tenderhooks rehearsal. They spent the whole time running through one song. Dave, "So what are you gonna do for the rest of the evening?" "Listen to you play this bloody song again and again." And I did and it sounded great. Someone should sign The Tenderhooks.

Sunday - November 9 - Leamington Spa - Finally a day with nothing to do. Nothing much to do. I ended up spending most of the day making amendments to my ongoing book, Ron Wood (If You Gave Him A Chance!) for the first time in some months. Trouble is when you leave off work to go on tour or go wherever it takes a while to get back into it. So today, sitting at my father's computer I got back into it. Earlier this evening I went through some boxes of my brother's stuff and found loads of great stuff - lots of Swell Maps items. This is something I have to carry on with. Many of the items deserve framing - but then I'm going to need a lot bigger flat!

Tomorrow I have to go into Birmingham to rehearse with Kusworth for the upcoming Jacobites' tour and then I'll spend most of Tuesday sorting out assorted Swell Maps tapes for remastering in WSRS this Wednesday and Thursday.

Been listening to Aretha Franklin - the Atlantic box, Queen Of Soul. I remember when Primal Scream went to Muscle Shoals to record Give Up ButDon't Give Out with Tom Dowd Bobby Gillespie going on about how they were doing it because 'Aretha' used to record there. I said to Bob, "You're just doing it 'cos Rod did Atlantic Crossing with Tom Dowd there."  Aretha recorded her first Atlantic single, I Never Loved A Man / Do Right Man down at Muscle Shoals - most of the rest of her classic stuff was done at Atlantic Studio in New York or at Criterion in Miami.  Just spent most of the last hour doing a transatlantic interview with Dave McNarie for some internet thing. I guess you'll find out where to hear it when it's up and running.

Saturday - November 8 - Birmingham - Tonight I saw one of the best rock'n' roll bands I've ever seen - and I've seen some pretty good ones in my time. I could have gone to see Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings but instead I traipsed down to The Royal George public house in Digbeth - site of the first ever Jacobites' gig back in 1982 - I don't think I've gone into the place since. Birmingham has changed a lot in the last year - I didn't really know where I was going at first - new buildings springing up all over the place. Sometimes England doesn't seem like my country any more. 

I finally found The Royal George and down in the basement I got to see Dave Kusworth & The Tenderhooks. Last time I'd seen them was December 2002 at The Market Tavern, also in Birmingham - they were great then as well! Support
was Rob Lloyd, Joe Crow and Eammon Duffy plus two other individuals. Rob, Joe and Eammon used to play in legendary seventies punk band The Prefects. Rob went on to form The Nightingales. It's distressing that gigs this good don't ever get mentioned, not even thought about by the music press. All this applause and fallow praise given to all those groups that I don't even need to mention - and here's a real band playing rock'n roll the way it was meant to be played - the way it's always been played. From the heart and from the soul. The same way that Charlie Patton or Robert Johnson played. That Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf played. That T. Rex or Slade or Jook or the New York Dolls played. The Stones, the Pretty Things. You name it, they had it. And whichever way you name it The Tenderhooks have got it.

There are so few good bands out there these days - they should be treasured instead of being ignored. It's so, so often the way - glory'll come along but sometimes it comes too late. It's the same old van Gogh / Robert Johnson syndrome that keeps on repeating itself time and time again and again. You'd think that by now people would have cottoned on that what's popular isn't always what's best. All this pap at the MTV Awards - all these 'Search For A Star' TV shows. There's real stars out there already. Dave Kusworth is one of them and has been for a long, long time. It's about bloody time the world realised!

Not having followed the charts for some long years now - since they stopped bearing any relation to music - I have little idea of what is currently 'in' or currently 'out' - I just know what is good. I'd rather listen to the Stanley Brothers or Gram Parsons or George Jones or Johnny Cash than to the latest 'Country Star'. I'd rather listen to the Groundhogs or Mott The Hoople or Humble Pie or Free or Bad Company than to Travis. Far rather listen to the Rolling Stones or Small Faces than Radiohead. And far, far rather hear to Bob Dylan than David Gray or anyone of these other limp-wristed imitators. It's all a case of following your heart and following your soul. But you know that anyway. otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.

Friday - November 7 - London / Leamington Spa - Ended up at Helter Skelter on Denmark Street looking at the new rock'n'roll books. Bought Christopher Ricks' book, Dylan's Visions Of Sin. There seems to be around one or two Bob Dylan books published every week - at least every month! Everytime I go to Helter Skelter there's a whole load of books I wanna get. Sometimes I resist the temptation.

Li Ning - my Chinese agent - turned up and we went for a meal and a chat about a possible Chinese tour. We've been  discussing this for two or three years now. It's going to happen... but when? The upcoming Russian tour has been delayed from November to December. Watch the gig pages for further details. Next up on the gig front is Dave Kusworth and my two date Norwegian jaunt later this month...

Thursday - November 6 - Brugges / Calais / Dover / London - As someone who is kinda trying to give up smoking (again) some things can be incredibly frustrating. Two of these happened today. I was at Calais waiting to get on the cross-channel ferry - I'd run out of cigarettes and didn't want to buy a new packet. So, I did what one does in these circumstances and tried to bum one. When people ask me if they can have a smoke I give them one so... First attempt failed miserably - the gendarme - or P & O official or whatever merely pointed at the tobacconists - I walked over, decided I didn't have enough Euros left and passed on. 

Second attempt was totally ridiculous - and just as fruitless. Walking up to the passport control I noticed the chap there had a pack of smokes in his hand and was just about to light one. I asked, "Could you spare a cigarette?" He said, "Is it for you?" "Yes," I said. "No," he replied. Great! He glanced at my passport and waved me through. God bless France. On the boat an English gentleman came to my rescue and gave me a fag. Later I succumbed and bought a packet. Trouble is that if I have them I smoke them. If I don't then I don't... 

I eventually made it to Clapton where I was playing at The Crooked Billet pub. Left Brugges at 11am - arrived at Clapton station in London around 8pm. I played for about an hour for Miss Catherine Rich, Mr. Robert Dellar, Mrs Linda Raeburn and my Chinese agent, Li Ning - plus some others... In the early hours I ended up putting down a couple of vocal tracks on one of Heather Jones' songs. You'll hear more of Heather. She's pretty damn cool...

Wednesday - November 5 - Veldegem (nr. Brugge) - Spent most of this afternoon on the train from Münster to Belgium. Today is the seventh anniversary of my brother's death! I hope I've done him justice with the photos I chose for the Maps' reissues. I think I have and think he would have done the same if the positions had been reversed.

Tuesday - November 4 - Münster - Christina and I spent the whole of today scanning yet more photos, touching them up and eventually assembling the artwork. Sorting through hundreds of photos - bits and pieces of original artwork - that kind of thing. We finished at around 2 or 3am. Slept well.

Monday - November 3 - Münster  - Christina Massacci  and I started work on the scanning and photo restoration process for the forthcoming reissues of A Trip To Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe. We ended up in a pub called Scott's View doing a pub quiz - in German. Despite living in the country my knowledge of the language is more or less totally nil! Which is how it's going to stay.

Today I found out that the forthcoming Russian tour is postponed until Christmas. Watch the gig page for further updates...

Sunday - November 2 - Ebensee - Münster  - Spent over ten hours on the train rushing through Austria and Germany. Such a romantic life I lead.

Saturday - November 1 - Ebensee, Austria - Such a relief to finally be out of Berlin! Last night I played at the Gallery opening - at the Galerie Esplanade in Bad Ischl - of my friend, Konrad Walklinger's paintings. I've  known Konrad since sometime in 1986 - he runs the Kino Ebvensee - a cinema and concert venue where I've played at least once most years over the past 17. I was adopted as a honary Ebenseer a long, long time ago and always love coming back to this crazy-funky town nestling in the middle of the Austrian Alps. Yesterday I took the 4.23am train from Berlin's Ostbahnhof station for the 10 hour journey from the present to the past. Changed at Göttingen, Nürnberg and Wels before finally arriving just before 2pm. I was shattered. Slept for about 20-30 minutes on the journey... You know what it's like when you think if you fall asleep you'll miss the stop... It was one of those  journeys.

Caught a couple of hours sleep in the hotel then we headed off on the 20 kilometre journey to Bad Ischl.Konrad's paintings are great - my favourite is one of me entitled 'The King Of  Rock'n Roll' - which is far too cheap at € 900. Konrad says he'll give it to me if it's not sold by the end of the exhibition. The trouble is that it'll dwarf the walls of my flat which means I'll need a new place to live.  I've been thinking of leaving Berlin for some years now. I liked living there a lot at first and still feel alive there but it's time for a change. Where I don't yet know. Anyone got any ideas? Any offers? What I really need is a patron... But who doesn't.

Tonight I'm playing the Cafe Ebensee - should be a good time. See you there.

Tuesday – October 28 – Berlin – This evening sees the first of ‘Doc Sudden’s Old-Time Hootenanny Shows’ at the Bellman Bar. Of course, and this is so typical, nothing happens for two or three months and then everything happens at once. This weekend I play in Austria – Monday I’ll be in Münster, Germany, putting together the artwork for two more reissues – next Thursday I’m playing in London – going to see Dave Kusworth & The Tenderhooks in Birmingham. The following week Dave and I will have to rehearse – then I’m in the studio – remastering and recording. Back to Berlin for a show and a day in the studio – off to Russia for three shows – back to Berlin for a day or so then off to Norway for the first dates of the Jacobites Acoustic Christmas Tour. Today I should be sorting out the stuff for the artwork but alongside writing dsome more songs with Dahlia I can fit that in tomorrow. 

Monday – October 27 – Berlin – Went to see The Warlocks play at the charmingly named Bastard im Prater in Kastanienallee (Chestnut Alley). Stephane Doucerain, Joe Armstrong and I toured the States with the Warlocks in March / April 2001. Nowadays they’ve become pretty much a name to drop. The gig was good, but so dark. There wasn’t enough light to even see a pin drop! Singer, Bobby, told me that he’d felt too dead to set up the light show that night. He should have gotten the road manager to do it – he spent most of the evening hiding the band’s alcohol and playing computer games. Still it was great to see Corey, JC, Laura, Danny and Co. again. The last time we’d met up was in a bar just off Sunset Boulevard. Swapping tales of LA. Kevin Junior and Matt Snow have been working away merrily on the unreleased Epic Soundtracks album. The tapes are demos that Epic and Kevin recorded in West Hampstead shortly before my brother’s death. The recordings have so much soul. 

Sunday – October 26 – Berlin – Last night’s show was a disaster. Musically it was fine – Kinch and I played great – but only five people turned up! The ones who were there enjoyed it but when you play for two hours and then get no money – forget it! Then it was off to Miss Katja Klier’s birthday party. Katja is happily ensconced with Max Décharné – the piano playing, book writing man from The Flaming Stars. They seem very happy together and that’s more than can be said for most…

Yesterday evening, before setting out for the disaster gig, I spoke to Marianne Faithfull’s manager. I’ve long had the idea of Marianne recording a version of my song Stay Bruised. With my usual faultless timing I called just as she’s more or less just finished her new album. All over bar the mixing… Maybe next time… I’ll send her a copy of the song tomorrow anyhow… Some months ago I sent a package of songs to Dave Pegg from Fairport Convention. The band haven’t had a songwriter in their ranks since Dave Swarbrick’s departure. Fairport could do a great version of Gallery Wharf (The Ragged School) and a few others. Roll on more cover versions. They’re both an honour and a financial pleasure – Kinky Friedman would understand!

Today I’m writing my second column for Rockmusic.Ru. This month’s subject is Bob Dylan, Bill Monroe and Co. Next month… God only knows. 

