Don't stand so close to me

I’m starting to get itchy feet. I keep finding myself looking back at pictures of the tour and rehearsals and missing it so badly. I love my band and we always have the best time. My face hurts from laughing on and off stage while we’re on tour. We have so many memories with each other and spend so much time together, my band and team are like my second family.

I’ve said before that I know how lucky I am that we managed to get the tour done before all this social distancing really kicked off. We weren’t able to go abroad and support Madness and we’ve lost festival slots, but we did get The Combat Frock Tour done… just. The last date was a Saturday night and our Madness shows got cancelled 3 days later on the following Tuesday. We were due to fly out on the Wednesday and play on the Thursday. The Tuesday it got cancelled I ate so much chocolate it was ridiculous. We reassured each other that at least we would be playing with Madness in June and had a fantastic selection of festivals lined up for this summer… obviously we don’t now… I’ll be honest, at the time it felt like it was only me. Schools were still going, as was football and obviously Cheltenham still happened and Crufts… I was so annoyed about Crufts. How come all those dogs at Crufts got to hang with their doggy mates and I didn’t get to hang out with my mates and Suggs and co? At the time people were only just starting to worry about toilet paper… remember those days? I was the only person I knew who’d had gigs cancelled by that point, so quite rightly I ate an extortionate amount of creme eggs to cheer myself up. Now everyones in the same boat, the same rubbish boat.

You really really have to think safety first right now. The most important thing is our health, protecting the vulnerable and the NHS. God bless the NHS.

People are trying to look forward optimistically. My band have had some dates rescheduled for October, November and December 2020. I am so thankful. But who’s to say whether or not they will go ahead? I feel differently about it every day to be honest…

Are people going to want to go in to venues? Is it too soon? Are people going to want to be dancing in crowded little sweaty rooms? Are people going to want to have drinks in a bar? Are people even going to be able to afford it now so many people have lost their incomes? I don’t know… People are quite rightly scared and don’t want to leave the house at all, thats totally fair enough.

However, there are others that I have spoken to, who feel completely the opposite and are desperate to get out! They can’t wait to see live music again and aren’t as worried as others. It’s not that they aren’t bothered about the virus, it’s just that they want to get out and see all their mates and enjoy themselves. And rightly so, we’ve been in lockdown for weeks now… months! When we get the all clear its got to be go go go!!

Two very different ways of feeling but equally valid.

I hate to admit this, but the anxious part of my brain worries that no one will come and see me play cause bigger bands have all rescheduled to the bottom half of the year too. When we are eventually allowed out again it looks like it’s going to be pretty busy with live music. The venues are all booked up for the bottom half of the year now with re bookings! We are supposedly gigging the very same night I’ve had a few gigs I’ve bought tickets for rescheduled. Gigs are clashing! Don’t worry, I know I can’t go as I will always put my playing gigs first. I won’t tell you what band I was going to go and see cause I don’t want you all to unfollow me but lets just say I’ve also had to cancel getting 5 colours put in my hair for this gig… I’m so gutted!

What do you think? Do you think we’ll be out and about by the end of the year if we get given the go ahead? Do you think we’ll all just have to get on with it and go in to venues? Or do you not care who’s playing live, you’re staying in for a while now? You like the online live sessions and twitter parties?

It would be great to hear all your opinions…

No matter how we feel about the end of the year, if you’re one of those who can’t wait to go back out or are one of those happy to stay inside I think we can all agree that lovely old Paul McCartney should perhaps refrain from doing live sessions. Bless him, I know he meant well, his hearts in the right place and he’s an absolute legend, but maybe lower the key next time Sir Paul…