Saturday – October 25 – Berlin – Today’s post brought a package from Jon Ulecia Leoz from Pamplona in Spain. Jon has recorded really cool covers of two of Rowland’s songs – Hide and These Immortal Souls plus the NS / RSH number Rebel Grave. He also sent me a Danelectro Vibrato so watch out for that on some future recordings. My next visit to the studio will be WSRS in Leamington Spa to remaster the two Swell Maps’ albums and the following day to record a single with Joey Skidmore and Co. We’re going to do a song that Joey and I wrote this March called Pistol In My Pocket. I haven’t heard the song since we did it but Joey has sent me a video of us busking through a version. I’ll grab a listen before the studio. Back in Berlin later in November, John Barry, Stephane Doucerain and I will be going into Clark Nova’s studio to record covers of two songs by fellow Secretly Canadian artist, June Panic. Secretly Canadian’s 100th release will have each of the label’s artists covering two songs by another artist. I pulled June Panic whose new album, Hope You Fail Better, is brilliant. In some ways it sounds like a cross between Hunky Dory and Cockney Rebel’s Psychomodo. If only the cover reflected the music inside… I’ve written a review.

Tonight Kinch Blade and I are playing at a place called Max & Moritz on Oranienstraβe, here in Kreuzberg. Next week I’m off to Austria for a few shows. A change of climate never hurt anyone…   

Friday – October 24 – Berlin – Played at Mýslioska for the second time – the set included a mini-segment of songs from Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc – Feather Beds, Crossroads and Rebel Grave -in honour of Conrad and Tom from The Devastations, who attended. I’d given them a copy of the album the week before – they’re friends of Rowland’s – plus they’re a really cool band.  

Thursday – October 16 – Berlin – Reading through some of the previous entries I realised that I haven’t always been accurate fitting the day and the date together.

Wednesday - October 22 - Berlin - Played in a bar on Schlesischestrasse called Fabrik. We did the gig as a three-piece - me with Clark Nova and Johnny Zabala. Lead off song was a number I wrote yesterday called Black Root Boogie. If this was the fifties we'd go into Sun Studios (or wherever) - record the song - it'd be out on Friday and be a regional hit by next week. But it isn't and that's a drag. The other evening I went for drinks with a chap called The Glitter Koenig (Glitter King). If this was the seventies - and unfortunately it isn't - I'd write a song - he'd go in the studio and we'd have a possible hit on our hands. Times change and not for the better. 

For those of you who don't know Black Root is known as poor man's asparagus - understandably. It's a complete pain to peal the things - you get this black gunk stuck all over your hands - it takes around twenty minutes washing with methylated spirits (or similar) to remove the stuff. Then you cook it - boiling water w/ vinegar for around a quarter hour. And... it tastes of nothing much... Thanks to Count Axl van Windhook who 'liberated' a packet from the local market for our supper last weekend. Other numbers played at the Fabrik include Liquor, Guns & Ammo, Tampa Red's Don't Lie to Me, JR Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, a new one of mine called Raffle The Dog, Jerry Lee's Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On... and a bunch more. Johnny, Clark and I hope to do this as a once a month / once a week kind of thing. Oh, we also played some of Clark's songs - I could have known them better but with only one rehearsal what does one expect?

Next Tuesday sees the first of Dr. Sudden's Old-Time Hootenany shows at the Bellman Bar - corner of Reichenbergerstrasse and Glogauerstrasse. Anyone is welcome to get up and sing a song or two or play the blues, or whatever...

Tuesday - October 21 - Berlin - Picked up one of the Dahlia Schweitzer tunes I'd come up with the other day and used it for a song of mine. I've been working on a number called Black Tar for some months now but the chords never seemed quite right. The whole things fits together perfectly now. The same thing happened when Stefan Schwerdtfeger gave me a bundle of his lyrics some years back. I came up with a tune for his lyric to a song called Under The Walnut Tree. He released his version on Thermaikos (Hitch-Hyke Records) and I used the chord sequence for my own When Angels Die off the Jacobites Old Scarlett album. Then I went off for a rehearsal for Wednesday's gig. 

Monday - October 20 - Berlin - Saw Bob Dylan at the Arena here in Berlin tonight. To me Dylan is like Picasso in the way he constantly reworks his songs... I could, and will, write about this in more depth... but not today. 

Saturday - October 18 - Berlin - Got together with Dahlia - see Saturday August 9 - to write a few songs. Came up with the music for four of her lyrics in twenty or thirty minutes. She said she liked it. Said she'd come round the following day with more words and a mini-disc recorder. Since then I haven't heard a word from her...

Wednesday - October 14 - Berlin - Last night's dreams included this glorious one which included me driving across a narrow causeway out on the western coast of Spain / Italy in a Mercedes-Benz alongside Crusaders on shire horses riding off to conquer or still the New World. I've never driven an MB, never ridden on the Crusades - but in my dreams I've done this. At the moment I have so many dreams - they fall out of the sky onto my pillow night after night. The best dreams come during the daytime hours. Most days I wake at 7.30am - wash my face, clean my teeth then go back to sleep - wake up again around 10am - do the same - drink a glass of water - then back to sleep. By the time I eventually get up at 2 or 3pm I'm satiated. The main trouble with this kind of lifestyle is that I don't tend to get to sleep until the sun is coming up!

This week I'm working on sleeve notes for some Japanese Swell Maps reissues. As soon as I put my mind back twenty-five years the memories keep falling back. It was fun writing the text for the Secretly Canadian reissues of my 1980's LPs. Likewise with these early albums. Sometimes your memory is selective - only wanting to remember the good things - the bad events are stored deep in gloomy, unopened cupboards in dusty un-entered rooms. And that's the way things should be. The bad things are still there but never forcefully so. You can; you must learn from your mistakes - otherwise there's no point in making them. But you don't need them jumping out at you every time you try to cross a new hill.

Recording the Maps albums was on the whole good fun - towards the end of the sessions for our second, and we reckon our best, album, Jane From Occupied Europe things had got a bit strange. With the Maps we had, as my brother put it, "Grown up together but we grew apart." We were four strong characters all trying to do what we thought was right. I didn't find out until recently why the Maps actually broke up. Richard Earl told me that things were getting to big - and we were going to become too famous and that he and the others got scared and decided it was easier to break the band up rather than face the challenge. At the time I never understood and now I'm not surprised why. Quote were given out to the press that, "Nikki was becoming too rock'n'roll." and that the band were splitting up due to that old chestnut, musical differences.

When Epic died we buried any unresolved difficulties and played together for the first time since Easter 1980. We did two shows - at The Garage in London and at Roter Salon in Berlin. Both went and sounded incredibly good. The last time we'd played together had been more than seventeen years before and we didn't even have time for a rehearsal. but as soon as three of us play it sounds just like it always did. The Swell Maps had the same magic as Dave Kusworth and I have. As Rowland Howard and I. No combination ever sounds like another. And that's what makes each band special. That no other group of people could sound the same as another - that each particular group has their own individuality. That's why cover bands are so pointless - because they just copy all the nuances of what someone has done before and don't add anything of themselves. That's why when I do a cover version it sounds like a Nikki Sudden song. Otherwise there's no point.

Monday - October 12 - Berlin - Last night I went to the Bellman Bar - on the corner of Reichenbergerstraße and Glogauer Straße - which is basically my local. For some months now the owner, Andreas, and I have been talking about a monthly jam session / acoustic club thing. Over a few glasses of wine we decide on the first two and also book a Jacobites gig for the upcoming Acoustic Christmas Tour. So the first two sessions are Tuesday - 28 October and Tuesday November 25 - the last Tuesday in every month. The Jacobites date will be on Wednesday, December 3. So if any of you are in town and fancy playing guitar, sitar, harmonica, talking drum, or whatever then bring your instrument and waltz along down Reichenbergerstrasse on the last Tuesday of each month. If you don't fancy playing then just come along and watch. Easiest way to find Bellman's is to take the 129 bus from the U-Bahn stations at either Hermann Platz or from Gorlitzer Bahnhof and get off at the Glogauer Straße stop.

Last Friday from Herbert Jennissen, the hat-maker from Augsburg, arrived in town with his new creation. God! It's pure Napoleon! A brilliant, glorious titfer. To think that people used to balance such glory on their heads every single day. How staid has civilisation become? I think we all know the answer to that one. That most everyone is content to wear essentially the same godawful and boring clothing - and through their own choice - is one of the most damning things about this planet. If more people had imagination in the way they dressed then their lives wouldn't be so grey and so bleak. People have always said that my dress sense is eccentric, but I just wear the clothes that I feel comfortable in. If I wore jeans, a sweatshirt and trainers I would feel so self-conscious. I just wouldn't feel relaxed. Maybe most of the world's population are content to all dress the same, all think the same, all eat the same, all read the same books and listen to the same bilge music. But why? You've been blessed with imagination - so why not use it?

Trouble is I'm talking to the converted here anyway. If you weren't prepared to follow your own way you wouldn't have come across me or my music anyway. And if everyone dressed like me then things would also be pretty boring. But you know what I mean?

I hope this isn't turning into a 'give someone a soapbox and they'll start ranting' type of thing. It's time for breakfast anyway.

Thursday - October 9 - Berlin - As well as plugging my own records it seems a good idea to also let you know about some new releases by friends of mine. Mark Mulholland, occasional contributor to some of my gigs, and the odd recording - he played on the version I put down of my song, Farewell - available on the Dutch compilation CD Back Up The Balkans - C.R.A.S.H. 300999. Anyway, Mark just released his first solo album, The Devil On The Stairs. It's available for ?15 from Cannery Row Productions, Schreinerstraße 10, 10247 Berlin.

And then there's my dear friends, The Creeping Candies, have made three albums - the first one, Flesh, came out in 1986. The second, The Stories Of The Creeping Candies, in 1988. The third, Upside The Town, was released in 2001. I produced, and played on all three. The Creeping Candies are my favourite German band ever. Despite the thirteen year break between the second and third releases, the band maintained their sound and style-they just became better.

For me the Candies have always had a special magic - I first saw them in December 1985 and they've never disappointed me. Which is a strong, but true, claim. Guitarist / singer, Hölle's playing has constantly impressed with it's individuality and self-confidence. Drummer, Christian Pfaud provided the bulwark against the world. Songs like Garbage Garage and Cold Heart are instant classics. The re-recording of 1988's Celebration is some kind of revelation. New bassist, Pulle, actually joined the band some 10 years back and has fitted seamlessly in ever since. The band's line-up has changed since the recording of this album, but they still sound the same. Still sound like the Candies. Each of their albums features one of my compositions. Flesh, includes In Your Life. The Stories Of The Creeping Candies, a ten minute instrumental titled Tombs Of Egypt. Upside The Town, includes the Candies version of Aeroplane Blues. All three releases are highly recommended - you can get the new album direct from the band: Christian Höllriegl, Hagenbuch 4, 86653 Monheim, Germany. Send ?15 for a copy.

One of my songs, No Good In Heaven, with me backed by the Candies was released in the States on the compilation CD Rock'n'Roll War Vol. II. Released by American rock & roller, Rick Blaze - I was never sent a copy. So if anyone comes across a copy on their travels and could pick it up for me I'd be happy to reimburse you.

Last night I went out to the Astro bar on Simon-Dach Straße to meet up with ex-Panther Burns guitarist, Claudine Fires, who has just moved over to Berlin from Memphis. She's staying with another friend and part-time collaborator, bassist Joe Armstrong. Joe and Claudine both played with Stephane Doucerain and me on my last US tour. Claudine took over the second guitarist's rôle from the Local 506, Chapel Hill, North Carolina show on. Original Last Bandits guitarist, Kevin Lymn had a nervous breakdown and totally flipped out as we were about to enter the Lincoln Tunnel to drive into Manhattan. He'd played the first ten dates with us. Joe's friend, Sean Condron, played the New York and Hoboken gigs and this Miss Fires took over for the last eleven shows. The concert at Rudyard's in Houston, Texas was recorded and sounds really cool. Claudine gave the band more of a rockabilly stance - especially the song Down The River. I've still never released the song - I've tried it out in the studio a time or two but never done a real recording - and I wrote it a good ten or more years back. Me and the Last Bandits still play it on occasion. Have to record it some day. It needs a real Charlie Feathers' treatment. Maybe I'll give the Rudyard's recording to Bourbon Records for Volume 2 of their Rock & Roll Salvation series. Also, I just found out today that another friend of mine - I seem to have hundreds - Dimi Dero, from France, is putting together a Rowland Howard tribute album. Such a cool idea. I'll have to work out which one of Rowland's songs I could do justice to.

Thursday - October 9 - Berlin - As well as plugging my own records it seems a good idea to also let you know about some new releases by friends of mine. Mark Mulholland, occasional contributor to some of my gigs, and the odd recording - he played on the version I put down of my song, Farewell - available on the Dutch compilation CD Back Up The Balkans - C.R.A.S.H. 300999. Anyway, Mark just released his first solo album, The Devil On The Stairs. It's available for ?15 from Cannery Row Productions, Schreinerstraße 10, 10247 Berlin.

Nikki, front row center, last Stones European gig

And then there's my dear friends, The Creeping Candies, have made three albums - the first one, Flesh, came out in 1986. The second, The Stories Of The Creeping Candies, in 1988. The third, Upside The Town, was released in 2001. I produced, and played on all three. The Creeping Candies are my favourite German band ever. Despite the thirteen year break between the second and third releases, the band maintained their sound and style-they just became better.

For me the Candies have always had a special magic - I first saw them in December 1985 and they've never disappointed me. Which is a strong, but true, claim. Guitarist / singer, Hölle's playing has constantly impressed with it's individuality and self-confidence. Drummer, Christian Pfaud provided the bulwark against the world. Songs like Garbage Garage and Cold Heart are instant classics. The re-recording of 1988's Celebration is some kind of revelation. New bassist, Pulle, actually joined the band some 10 years back and has fitted seamlessly in ever since. The band's line-up has changed since the recording of this album, but they still sound the same. Still sound like the Candies. Each of their albums features one of my compositions. Flesh, includes In Your Life. The Stories Of The Creeping Candies, a ten minute instrumental titled Tombs Of Egypt. Upside The Town, includes the Candies version of Aeroplane Blues. All three releases are highly recommended - you can get the new album direct from the band: Christian Höllriegl, Hagenbuch 4, 86653 Monheim, Germany. Send ?15 for a copy.

One of my songs, No Good In Heaven, with me backed by the Candies was released in the States on the compilation CD Rock'n'Roll War Vol. II. Released by American rock & roller, Rick Blaze - I was never sent a copy. So if anyone comes across a copy on their travels and could pick it up for me I'd be happy to reimburse you.

Last night I went out to the Astro bar on Simon-Dach Straße to meet up with ex-Panther Burns guitarist, Claudine Fires, who has just moved over to Berlin from Memphis. She's staying with another friend and part-time collaborator, bassist Joe Armstrong. Joe and Claudine both played with Stephane Doucerain and me on my last US tour. Claudine took over the second guitarist's rôle from the Local 506, Chapel Hill, North Carolina show on. Original Last Bandits guitarist, Kevin Lymn had a nervous breakdown and totally flipped out as we were about to enter the Lincoln Tunnel to drive into Manhattan. He'd played the first ten dates with us. Joe's friend, Sean Condron, played the New York and Hoboken gigs and this Miss Fires took over for the last eleven shows. The concert at Rudyard's in Houston, Texas was recorded and sounds really cool. Claudine gave the band more of a rockabilly stance - especially the song Down The River. I've still never released the song - I've tried it out in the studio a time or two but never done a real recording - and I wrote it a good ten or more years back. Me and the Last Bandits still play it on occasion. Have to record it some day. It needs a real Charlie Feathers' treatment. Maybe I'll give the Rudyard's recording to Bourbon Records for Volume 2 of their Rock & Roll Salvation series. Also, I just found out today that another friend of mine - I seem to have hundreds - Dimi Dero, from France, is putting together a Rowland Howard tribute album. Such a cool idea. I'll have to work out which one of Rowland's songs I could do justice to.

Wednesday - October 8 - Berlin - In the post today I got a copy of the Argentinean compilation CD, Rock & Roll Salvation Vol. 1. Released by Bourbon Records  - BR1000803002 - it features a special edited version of my song, Countess, alongside fifteen other toe-tapping rock'n roll songs. This is the kind of album that I'd buy at a shot. The fact that I'm on it merely makes it even better! Other artists on the album include Sylvain Sylvain, Darrell Bath, Forgotten Boys and Diamond Dogs. It feels good to be in such company. Buy a copy. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

The Forgotten Boys include Arthur Franquini in their ranks. Arthur, who comes from Brazil, released an album, When Loneliness Fucks You Up - Slag Records SLAG 002 - in March this year with a cover version of my song Angels In My Arms. Around ten years back I asked Martin Costello from my publishers, Complete Music, why they weren't doing anything to get my songs covered by other artists. His reply was once one person recorded a song of mine others would soon follow. The first cover I got was Stefan Schwerdtfeger's band, The Big Sleep, doing Where The Rivers End in 1994. Next up, in 1997, were The Lemonheads with their version of Pin Your Heart. The Shoo-Train Brothers from Toulouse in France recorded Penicillin in 1998. The same year Fuse from Duderstadt in Germany released Valley Of Hearts - complete with NS on guitar. Two covers in 1999 - Mercury Rev with Silver Street and my old friend, Simon Carmody, from The Last Bandits In The World who released his version of Hanging Out The Banners.Japan's Lipstick Killers put out their recording of Big Store (Orig.) in 2000. 2001 saw another two covers - I Belong To You by DM Bob & The Deficits from Hamburg and Jason Falkner from Los Angeles with Midget Submarines. Last year Scottish band, Real Shocks, put out their recording of the old Swell Maps' number, Vertical Slum, The Waterboys released Mike Scott's version of Cathy - recorded in 1983. Mark Narkowicz from Australia did his interpretation of Every Girl (Cuts Me In Half) and the Ceramic Hobbs played H.S.Art.

So far, this year there's only been Arthur from Brazil's recording and Read About Seymour by XBXRX from the New York tribute gig for the album, Wanna Buy A Bridge? : A Rough Trade Compilation Of Singles. Fifteen cover versions isn't that many over twenty-six years, but it's a start. At least they seem to be coming in at regular intervals. If JR Cash had recorded Liquor, Guns & Ammo my profile would have increased quite a lot, but he didn't. and it's too late now. I've been trying to get a handful of my songs to Rod Stewart for some years now. One day. I always wanted to try my hand at a film soundtrack and it wasn't until Mika Kaurismäki came along that anyone else thought that I could do one. Honey Baby will be out in January 2004, the same time as Treasure Island, and you'll be able to judge for yourself then.Darrell Bath will be supporting Dave Kusworth and me on the upcoming Jacobites Acoustic Christmas European tour. If you don't know Darrell's music you won't be disappointed. He plays on quite a few tracks on Treasure Island - his acoustic guitar break in Stay Bruised guarantees his place in heaven. It's that good! We have booked 9 dates this December and will hopefully fill in the gaps pretty soon. As I've said before if you're interested in booking either the Jacobites (Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth) or Nikki Sudden & The Last Bandits, or Nikki Sudden solo please contact us at nikkisudden@hotmail.com.

Tuesday - October 7 - Guess where? - 2am - listening to yet another Johnny Thunders live CD. When I die there will probably be hundreds of NS live albums issued. Guess it's all down to whose hands my estate is left in. Up until a year or two back I recorded about 70% of the shows I played. When I wake up I'm off up to PPS to pick up the potential cover photos for Treasure Island. The pictures I mentioned in last Thursday's journal entry. Then it's back to work.

Monday - October 6 - Still in Berlin - I tend to get wanderlust after being in the same place for more than a few days. To see where I was last Thursday just have a look at the following link. My good friend Klaus Lauterbach, the rock'n roll dentist from Heidelberg took the shot - I had to pester him to get it done - but it turned out pretty neat. If all goes well it'll be printed in the next issue of It's Only Rock'n Roll complete with the names of all the VIPs in the photo. So all you Nikki Sudden completists better take out an IORR subscription. I write articles in most issues. I subscribe to a whole bunch of magazines / fanzines / call 'em what you will / essential publications myself. It's always a treat when one of them arrives in the letterbox. One of these days I might list them for you.Once upon a time in the South of France a young lad called Dimi Dero started a Nikki Sudden fan-magazine. It was called Back To The Coast. One issue was published - just one issue! At least with Cheapside - the once in a while NS / Jacobites newsletter we got up to double figures. One thing I know is that I'm not going to do a Nikki Sudden magazine myself. Two reasons.i) It wouldn't be right. Someone else should put this together - not the subject of the thing. ii) I have far too many other things to do with my life. I've been busy writing songs for the next Nikki Sudden album. I've got a short list of twenty songs together - including one I wrote last night called Slave Trade or White Slave Trade. When you get a cool title then the song follows on easily. A few months ago I wrote out a whole page of song titles - I've written three of them so far. But I can't really give the titles out otherwise someone might nick the ideas. Mind you what I think is cool might not be shared by others.

Sunday - October 5 - Berlin - Finally woke up - finally got up - it's 7pm. This must be some kind of life. Last night Kinch Blade came round and we ended up chatting until around 7am when he left and I began revising the Don't Lie To Me article. All I need to do is find a copy of the Tampa Red recording... anyone out there got a copy?

Saturday - October 4 - Berlin - Listening to "They Call Me The Fat Man." a Fats Domino box set that I inherited from my brother. Epic died on November 5, 1997. There's still hardly a day goes past when he doesn't flitter or fall through my head. Epic's good friend and co-conspirator, Kevin Junior, is in Los Angeles working on the demos the two of them recorded a couple of months before Epic's death. The album, entitled Good Things will, when it's finished, be released by Innerstate Records, the same people who released the posthumous compilation, which I compiled four years ago, Everything Is Temporary. There will be other Epic Soundtracks releases in good time. My brother left a lot of tapes and unreleased songs behind. The material won't be rushed out - I want to treat my brother's legacy with the respect he deserves.

Listening to the Fats Domino collection I realised that the song Don't Lie To Me, which for years has been credited to Chuck Berry actually predates the St. Louis guitarist's version. Domino's recording was actually based on a Tampa Red song. This cued a short article, which I'll submit to Dieter Hoffman's excellent Basement News magazine. I write bits and pieces for various magazines - most of which, unfortunately, don't pay. But I'm doing it more from love of the music / book / whatever than for financial gain. I'm also working on a piece for It's Only Rock'n Roll. There's a deadline of a day or so, which I hope I'll meet. Probably best to try and finish the article tonight. I've also been asked to write a monthly column for Russian magazine Rockmusic.Ru - my first one was about songwriting and should be in the November issue. Editor, Grigory Feldman, also asked if the band and me would like to play in Russia. We'll be doing two shows in Moscow - Nov 21 & 22 - plus Nov 23 in St. Petersburg! I've played the song at gigs for some years now - back in February 2000 Stephane Doucerain, Mark Mulholland, Alicia Levy and a few other friends backed German country singer, Biene Olbrich, on an arrangement of the song. If that ever comes out it'll be credited to Tampa Red. At the same session I came up with a song, Honky Tonk Girl. We recorded two versions - both with improvised lyrics - both lasting over ten minutes - and that's a lot of improvising. The song deserves to be released one of these days. Also recorded were versions of Merle Haggard's Sing Me Back Home; Willie Nelson's Blue Rock Montana; Mick & Keith's Let It Bleed; plus the wonderful Troy Seals / Donnie Frits number, We Had It All. I recorded a solo acoustic version of the same song at WSRS a few months earlier in December 1999. That was one of the outtakes from the bonus CD, Solo Acoustic, available with the American Alive Records release of The Last Bandit. The UK issue of The Last Bandit on Wagging Dog Records should have included an alternate version of Solo Acoustic with different tracks, but that never happened. I recorded nineteen tracks in 2½ hours - then they took a day and a half to mix. A lot of the tracks were new recordings of old songs, but I also did four unreleased tracks plus a couple of cover versions. My version of the Marc Bolan / Tyrannosaurus Rex number One Inch Rock was released on a Japanese Marc Bolan tribute CD, Universal Love. The album, which also features my recordings of San Francisco Poet, Jewel and Buick Mackane alongside tracks by Johan Asherton, T.Rextasy and Akima & Neos, was released by the charmingly named Eggtoss Record label - ETCY-1001. One of these days I'm going to make a real solo album. All it needs is a lot of wordy songs and an acoustic guitar. It'll be cheap to make - no one to pay 'cept for me - a couple of days - maximum - in the studio. And I expect it'll sell as many copies as my regular albums. 

Friday - October 3 - back in Berlin - Woke up in the Swiss capital and drove back to Germany with Axel Schumacher and Gert. Part two of the door to door delivery service. Arrived back and restarted work on a Jacobites biography - for the December Acoustic Christmas tour; Swell Maps sleeve notes for the upcoming Trip To Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe reissues-if I think about a certain period for long enough most of the details come flooding back-some you wish you could no longer remember-but most memories are always positive. The Swell Maps' years were incredibly productive. We recorded two albums and three singles in 15 months. That's about the same time that the new album took to finish-though that was more down to financial restrictions than anything. Incidentally the reason why all the Swell Maps singles were maxi-singles - an A-side plus two tracks on the B-side - was because that was what T.Rex used to do. All the T.Rex singles from 1970 through to 1972 featured three songs. The label of the fourth, and last Maps' single, Let's Build A Car was supposed to be a tribute to the T.Rex Hot Wax Co. label. It wasn't executed as well as I would have liked but at least the printers got the colours right! The fifth Maps' single would have been my song Back To The Coast and the sixth should have been Waiting For The Siege. Both of these songs were written before the band broke up - both of them got recorded at the sessions for Waiting On Egypt, my first solo album. It was great in those days - having the pressure to come up with a great single every three or four months. I wish I still had that pressure now! You always come up with your best work when you have to. When you have a deadline for an article, or whatever, you get it finished, and you get it finished well because you have no choice.

Artwork nearly always takes as long, if not longer, to put together than an album takes to record. You have to have something that looks the same as the music sounds. With The Last Bandit (Glitterhouse Records-GRCD495) my best-of album, released in 2000 I was tossing so many different ideas for a cover around until Andreas Lübberstedt and I did a photo session in Hamburg. As soon as I get to the studio I knew that I'd walk out with the perfect cover photo. The resulting picture, based on a shot of Marc Bolan in the 1972 film, Born To Boogie was so perfect. The minute I saw it I knew this was the image I'd been looking for. The search for the perfect cover for Treasure Island will continue next week.

Thursday - October 2 - Zürich - The last gig of the European leg of the Stones Licks tour. I was at the first date, so it made sense to be at the last one. I caught 21 shows this summer. A lot of friends of mine confess to feeling incredibly depressed when a Stones' tour is up. I feel fine. now I can get on with my life.

The artwork for Treasure Island is slowly coming together. There are two or three options for the front cover. One is a map of 'treasure island' - my one, not Robert Louis Stevenson's. Trevor Austin, he did the painting on the Jangle Town 12" plus artwork for Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Raggéd School and "Texas" is working on that - he also came up with a water colour of a sea battle between pirates and their prey. That'll be used for the inlay tray. Trevor also designed the CD label for the new album. He recently did the labels for the Secretly Canadian issues of Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc, Live In Augsburg (SC 57) and The Raggéd School (SC 56). I did say that we should have kept the design for TRS for Treasure Island but he said he could come up with something better. He's come up with something different, it's not necessarily better, but it's equally cool. Second possibility is a photograph taken by Santiago Rodriguez in an abandoned monastery in Portugal last October. I've been thinking about using two shots from this session - just across the border from Vigo - for some long time now. I took the negatives into PPS on Alexanderplatz the other day to get enlargements done.

The alternative is a new photo session. I'll be getting my new 'Napoleon' / pirate hat, a third bicorn, from Herbert Jennissen in a week or so. If this doesn't inspire a great shot then nothing will. Trevor did a variation on the Jangle Town cover, with me as a freebooter, as opposed to the tattered, down-at-hell picaresque troubadour. More buccaneer
than minstrel. A change is good as a behest.

Wednesday - September 31 - Berlin - Every Wednesday at Advena, a café on Wienerstrasse, here in Kreuzberg, where I live a band called The Home Brew play. The regular line-up is Matthias guitarist / singer; Mark Mulholland - guitar / vocal; Stephane Doucerain - drummer. SD is the drummer with my band, The Last Bandits and I've played with MM on various occasions over the past five years. Consequently last week and this I got up and jammed a few songs with the band. Today I did versions of Pirate Girls and another new song, also written on Amorgos, The Last Flash Of The Cavalier Nation. Matthias is more in the jazz vein than anything - this makes most of the songs he plays incredibly difficult to busk along to - so half the time I was just sitting there, not even trying to bluff - just sipping my wine and dragging a cigarette. For another bunch of songs I was joined by Alicia Levy - one of the best blues / rock guitarists I've ever played with. Alicia won the ?50 prize at the Butterclub last Sunday.

Tuesday - September 30 - Berlin - I've been writing a song called Pirate Girls. Basically it's a list of some of the girls I've known and what they did / what they could do / or, in some cases, what they did to me. In some ways the idea is similar to Mike Scott's Waterboys' song, A Bang On The Ear. Part of Pirate Girls goes: Loukia stole a leopard-skin coat / Sophie painted the world / Lucy made off with a soul or two / Cathy fell down in her necklace / Barbara lost the diary of her thoughts. The chorus, written in Potamos on Amorgos: Pirate girls, they come and go / None of them can ever be bought. The basic idea fell together on the terrace of our place on Potamos. This was one of the numbers I wrote in regular tuning. The song is really just two chords: Am7 and Em7. Originally it had a chorus which shifted the key to C / Fmaj7 / G but that seemed a bit unnecessary.

The list of girl's names came to me in Thessaloniki. - we'd been staying with my old friend, Stefan Schwerdtfege from The Big Sleep. Stefan had a cassette machine, so one day I bought a tape down in the town - the long walk down the hill and back. After getting some red wine and Raki, some fruit and veg from the market we staggered back up the hill to Makedonomachon - turned on the cassette recorder and I started recording versions of the 10 or so songs I'd written on the island and on the mainland. The trouble is that Stefan's machine records too fast and plays back far too slow on my recorder. Anyway, that was when the idea for a list of some of the girls I've known came about. Cathy was never her name - but she pulled together two different friends.

I've played the song at some of the gigs I've played in the past few weeks. At Carpe Diem and Amoessa, in Thessaloniki; the Mudd Club and Mýslioska, back here in Berlin. It's been developing each time it gets aired. At the soundcheck for last Thursday's gig at the Mudd Club I came up with a Dm7 / Am7 / Dm7 / Em7 bridge. All I have to do now is to remember most of the names of most of the girls. As I wrote on the cover of my best-of album, The Last Bandit, "This is for all of you. I can't remember all your names but I remember your faces. Thanks for the life." True enough.
 
Monday - September 29 - Berlin Arrived at the Butterclub last night to find out that the regular jam session was this evening a competition with a 50 Euro prize. Drummer Chris Hughes and I were 'contestants' number 12. We played a couple of new songs, Letter Of Marque and Jade Jagger plus and cover version of No Expectations and the Sudden / Howard number Crossroads. We didn't even come in the first four! I should have done some numbers we both knew! You should check this out if you want to know what some of my ex-band-mates / friends have been up to.

Sunday - September 28 - Berlin - Arrived back in Germany on September 19 after 20 days in Greece. We didn't want to leave. I keep thinking that I'd like to live somewhere warmer and Greece sounds like one of the better options. Amorgos was an idyllic place, but what it would be like in winter is another matter. Up until a few years back the weekly or bi-weekly ferry
during the winter months was met by the whole island - all 1,500 souls who'd serenade the boat with songs. This would be the only contact the islanders had with the outside world until Easter when the tourists began returning. It'd be a great place to go to finish off one or more of my books. I'll probably never get them finished otherwise. 

So back in the German capital.. I played two solo acoustic shows this week: Thursday at the Mudd Club in Mitte; last night at Mýslioska, here in Kreuzberg. The second of these gigs was arranged the day before. I'll be playing there again on Friday, October 24. The bar is at Schlesischestraβe 35. I was joined by a couple of friends, Axl van Windhook did a short, three-song, set and Max Décharné guested on vocals for a couple of Charlie Feathers' songs.

I spent some of the past week trying to book the upcoming Jacobites Acoustic Christmas tour. I've been receiving emails from people in Germany and further abroad asking if they can book Dave Kusworth and myself - which is reassuring. Next year the Last Bandits and myself will be touring in support of Treasure Island - which should be ready in January. So if any of you want
to see me and the band contact nikkisudden@hotmail.com and we'll see what can be arranged. The last time I booked a tour myself was the Jacobites Xmas / New Year tour of 1995 / 1996. I'd forgotten what hard work it is - planning the routing, getting posters and promo-photos organised, mailing stuff out. That's why I generally work with an agent. But at least if you do it yourself then the only person you can blame if things don't work out fine
is yourself.

I also checked out davekusworth.com today. Most everyone in the world seems to have a website these days and it's only fitting that my soul-mate from the Jacobites has one as well. It looks really cool - someone has done a great job. Put on a DK album, check it out and when you're there go to the discussion forum! We should get one of these going at nikkisudden.com.  

Next task in store is a visit to England to remaster the first two Swell Maps' albums for reissue by a Japanese label. These new editions will come with previously unpublished photos and sleeve notes. A bit like the Secretly Canadian reissues of my 1980's catalogue. The Maps' CDs will probably also feature a video clip on each album. We made two videos: Let's Build A Car and Midget Submarines. One of these was issued by Mute Records on the video compilation The Tyranny Of The Beat (Mute Video-MUTE A GREY 1V). I think that's still available from them.

One Nikki Sudden film-clip, for the song Great Pharaoh, was released The Creation Records Compilation (Virgin Music Video-VVD 703). The same clip is now on the reissue of Groove / Crown Of Thorns (Secretly Canadian-SC 53) where it's joined by a live performance of Sea Dog Blues, under the title of Jump On Jack. This was the first ever performance of the song and isessentially a different number, hence the alternative title. I've made a few other videos over the years: I Belong To You; Jangle Town, and a new song, Looking At You and a couple with the Jacobites: Don't You Ever Leave Me and Can't You See. These and some other footage will eventually appear on a Nikki Sudden DVD. There's probably some other stuff around that I can't recall at the moment. I've always been more interested in sounds rather than visuals. What I'd really like to do is to edit a NS video myself. Soon come. Now I'm off to the regular Sunday jam session at the Butterclub in Friedrichshain - free drinks and a song or more... I go down there once a month or so. It's always fun.

Saturday - September 13 - Athens - You know how I was rambling on about the joys, or otherwise, of sleeping on park benches the other week? I shouldn't have tempted fate. Arrived at Piraeus after an 8-hour ferry ride from Amorgos and caught the Metro into town - then made it to the friend's place where we were staying. Anyway, after some food I went out for some drinks with another Greek friend (Hi! Loukia!). All was going swimmingly - if you count 4 or 5 glasses of Ouzo as swimming - until I got in the cab to get 'home'. Loukia told the taxi driver where to take me and we drove off into the night. I fall asleep for a couple of minutes. As I'm coming to the driver stops somewhere and says, "This is it!" or something along those lines. I look out to find out I haven't a clue where I am. "This is where you asked for..." the cabbie replies when I ask where I am. I wander off into the night looking for something vaguely recognisable. I spend the next four hours wandering the streets of Athens - a city I've been to three times in my life before - the last of these was in 1987 or '88. By 5am I still haven't found anywhere that I even vaguely recognise. Also by this time I'm so bloody tired - only having caught 2 hours sleep the previous night - that I've actually attempted to sleep on three different park benches in threedifferent parks... I can sleep most places and often have... but park benches... Forget it.

This evening I heard about the death of Johnny Cash. I met both John and June Carter backstage at Glastonbury back in the early nineties. We shook hand and he said, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash!" What else? I asked him about Charlie Feathers and he replied, "A real gentleman..." Likewise with JR Cash. A real gentleman - the world is a sadder place without him... But it's also a greater place for having known him. Why do the Americans nearly always - just like the English - look to the fools and charlatans to lead them. Johnny Cash would have made a great president, but he had far better things to do with his life.

Around 5 or 6 years ago people started saying to me that I should get Johnny Cash to record my song, Liquor, Guns & Ammo.  I asked my publisher Warner-Chappell to try and get the song to him. Like an good publisher they didn't do a thing. I tried other avenues but they always ended up at dead end streets. I met Dave Molton, drummer from the Joey Skidmore Band, in Berlin this spring. We got to talking about pirates and the like - a mutual fascination - and at some point during the evening Liquor, Guns & Ammo came up in the conversation. Dave mentioned that he knew Kent, JC's road manager... Long shot is that Dave passed the song onto Kent. Kent said if he thought the song was suitable for JC he'd pass it on. He heard it, thought Johnny would like it and got the tape to him. I hope he heard t before he died. I wish he'd recorded it, but...

Tuesday - September 8 - Potamos, Amorgos - Most days over the past week I've been bashing away on my acoustic - Washburn J28 - mainly in open D tuning. I've been writing around a song a day. Some in regular, others in open D. The inspiration, like the sunshine, seems to strike...  Tomorrow is my last night on Amorgos. It's also full moon - so I'll be playing in the Blue Cafe, here in Aigiali. Then off to Athens for a day or two - then up to Thessaloniki where I think I'll be playing three shows. This computer is bloody slow! And costing me an arm and a leg - so watch out for a hopping one-armed guitar player at future shows!

Saturday - September 6 - Aegialis, Amorgos, Agean Sea - Last night I played at Giatsento. A solo set for which I was joined by Snoopy, the drummer from Love who'd been on the island for a couple of months. I hadn't actually met him when I started playing... But after a few songs he wandered in, put down his bag and pulled assorted instruments out. Later on we were joined by aguitarist called Alex. Left the bar around 4am - a great evening. More will follow as soon as I find the time and the money...

Monday - September 1 - Naxos - In case you're wondering Naxos is one of the bigger Greek islands. Barbara and I ended up here last night - en route to Amorgos - which is where we're supposed to be. Plane left Berlin at 6am - arriving in Athens we caught the bus to the port of Piraeus - hung around there in cafe's and streets until late afternoon when the ferry left. Sat on
the ferry for at least 5 hours - until we arrived at some island (name unknown). Another hour brought us to Naxos... Got off the boat - met by woman who said, "You need a room?" We said, "Yes!" Followed her and found salvation. That was yesterday. When we'd got ther room we went out for a midnight crawl around the town of Naxos itself. A couple of glasses of ouzo
and all was well. Today we went into a ferry ticket office to be told that the 1 o'clock boat to Amorgos was cancelled and that we'd have to wait till 10.50 this evening. This island is glorious and sundrenched but sometimes it seems a bit like the old tv advert, "They came in search of paradise - they got sunstroke. "This will be continued when we arrive. Seems like people keep on stealing my soul all down the line. As long as I get justice before I die - well in a coupla minutes time - that'll be fine. Now, stop me if you've heard this one before... You know Black & White by Michael Jackson? The riff (written by Slash) is exactly the same as my song Groove. I've been told by friends in LA that one of Guns n' Roses is a big NS fan but I've no idea which one. I assumed it'd be Izzy but when I met him and introduced myself I didn't really get a reaction. So one assumes it must be either Duff or Slash. Anyway for around 2 or 3 years after B&W came out everytime I did a radio interview, etc. they'd always asked me, "Are you going to sue Michael Jackson?" Well, I've 'stolen' things in my time so I didn't see the reason - plus I'd never win against the kind of lawyers they'd have. So I did nothing. Sometimes I think I should have. But it's only a kiss in the wind... and there's a lot of wind out there.

Saturday August 30 - Berlin - Arrived back in town an hour ago - a flying visit - in 12 hours I'm off to Greece! It looks likely that I'll be playing a show at Residents in Thessaloniki while I'm there. Stay tuned for further info. This morning at 10 o'clock Kusworth and I were playing songs and being filmed by Hans and Michael. Tetsu, our Japanese bass player friend, was taking photos. If you're getting excited here, Dave McNarie, this is not Mr. Yamauchi, but a different Tetsu. At least I learnt the correct pronunciation of Yamauchi - and it sounds pretty different to the way I thought it would. (DAVE replies: yaw maw oo chee)

Dave and I did some of our songs: Whether I Want It Or Not; Into My Arms; a new thing or two and some covers. Dave and I have been hanging out together in London most of the week. Discussing the upcoming Jacobites Teenage Christmas tour and the next album. The tour should take up a good part of December and is being booked now. If anyone would be interested in having Dave and I play in their town contact me. If it's feasible we'll do it! Darrell could also be on the tour with us as support act and guest musician. He says he can play a good lap steel. In case you were wondering I met up with Summer on the 24th, and again yesterday (see August 10). She came over from LA with her saxaphone an' all and could have got up and played with Dave, Darrell and me at the Fiddler's Elbow, but she was too dead and ended up going up to High Wyckham on the train. In the post were two CD's with contributions from yours truly. The first, United Zoo Of Waldstock #2, available from Andy Conrad contains "Don't Look Back", an outtake from Treasure Island. The band and myself played at the Waldstock Festival in Pegnitz last summer and had a grand time. The second release is a compilation of tracks by my friends, Madra Gora Lightshow Society and features their version of my song, Big Store (Orig.), but with me on vocals. The recording features a new verse, improvised on the spot in the foyer of the Silke Arpe Bricht club in Hannover - not in London as it says in the set's sleeve notes. You can get copies of the MGLS CD from Swamp Room Records or direct from www.nikkisudden.com. As Michael Miles would have said, "Take your pick!"

Thursday August 28 - London - Dave Kusworth, Darrell Bath and I went to the 100 Club to catch Mick Taylor's great show. He was great, the band were not so good, but Mick was great. The last number was a version of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - Mick T's guitar playing puts Ronnie Wood to shame. After the show Mick, Marlies, a few Dutch guys (including Mick's support, Erwin Nyhoff), Linda Raeburn, Libbgart Ottens, Mary Robertson and myself went back to the Marble Arch Thistle Hotel for a few drinks - L, L, M and me arrived just as the bar had shut up shop. "We closed early because there was no-onehere." Thanks a lot! Didn't get a drink until I got back to Ealing where I was staying for the night - and that was a glass of that over-heavy
Australian Shiraz - I turned a second one down. 

Wednesday - August 27- London - Arrived back in town on Sunday - bumped into Dave Kusworth & Darrell Bath. We ended up at the Fiddler's Elbow in Chalk Farm - the three of us played a couple of numbers. "When Angels Die" and "Kings And Queens". Then I went to Twickenham... Ended the night in the Petersham Hotel, drinking a rather expensive bottle of port!
Hans Kroeninger, my German friend, the one who's making the N Sudden documentary, is also in London - so we hung out together, walking the streets, doing bits and pieces of filming. Went for a meal, had a cheap-ish bottle of wine... Yesterday was the same sort of thing - another bottle of port ended up the day fine, and got me 5 hours of good sleep...

Tuesday August 26 - London - Hans and I wandered along to the 100 Club on Oxford Street for a show by tribute band, The Rolling Stoned. The club wasn't open when we arrived so we carried on up to HMV. Arriving, we found that we'd just missed a set by new Australian band, Jet!  My friend, Roberto, had seen them in Australia some months back and told me how impressed he'd been. It's a real shame that we'd missed them. So, I stuck around and after the queue for autographs had gone down I got the band to sign the two different copies of their début single, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"' for me. They told me that they'd be back in Europe this autumn. This autograph thing is a funny one. I personally like to get stuffed signed, I always ask friends of mine when they give me copies of their albums or of books they've written to sign them for me. I've books signed by some of my favourite authors. Records signed by some of my favourite musicians. I always sign stuff if people ask me. I always think the covers look better before I scrawl all over them, but I can understand why people collect autographs. A friend of mine was interviewing John and Yoko back when and asked them to sign her copy of The Wedding Album. She said that she didn't like to ask, to which Lennon replied, "Don't be daft. Back in the late Fifties, I used to wait outside the Liverpool Odeon to get Little Richard's autograph!" If it's cool enough for John Lennon, then it's cool enough for me. 

It's always better if you get the autograph yourself, though. Then at least you know that it's genuine.

Sunday - August 24 - Leamington Spa but gravitating towards London - Sitting here listening to Ike & Tina- stuff from the late '60's. I prefer Ike & Tina from the early-to-mid '70's, but 60s is all there is here. I'll be back home in Berlin a week from today, for around 11 hours, before heading off to Greece. Sometimes it'd be cool to be in one place for longer, but the sunshine always beckons.  And, for the benefit of some of our Greek readers, when I wrote two days back that I was 'sleeping by canals', I didn't mean that I was sleeping rough. More that some friends parked their vehicles by a canal and we slept in them - which was comfortable enough - I've slept a lot worse. I did try sleeping on a park bench one time - the experiment lasted 15 minutes before I gave up and trudged on to a friend's place and slept there. That was in London - around 1980 or so. Never again. So now I'm off to catch the 10.30 train to London. See you there. Oh, and by the way, Mick Taylor is playing at the 100 Club on Thursday - there's just a chance that we might be doing a song together. If it happens I'll let you know. If you get stuck getting any of my albums you should be able to get all the reissues direct from Secretly Canadian: http://www.secretlycanadian.com

Red Brocade and Liquor, Guns & Ammo are available from Chatterbox Records:
http://home.pacbell.net/chtrbox/

And the rest of the stuff direct from me: www.nikkisudden.com 

Saturday - August 23 - middle-England - Yes, I have a life of my own - and sometimes I get to live it. Okay, so you always hear this from musicians, but Treasure Island is the best album I've ever made. And everyone who's heard it says the same thing too, and I know it is, so. The question most people ask me these days is when will it be released? I'm pondering a few different options. One of these is to release the album under a different name so that it gets a fair review. Most journalists will think, "Oh! Another Nikki Sudden album!" and they all seem to have such pre-conceived perceptions that they'll either not listen to it or they'll write a review full of all the usual clichés that I most-always seem to attract. If I do follow that path I'll also issue it, exactly the same record, as an NS album and see how the write-ups differ. Some authors have tried this ploy of submitting a book to their regular publisher and getting it rejected. Or of publishing a book under a pseudonym and seeing what happens. For some it worked: Alastair MacLean as Ian Stuart - The Satan Bug. Charles Hamilton who published stories under the names of Frank Richards, Martin Clifford and Owen Conquest, amongst others. Agatha Christie who wrote 6 love stories under the name of Mary Westmacott. So Treasure Island will come out - but not till January - 'cos that's when the Honey Baby film comes out - and it doesn't make sense to not take a ride with the publicity from each other helping out. But hopefully copies will be available from www.nikkisudden.com before that. I still don't know what's going to be on the cover. The cover for The Last Bandit took ages to sort out. You know when you have the right shot but until that picture comes along you're searching against the wind. At least I know the name of the label. And I've got an idea for a photo that might just be perfect.

Friday - August 22 - England - I spent the last week in Holland - hanging out on the streets, sleeping by canals, in car parks, at friend's places and on one occasion in a hotel bed. I did this to see the Stones three times. and it was worth it. but then it always is. Last Friday's gig was at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam after which we drove straight to Vrededenburg in Utrecht to begin queuing for the following night. Vrededenburg was one of the five club shows the Stones are playing on this tour - and, for me, one of the best shows I've ever seen. So far I've been to all four club concerts they've played and bits of each show were better than others - together they make up a fantastic gig. Me and my friend Linda Raeburn ended up in the front row on Ronnie's side - but everyone who was in the concert hall thought the band were fantastic. This show, like the Olympia one in Paris was filmed for the upcoming Stones' DVD - if you can't see me on that then something'll be wrong! The support band in Utrecht, The Vue  were the best group the Stones have had opening for them on this tour. The singer, Rex Shelverton, was really cool.  The evening ended up in a pub across the street from the venue where I ended up chatting to Jeremy Bringetto, the Vue's bassist. On Sunday Peter Zehner, Thomas Zott, Marlies and myself walked round Utrecht - bumping into the band in the early evening - they were on their way to Amsterdam - pity we didn't have more time to chat. We had some food and then drove to Amsterdam to sleep by a cosy canal. Monday we trawled round the town before meeting up with Thorsten, a German friend exiled in the Dutch capital. After visiting quite a few bars I ended up crashing out on a mattress at Thorsten's place. Next day was another Stones' day - this time at Amsterdam ArenA. To get front row you have to be prepared to queue for a long, long time and then when the gates are opened you run like hell. It's always worth it and there's a lot of camaraderie in the queues and later in the front row. Wednesday we went to the stadium again and started queuing - until just after midday when the security announced that the gig was cancelled due to Mick Jagger catching the flu. Annoying but there's nothing you can do about it. I ended up going to see Pirates Of The Caribbean with a couple of Dutch girls. People had been telling me about the film for months and I was really looking forward to seeing it. I didn't realise that it was essentially a comedy - I'd thought it would be a straight pirate film. Rather disappointing. but. Yesterday a friend drove back to England from Rotterdam. I joined her. So here I am, back in the old country for a week or so.

Tuesday August 12 - Berlin - Just got back from pizza funghi w/ ruccola salad at Casolare - dream meal!  And now I'm about to embark on re-reading two great books about pirates. The first, written by Jenifer Marx, is called Pirates & Privateers Of The Caribbean - I got it as a gift from Dave Molton, an American drummer who I met in Berlin earlier this year. I also bought The Brethren Of The Coast by Lieutenant Commander P K Kemp & Professor Christopher Lloyd. Both are fascinating stuff. It's great when you get pulled into a subject if there are a load of great books just waiting for you. Pirates and piracy are one of those themes that are eternally attractive, beguiling and enthralling - and there is a wealth of literature on the subject. It's not so much the reality that's enticing, more the idea of what could have been. Pirates, on the whole, were a pretty gruesome bunch. but so was most everyone in those ages! For instance, "So many slaves were taken during a great sea battle [off Algiers in 1541] that a Christian was scarcely fair exchange for an onion." Somedays it can't be much fun being an onion! 

Monday August 11 - Berlin - Busy packaging up CDR's of Treasure Island to send to various contacts around the world. Still reading Simon Scarrow's When The Eagle Hunts, and getting dangerously close to the end. At least his new one is out this week.

Sunday August 10 - Berlin - Some of us were born lucky! Sometimes I'm one of the lucky ones. Just got a phone call from my friend Summer in Los Angeles. Summer plays the saxophone and is a very nice Californian blonde. She's going to be in London from the middle of the month - and so will I - so we're going to meet up - hopefully do a show together. We did four or five UK gigs together in the late '80's. Santi and I went along to the Butterclub in Freidrichshein, here in Berlin for the Sunday evening jam session. We did a few covers: Dead Flowers, Respectable, Don't Lie To Me and a few of my songs: Too Bad For You, One More String Of Pearls plus some I can't remember. We even got some girls dancing. You shoulda been there.

Saturday August 9 - Berlin - Ended up at White Trash Fast Food on Torstrasse for the first time in a long time. Steve Morrell was there with an American  / Israeli / Louisiana chick he'd seen at Schokoladen the other day. Miss Dahlia Schweitzer was doing the last of four Berlin  performances that night. To the sound of backing tapes, accompanied by a  small keyboard she pranced and did the pony across the floor, the chairs and  the tables of White Trash. Before that Santi and I had met up with Kinch Blade at The Club on Immanuelkirche Strasse. I used to play The Club every two or three months - they had a regular Sunday afternoon gig which paid the phone bill. It was good fun as well, which is always important. I have a friend who releases 'compilation' albums - for want of a better description. Over the past few days I was putting together one for him. He'd asked me to organise a couple a few years back and I was taking my time with the project. After spending a day or so compiling the first of these - (there was a deadline - something I always need) - I got so into it that I did the track listing for a second collection in half an hour yesterday afternoon. Now I'm just fine-tuning the running order.

Friday August 8 - Hannover - Went to see the Stones at the Open Air Arena in Hannover. I should have ended up backstage for this one, but due to a mix up it didn't happen. I've been backstage for the Rolling Stones before - you get a different side of the same picture - it's always cool to have a chat with the band, most any band, before they go on stage. As usual with the Stones it was yet another great stadium show, but I felt so tired. It's been a long life. Then a friend gave me a lift back to Berlin.

Thursday August 7 - Hannover - I tried to blag a gig at painter / caricaturist, Sebastian Krüger's, exhibition / opening at the Georgspalast in Hannover, but I left it too late and he'd already got a band. Met SK at the premiere of a Stones' documentary last year and we picked things up from there. Arrived in Hannover early Thursday evening and breezed into the show. I picked up one of Sebastian's books to get signed - which he did with a flourish and a skull - I mentioned the title of my new album and he added a pair of cross-bones. Later he presented me with a different book of his and did a sketch of me as a pirate - very sweet. Those of you who know his work will know that his caricatures are quite wicked - the sketch he did of me featured a large nose and chin - but also incredibly perceptive. I also met Mick (The Glitter King)  - there should be a photo of Mick, Sebastian and me somewhere on this site.

Sebastian and his wife, Andrea, invited me to stay at their place, a cool, funky, 150-year old house, in the middle of fields and woods - twenty kilometres from town. We sat up half the night, drinking and talking. He showed me some of his work and he offered to do a picture for Treasure Island. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does. Now, with Dave Twist's contribution I'm going to have three potential covers for one album. I really have to start working out what's going to happen with TI soon. SK still hasn't heard any of my stuff! But neither have most of the world.

Wednesday August 5 – Back In The Cage – The Cage is how Trevor Austin used to describe Berlin during the days of The Wall, when this was the coolest place on Earth. The only island in the middle of a continent… I first fell for Berlin when I saw Cabaret in 1973, when I heard Lou Reed’s Berlin album, and the Bowie film, Just A Gigolo. I first came here in 1985 and fell in love with the dissoluteness of the place. It seemed to be somewhere where anything could happen – and frequently did! Over the next ten years I seemed to spend two to three months here each year.  I was offered a flat towards the tail end of 1996 and took it. Before that I’d been based in England – normally spending two days a month in the country – enough time to answer my mail and do my washing – it made more sense to move out for a while. Some years I’ve spent a maximum of 5 weeks in my flat. Recently I’ve been thinking of moving – but where, I’m not yet sure… I kept on thinking, ‘somewhere warmer’, but I don’t think anywhere’s much warmer than Europe has been this summer. There’s too many Germans in this country.

In Prague, I read two Dudley Pope novels – both from his Ramage series: Ramage And The Freebooters & Ramage’s Challenge. All good yarns! Ramage is a contemporary of Hornblower – an officer in Nelson’s navy. On the same lines is Alexander Kent’s ongoing series about Richard Bolitho. Kent also writes under the name of Douglas Reeman – mainly WW1 And WW2 navy fiction. But my favourite two living writers seem to be Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow. When I was younger I devoured Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books before moving on to Captain W.E. Johns’ Biggles series. I still read Johns – he’s one writer you can never grow out of. I was going to write a ‘fan’ letter to Captain Johns but his death on 21 June 1968, at the early age of 75, pre-empted that. For the next years I read Alastair MacLean: Where Eagles Dare, The Satan Bug, The Guns of Navarone, etc., etc. I wrote MacLean a letter but I got the address slightly wrong and it was returned to me. He died a week or so later, on February 2 1987. Since then I decided it wasn’t such a good idea to write to any authors. But during the last year I’ve written to BC and SS – I met BC at book signing / talk for his recent novel, Vagabond. And in less than two weeks time Mr. Scarrow is doing the same for, his new book… And that’s about 3 miles from my folks’ place. I picked up Trevor’s drawings / paintings for TI today – you’ll see ’em in good time.

Santi and Louie turned up on Monday evening and we went to Casolare for my dream meal – Pizza Funghi and Ruccola salad. Santi has been threatening / promising me with a bottle of port, which he still hasn’t delivered – we ended up in the Italian again tonight – Pizza Funghi with Ruccola and a litre of vino rosso. Such a life…  

Sunday August  3 – Last day in Prague – The festival was actually called Blatenský, due to this Czech thing about word endings, but it was in the town of Blatná. About 2,000 people there. Pavel, Phil and I arrived there late afternoon and met Jarda Kvasnicka and Pavel Krtous, the other two members of Phil’s band, Southern Cross – henceforth to be known as Shoenfelt. As usual this summer, it was a blazing hot day, so we repaired to the local pub for a few drinks and some food. I was a late booking for the festival, so my 20 minute slot was while Phil & Co: We're setting up the stage for their set. After an enthusiastic announcement (well, I assume it was enthusiastic) containing a brief potted NS history, I launched into Aeroplane Blues followed by Hurt Me More. Feeling a bit like Bob Dylan must have at Live Aid – people were clanking equipment across the stage – talking – generally making a hell of a lot of noise - I carried on with Pretty Little Pretty and then a version of Stay Bruised before ending with Back To The Coast. A bit distracting, but good fun.

Leaving Prague tonight - just got a message to say that Santiago and Louie Louie from Spain will be in Berlin for a ’holiday’. It never stops... I stayed with them for a couple of weeks last Autumn – playing gigs at Santi’s bar, Hanoi in Vigo. Typical Santi question, “What would you like for breakfast, Nikki, port or brandy?” God help my liver! Santi is the proud owner of an original Dan Armstrong plexi-glass guitar which he got me to sign... A beautiful guitar that I first played when The Last Bandits and myself played in Vigo in spring 2002. I’ll have to take them to Casolare, the best pizzeria in Berlin, best in Germany... My favourite restaurant in the world – and it’s only ten minutes walk from my flat. I could eat there every day... Somedays I do...

Saturday August 2 - Prague – Phil, violinist Pavel Cingl, and I played at the Vystřelénho pub yesterday evening to a rapturous crowd including Robert Carrithers, the director of From Prague To Berlin, the film I mentioned yesterday. He thinks they’ll be filming in Berlin during November – should fit in fine with my schedule. First set last night was yours truly, solo. Then Phil and Pavel did some of their numbers. I’d just ordered some food when I was called up for a three-piece closing set. Smažený Sýr is deep-fried cheese, kinda like camembert, but a bit different – a Czech speciality. But a bit difficult to eat while you’re playing guitar and singing at the same time. Consequently I kept on laying back on the rhythm and grabbing a bite or two of the cheese and the chips. Not very professional but our sum earnings for the night were 1000 CK’s – between the three of us. That’s about 10 Euros / Dollars per musician. At least the food and the drinks were free.

I used to keep a diary every day, more or less, every day until about two or three years back when the spirit waned. I wish I hadn’t stopped but at least due to Dave McNarie’s chiding I’ve started again. Dave runs the Faces website: www.the-faces.com and for some unknown reason offered to help out with this site as well. Dimitris, the chap who put it together and got it up online was conscripted into the Greek army a few days after the launch. He’ll be out in 18 months. So many thanks to both of them.

Today Phil and his band, Southern Cross, and I, are off to play the Blatná Festival in South Bohemia, which is about a 100 km drive. I’ll write something about that tomorrow...

Friday – August 1 – Prague – Played a show last night with Joe from Garage and his band, Carnation. We did four songs together: Sea Dog Blues; Dragging Me Down (a new number I wrote in Seattle in April); Too Bad For You and a strange version of the Faces’ track, Ooh La La. Strange because I don’t think any of the band had heard the song before. It was just a case of me shouting out the chords – and off we went. It’s always easy playing with good musicians – even if they haven’t heard the song before they’ll know how to play.

As far as films go I haven’t yet mentioned the ongoing Nikki Sudden documentary, which is being made by Hans Kröninger. Hans has been filming me for 4 or 5 years now. He’s interviewed just about everybody I’ve ever worked with from Peter Buck to Mike Scott, Sonic Youth to Ryan Adams, Phil Shöenfelt to Evan Dando, Ian McLagan to Dave Kusworth, Hugo Race to Nick Cave. Hans has even interviewed my parents… twice! There’s a few people he hasn’t got around to talking to yet – Rowland Howard, Kevin Junior, Jeff Tweedy, Jeff Dahl, Alan McGee… but he’ll get them all before the end.

Hans has also filmed me on tour in the States and in Europe – in the studio in England – in my flat – basically everywhere. 400 hours or more of film… The Quasimodo gig with Darrell Bath on guitar this March was shot with five cameras… possibly for a DVD. Possibly not.

Hans’ cameraman, Bruno Roth, is also making a film in which I think I have another cameo. The star of that one seems to be another friend of mine, Axl van Windhook, who plays a pickpocket. And this morning I was asked to be in another film – a Czech / German production starring legendary Australian drummer, Chris Hughes, who has also been interviewed for the NS documentary.

Phil and I are playing a few songs each and / or together tonight in a pub about 10 minutes from his flat. Last night’s gig was two tram rides and almost an hour away. Tonight’s location can be seen in the last shot in Phil’s Green Hotel – the one where I’m wearing a dodgy hat and Phil is grimacing my way with a fag shoved in his gob. Happy days!

Thursday July 31 (part II) - Prague - As I said  a good few days ago, I’ll tell you more about Phil Shöenfelt. An Englishman in exile in Prague, he’s a great musician and has made a good handful of albums here including Blue Highway, Dead Flowers For Alice and Ecstatic. He’s also published two books, The Green Hotel (a collection of lyrics and photos) and Junkie Love – which I described as, ‘the best book about heroin addiction since William Burrough’s Junkie.’ Phil’s currently working on Stripped which tells the story of his days in New York at the beginning of the 1980’s. I’ve read some parts and had some others read to me and it’s another great book – perhaps his best one yet!

Although Junkie Love and Stripped are not always that pleasant a read they tell a tale that’s a fascinating run through the seedier side of life. Drugs, sex, rock’n roll, you want it, you’ll get it. Shoenfelt’s imagination trackmarks it’s way along corridors that you wouldn’t really want to walk yourself – but you’re glad that someone else has done it for you. All Phil’s albums and books are available from www.geocities.com/philshoenfelt and all of them come highly recommended. Phil and I worked together on the as yet unreleased album, Golden Vanity which we recorded in 1997 with Carl Eugene Picôt and drummer, Robbie Schmidt. The album was recorded before Red Brocade but I’ve never been that happy with the mixes we made at the time. So don’t believe what you read on Phil’s page where it says that it will be released in the near future. It’ll be released one day, but god knows when! I need to take the tapes up to WSRS to get a really cool mix first.

Thursday July 31 – Still in Prague - I’ve appeared in three films in my life. The first was called Unter der Milchstrasse (Under The Milkyway) and Dave Kusworth and I have a small cameo - blink and you’ll miss us - as two musician on a train. I made up the song, Travelling European Blues, for the film which was shot in Lithuania in 1993 or 1994. The second was another cameo role - this time a bit longer - as a drunk in a bar. They asked me what I wanted to drink, so I asked for a pastis. I forgot that when films are being made they always do seven or eight takes and downed the drink during the first run through. An hour later I was pretty drunk. But it was my birthday and I got the part as a present from film producer friend, Milanka Comfort. Planet Alex, which starred Ben Becker, was another German production this time shot around Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. Next came the new Kaurismaki, Honey Baby, for which I contributed a good percentage of the soundtrack but don’t appear on screen. Finally there’s Egoshooter by the German film directors Oliver Schwabe and Christian Becker. I was asked to play an angel / busker / Nikki Sudden, which was quite easy. I sing Angels In My Arms and Back To The Coast to the film’s main protagonist, Jakob,  played by actor Tom Schilling. My part was shot on the last day of filming in Köln, Germany in early April. Teresina Moscatiello, who shot the video for my as yet unreleased song, Looking At You, is working on a script for her next feature which will include an acting part for me. Honey Baby and Egoshooter will be released over the next months.

Wednesday July 30 - Still in Prague - As any of you who've been here will know, Prague is an incredibly beautiful city. During these mainly sun-drenched, though occasionally rain-washed, days, Prague's as gorgeous as it's ever been. A never-ending cascade of baroque buildings lace out along the streets. Trams clank on by. The only trouble is the relentless drabs of tourists who skulk and fail just about everywhere. Yesterday Peter Zehner and I wandered around for most of the day - stopping in restaurants, cafes, the waxworks museum, etc. We spent a lot of the day working out the perfect title for the upcoming Stones' 4-DVD set which I've been asked to help out with. Between us we came up with the goods. Cover design, the lot... Whether our suggestions will be accepted is another matter. The evening was spent in a Czech pub well away from the tourist traps of the centre. Talking the evening away... A lot of our discussion centred on the Stones and could have gone on forever. Peter has taken photos of 90% of the shows he's ever seen - he's got an archive of over 10,000 shots. Not just of the Stones on stage, but the fans, the ephemera, the locations, the history. Because what we're living in is history. To be alive at the same time as artists such as the Stones and Bob Dylan is to be very privileged. To be able to see them in concert and occasionally off-stage is an honour. If only I'd seen the Faces, New York Dolls and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Elvis Presley, Charlie Feathers and Carl Perkins. I've missed so many great gigs in my time but I've seen some glorious bands. Life is for the living. I try to have a good time all the time. As long as you don't hurt anyone by your actions you're doing fine. And with what I do I seem to be able to touch some people as well. Life could be a lot worse. Roll on the release of Treasure Island. The cover artwork is being done. A few final overdubs and mixes need to be sorted out and then, hopefully, the album will be ready to roll.

Tuesday July 28 - Prague - I don't think yesterday's description of why I love the Stones was up to much, so I'll try and do better, but give me a few days first. The Ronnie Wood Art Show was pretty good - some pieces I hadn't seen on exhibition before. Peter Zehner (photographer extraordinaire) and I trolled round the castle and the old town for 3 or 4 hours, out in the European summer sun all afternoon. Prague is such a funky pretty kind of town. Going on the Stones European tour hasn't cost me a penny so far. I've played shows in every town on the tour - apart from Berlin - and if I hadn't have gone to see the Stones I wouldn't have been in those cities and wouldn't have got to play anyway. This sure beats kicking my heels in the parks, ice-cream parlours, pizzerias and bars of Berlin. It looks like the festival I was supposed to play at this coming weekend isn't happening but I seem to be doing a show in Prague this Thursday and a different festival 100 kilometres from here on Saturday. Where I don't know. More details as soon as I have them.

Prague - July 28 - If you're wondering why I like the Rolling Stones so much that I've seen 12 shows over the past couple of months, and will see a load more, there's no simple explanation. They've never let me down, never let anyone down - that's one reason - but there's a lot more. The fact they can make a 100,000 capacity stadium like last night's gig at Letna here in the Czech Republic seem like a club is one more. If you've never seen them you should. Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream said to me years ago that he'd have gone and seen the Stones years ago but now it was too late. Other people spout rubbish like, "The Stones time is over," but the only ones who say that are people who've never seen the band. Once you see them you're going to be hooked. The best band there ever has been - the best band there ever will be. Today I'm off to Ronnie Wood's Art Show, which'll probably be the same sort of stuff as exhibited in the other European cities the band has played. But it's in the castle, in the old part of town. And I can't think of anything better to do today.

Prague - July 27 - After traveling from one side of Germany to the other and then driving across the border, past the working girls of Dubi and on into Prague I needed a good long night's sleep. which, of course, I didn't get. Phil and I sat up till 4 or 5 listening to Treasure Island which got a great thumbs up and then I climbed into bed. Woke up at 8 in the morning. Great! Over the past couple of months I seem to have averaged a good 3 to 4 hours sleep a night. Then off to meet some friends and to pick up my front of stage ticket for that night's Stones show. Down to the stadium - in this case basically a big open, fenced-in space and queued in the blistering heat
for 3 hours. In Europe the floor is all standing and if you want the best place in the house, which is up against the barrier, you queue. And then you run like hell when the gates open. Keep fit with the Stones. The gates opened at 3.30pm and we hared down through the gates. And, of course, I got a place on Ronnie's side of the stage, up against the barrier. Tonight there were two support bands - the first were Brainstorm from Latvia - the second Olympic from Czechoslovakia. The Latvians sounded incredibly '80's and at first were quite irritating but their obvious excitement to be supporting the Stones won me over. Olympic went down okay with some sections of the audience but, as they are an old 'communist-approved' band, they were met with sullen boredom from many more. How the Stones choose their support acts these days is beyond me. Next tour I'll be up there. And that's a promise. The Stones were fantastic, but then they always are. If you want a full rundown of the gig I'll be writing the show up for Bjornulf Vik's It's Only Rock'n Roll website: www.iorr.org - check it out. I also write for most issues of the It's Only Rock'n Roll magazine. Subscription details are available from the site.

Prague - July 26 - So I left off in Hamburg the other day about to go off and play a gig that had been booked the day before. The previous two days the place had been totally packed and the owner was obviously expecting similar things of Friday night. It's always fun to play a show but it's a lot better playing to 100 / 200 / 2,000 people, whatever, than to 10 or 20. The evening still turned out well - first set was my own songs and the second set, in honour of Mick Jagger's 60th birthday, was 90% Stones numbers. In Germany they celebrate someone's birthday at midnight of the previous day, so as the clock struck 12 I sang a new song of mine called Happy Birthday: So they say that it's your birthday / Happy birthday,  darling dear. Glasses were raised, drinks were drunk, a good time was had by all. The next morning I took the train to Leipzig to meet up with my friend, Peter Zehner, and we drove on to Prague to meet the parfidad of Prague himself, Mr. Phil Shoenfelt. Phil is a great musician who I've worked with in the past -  check out Broken Glove on Egyptian Roads. Phil comes from England but has lived in the Czech capitol for 8 years now. More about him tomorrow... We went out to Akropolis in Zizkov for drinks. Met a girl who came up to me and said, "Hello young prince," which I thought was a good start. Whatever happens next...

July 24 - Hamburg - Since I've been back in Germany I've played every night... And I'm playing tonight... And I'm getting paid... which of late has become a bit of a novelty! Arrived in town on Wednesday - staying with my friend DM Bob - couple of hours sleep and then down the Stadtcafe Ottensen for their Ronnie Wood / Stones party which I'd been asked to play at. Stones cover band, Beatles cover band, Chris Jagger (always cool), Stones cover band again and finally at 1.30 I got to play... Did a few Stones' numbers plus some of my own. Good fun. Yesterday off to see the Stones again. Another great show in the AOL Arena, here in HH town. Went back to the Cafe Ottensen after the show and ended up jamming out some numbers with Brown Sugar, the Stones' tribute group. Then to the Atlantic hotel where I ended up talking with Darryl Jones for 20 minutes or so - nice chap... Finally got to sleep around 5 or 6... up again at 11 and out walking round St. Pauli before ending up back here writing out a brief resume of my misadventures for you lot. Sorry these Hamburg shows weren't up on the gig page but they happened too late minute. I'll be on stage tonight in about an hour. So you'll probably all miss me... again.

Monday July 21 - Still in Stockholm - Last night I got an email from Frank Deimel, the guy who built my Treasure Island guitar. The design, colour, the whole bloody thing, has been ripped off by a German guitar maker www.crazyparts.de and a Japanese one www.guitartraders.com! The 'pirate' versions don't look as cool, have six-strings and a tacky skull and crossbones or some kind of buccaneer as an inlay. There must be some kind of copyright on guitar designs - but then if there was there wouldn't be hundreds of rip-off Les Paul and Strat copies around. My guitar was based on several different guitars, in particular the Ted Newman Jones III one mixed with a Zemaitis idea or two, but we did something different. To see Frank and my ideas being made on the cheap is a bit much. But then imitation is one of the sincerest forms of compliment, in'it? If you want a genuine Deimel guitar contact Frank at: Frank.Deimel@t-online.de  http://www.deimelguitarworks.de One of the problems with this kind of itinerant life-style, one of the few problems, is there's little time to actually do anything normal. But who wants to waste their life away doing normal things? I wrote a good song the other day which I'll probably play tonight. Tonight's gig is at the embarrassingly named Dancing Dingo - an Australian pub run by a big Johnny Thunders fan - it used to be called Hannah's Cave. So I guess I'll be drinking again... and thinking of when... Now it's time for a long overdue breakfast! Cheese and tomatoes on toast?

Sunday July 20 - Stockholm - Thanks to all of you who came along to the Mondo gig on Saturday. I think a good time was had by all... and that includes me. It's a pretty good way to spend your birthday - a Stones' gig either side and I got to play in the middle. Woody signed a couple of photos - one of me and him - at his opening. But none of the Stones, strangely enough, came down to the Mondo. I'd have been incredibly surprised if they had! I gave a few invites out at the Grand Hotel on Friday evening with the words, "I've been to see you enough times, you should come and see me!" Despite it all I've been having a great time - beautiful city - cool people. The only trouble is that I've been rushing around so much that I keep on forgetting to eat - it'd probably be better if I forgot to drink! But alcohol keeps on coming my way. The Swedes are legendary for over-drinking and I seem to be matching them drink for drink. Things will change... Tonight I saw the second Stones' show - this time in an arena - and it was really sweet. The Stones are on such a roll... Catch them when you can... Miss them if you dare... One of the main reasons I like them so much is because they've never let me down. Best band there ever has been, best band there ever will be...

Saturday July 19 - Stockholm - Today's my birthday... Happy Birthday, Nikki! So the Ronnie Wood idea - see July 1 - didn't happen. But I've got an invite to his Art Show thing this evening. But it does say in the invite, "We ask all guests to respect Ronnie Wood's privacy during the event." So I guess if I try to I'll be escorted out by four gruff Swedish security types. Mind you, it does say in two of Sweden's top newspapers that it's possible (!) that Ronnie and Keith might well come down to my birthday show. That's today at Mondo, Medborgarplatsen 8, here in downtown Stockholm. I'll believe that when it happens. See you there?

Thursday July 17 - Stockholm - Arrived in town yesterday to be met by my friend, Maja. I've never been to Stockholm before - I played one solo acoustic show in a club in Lund somewhere on the Swedish coast a good twelve years back - so this is my second visit to the country. If you come here on the cheap, as I did, you have to suffer a bit. On Tuesday evening I arrived in Hamburg - went for some drinks with some friends - then sat outside the coach station for 2 or 3 hours - the bus came at 5.40am and drove to Lübeck airport! An hour or so late we arrived at some airport in the middle of the Swedish countryside - a good 90 minute drive from Stockholm. And the airline made me check my guitar in - which is something I try to never do... Luckily
the guitar came out intact this time. Anyway I'm here now and having a good time. Just did an interview / photo session with my old friend, Peter Lindhom, for Metro - the biggest Swedish daily newspaper. That'll be in tomorrow's edition. See you there...

Monday July 14 - Berlin - busy trying to sort out travel plans to Stockholm. My friend, Kinch Blade, who was organising the ticket for me seems to have come a cropper - but I'll get there whatever happens. In Paris the other day I realised that I'm the only musician who really follows the Stones around. I'm sure many others go and see the band but not to multiple shows! Which I find very strange. The Stones are such an inspiration to all cool musicians. A ten-hour train ride yesterday which was, as usual, pretty boring. Back here for a few days and then off to Sweden. I've been asked to play a second gig there in a week's time. But where I don't yet know! This morning's post brought a third hat  - this time a tricorn - from Herbert Jennissen
(www.hut-neubarth.de) in Augsburg. We met in the Bavarian city this January and since then HJ has been my official hat-maker. I've got six from him so far - caps, bicorn's, you name it. In Paris I went to Les Invalides, the French Army museum. They have so many great hats there. I should drag Herbert there and say, "This is what I want! This is what I need!"

Sunday July 13 - back in Berlin after a week in Paris. Played one show, my first in the town for around 7 years - saw some old friends - Lionel, Dimi, Herve & Co. - got my hair cut by the most beautiful girl - did some more filming with Hans and his cameraman, Bruno Roth, for the ongoing NS documentary - oh, and I got to see the Stones 3 more times. First gig was in the Bercy arena, second in the 70,000 capacity Stade de France and third show in the 2,000 Olympia. The Olympia show was the best gig I've ever seen in my life. by anyone. It ranks higher than the T.Rex 1975 tour, Mott the Hoople at Birmingham Top Rank in 1972, Led Zeppelin - B'ham Odeon '73, Bowie on the Aladdin Sane Tour at the Town Hall. Better than Johnny Thunders, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee, Chuck Berry and all the rest. I've seen some great
gigs in my life but this one had them all beat. I'll write more tomorrow, tonight I'm too tired. Even us rock stars have to sleep sometimes. Maybe I need to eat more cheddar.

Sunday July 6 - Berlin - Arrived back on Wednesday. On Friday I arranged for Hans Kröninger, a good friend who has been shooting a Nikki Sudden documentary for the past few years, to do an interview with Peter Buck. I last saw Pete in Seattle in April and I'd mentioned the project to him then. Hans has interviewed a lot of people I've worked with over the years including Dave Kusworth, Mike Scott, Darrell Bath, Evan Dando, Mercury Rev, Henry Thomas, etc., etc. After the interview we went to see REM at Berlin's Waldbühne - a great show - and I got a song dedicated to me. Yesterday I met Trevor Austin who is working on the artwork for Treasure Island. The cover is going to be in the vein of the Jangle Town 12". Looks great. Tomorrow morning I'm off to Paris. Unfortunately Helsinki got nudged out of the schedule, but Mika Kaurismäki, who I had dinner with the other night, says that the band and I will be playing there for the Honey Baby premiere.

Tuesday July 1 - Still in Middle England - It'd be great if these lazy summer days lasted forever - but instead it's been overcast and raining for the past two days. Yesterday I went to Birmingham to meet up with Dave Twist, Dave Kusworth, Glenn Tranter and Justin Farrow - better known as the Tenderhooks. One of the best bands I've ever seen... and I've seen some of the best... As the rain flecks past the window I'm trying to debate whether to go up to Helsinki, where I've never been, to see the Stones, or not. Visiting my old LA friend Rikki who now lives in Finland. Then the quick dash over the sea to Stockholm for my birthday gig and three more Stones' shows. Seems somehow impractical, which is rather annoying. Today I got a phone call from another old friend, Peter Lindholm, who is apparently now an editor at Sweden's biggest daily newspaper. He asked, "Seeing how you're writing a book on Ron Wood if we set up a meeting with the two of you would that be okay?" Well, I think I could handle that.  Tomorrow I fly back to Berlin after a day out in London. More soon.

Saturday June 28 - Leamington Spa - Life rolls on by. Don't be fooled by the glamour attached to some of the entries - life isn't always gorgeous. Most of the time it is, but not always. My favourite author these days - my favourite living author, at any rate, is Bernard Cornwell. I first discovered BC in holiday in Ireland a couple of summers back. Looking about for something to read I chanced upon a second hand copy of his first book, Sharpe's Eagle.  Since then I've read just about everything he's ever written - check out bernardcornwell.net for a list of his complete titles. And every time I come across a book with his recommendation plastered across the front I buy it. I haven't been disappointed yet. Up until I came across BC all my favourite authors were dead: Charles Hamilton, Leslie Charteris, Edwy Searles Brooks, P G Wodehouse, Howard Baker, Capt. W E Johns, Sapper, Alastair MacLean, Baroness Orczy and Co. Over the past two years a whole sea of fresh fiction has parted for me. I don't just like music, you see.

Friday June 27 - Leamington Spa. Didn't get to sleep till 8am - too busy sipping port and brandy and reading Simon Scarrow's excellent The Eagle's Conquest, the follow up to the equally brilliant Under The Eagle. I got a signed copy from him the other week. All I've done today is the same as I did all day yesterday which is very little. Written a few letters, read some magazines, called some friends. Walked into town - round the bookshops and bought a few: Conn Iggulden's (glad that isn't my name) Emperor, Allan Mallinson's The Sabre's Edge and a second hand copy of Douglas Reeman's Badge Of Glory. Those of you into these kinds of books will know what I'm on about here. The rest of you will just have to guess. So really I haven't been doing much at all. Sometimes the lazy life is cool.

June 25 - London - We met up with Mick & Marlies for lunch. Following which I interviewed Andy (Andrew) Newmark - drummer on Ronnie Wood's first two solo albums (& on Not For Beginners). Very nice chap. This was for my in progress book, Ron Wood (If You Gave Him A Chance!). Last question I asked... "Do you do any sessions these days?" He's playing in the orchestra pit for The Lion King in Covent Garden. "I'd love to but no one ever asks me." "I'd love you to play on my next album." "Pay my train fare and get a drum kit to the studio and I'll do it."  Roll on the next LP: - NS 2004 Then I caught the evening train up to middle England for a few days of r & r.

June 24 - The Crazy Cats & Dogs Club, Hackney, London, England - Joined by Darrell Bath for this one, which was a gas. If you don't know Darrell you should - brilliant guitarist and songwriter in the Faces' vein! Mick Taylor and his girlfriend, Marlies, turned up about 5 minutes after we'd finished! So we went to a party and then home.

June 21 - The Garage, London, England - First solo gig of two London appearances. I played after The Fish Brothers. "We've got one thing to say to you... Steven Does! You're not going to play it tonight, are you?" Unfortunately I had to demur. Followed by Alternative TV. Had a brief chat with Mark Perry. Once in five or six years is okay.

June 18 - MS Stubnitz, Rostock, Germany - Wrote a great song at the soundcheck. I asked Stephane (French drummer) to play a disco beat. I was expecting something along the lines of Shame Shame Shame by Evelyn 'Champagne' King - got some French style of disco beat! They still blame us for Joan of Arc (and Waterloo) so what can be expected. Just like the Americans with their tea parties and stuff. Anyway I hit a coupla Keith-chords and a few minutes later the song was born! I said to John (bassist) and Stephane that we should do it at the gig that night. John, typically enough, replied that we should stick with songs that we knew...

Half way through the gig I had my five-string strapped on. I turned to John and said, "How about the new song then?" He said, "Okay!" Seven minutes later the place was still shaking. And it's all on video. Great lyrics as well. Kinda Icarus meets the Ronettes stuff...

Nikki