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'And when the dust has settled down, you'll have a tale to tell...'
...and indeed I do. 3 shows, all very diferent from each other, all
therefore memorable for different reasons. Worthing felt like a 'loosener',
Andy's bassplaying-in-public debut (you'd never have known!) and the first
show for the 'new' line-up in front of an audience mostly consisting of
Malc's friends & family, many of whom hadn't seen us before and so had
nothing to judge us by. Harlow a tenser affair, a more critical crowd to
prove ourselves in front of, on the bill with old friends and heroes from
another time in our existance. And West Drayton, as enjoyable a gig as I've
ever been lucky enough to perform at, the only time I can ever remember the
members of the Price all hugging each other at the end of the show, and an
audience ranging from teenagers to seventy-somethings, old friends of the
band and of each other. A lot of sweat, a lot of emotion, a lot of the
reasons why any of us muso types do this stuff at all. And that's probrably
the main thing I'll be taking away from these shows- a reminder why I wanted
to play the guitar in the first place. And believe me when I say that for
me, it doesn't get much better than that. So on behalf of us all, thanks.
Thanks very much indeed. You've made some old men very happy, and in the
process, some happy men feel very old. But, like most things involving The
Price these days, that's alright too. And if you didn't make it to a show,
don't worry- there's always next time...
L.H. 30/07/06
NOTES FROM THE NEW BOY
I remember the first time I saw The Price. It was at a gig in Windsor in 1989 where my then band 'Cheap Sunglasses' were also on the bill. I just could not get 'Slip Away' out of my head for about 3 weeks afterwards! (it's still probably my favourite Price song). After that I was lucky enough to be asked to support The Price at one of their gigs at the Anglers' Retreat. Again, that song was top of the list for me!
I've kept in touch with Leigh since then, and we've worked together on various musical projects and with a lot of fine musicians over the years and become good friends. We often talked about The Price, so when they did the first reunion gig at the Anglers I was there like a shot!
It all sounded great, as fresh as ever, and I got to meet loads of people who were back to see one of the best bands of the time giving it one more go. A superb night from out front, and Malcolm was still more than capable of getting the crowd going. Reunion 2 at The Rayners was just as good and the crowd seemed even more determined to have a good time, supporting a band they obviously still held very dear to their hearts. It seemed a shame that it may never happen again.
.then one morning driving down the M4 to Bristol I received a text message from Leigh "hi andy, do you fancy playing bass for the price - no seriously, Leigh" It took me about 2 nanoseconds to pull over to the hard shoulder and dial. Leigh answered with his usual dry humour "I thought that might get a response" I said yes without hesitation. The chance to play with The Price was too good to miss. There were however a couple of problems.
Problem one, I didn't play bass. Sure I had one in my studio but had only ever used it on recordings of my own. I'd certainly never played bass in public before.
Problem two, I had no bass amplification at all in my armoury of gear (of which there is plenty as my good lady will testify, much to her dismay).
Of course Leigh knew this but didn't let these small obstacles get in the way. Obviously being Leigh, he also didn't tell Malcolm or Paul either, and then set about organising a rehearsal!
After 2 hours with Leigh going through the charts, and then 5 days to learn them we all turned up at Ruff Rockers in Uxbridge. 6 hours later I left thinking "well son you got away with it" even 'Steve the t-shirt" seemed to think we might have a chance. Believe me I was more worried about him being convinced than I was about the other members of the band!
2 more rehearsals followed in quick succession down in Brighton, with some hilarious moments, and though I say it myself some pretty good sounds. This was starting to sound like a band!
So the next step was to sort out some form of amp. Of course I could have hired, borrowed, stolen, or begged from people I knew. This was never going to be satisfactory, so after a couple of drinks (I know!) I got on the internet. The very nice people at Sound Control had a great Ashdown 500 watt (possibly overkill) rig at a snip of a price! And so out came Mr Visa Card and away we went! That done, all we needed was a new bass. Luckily Leigh came up trumps in the form of a new Yamaha B414 in tangerine sparkle - LET'S ROCK!
Before you could say 'a matter of time' the gig in Worthing was upon us. Leigh, Steve the t-shirt, and myself piled into my van and off we went. Well the gig was a blast! The audience were right behind us, we played our socks off, and I popped my bass cherry! (we later revealed to Paul and Malcolm my strange bass playing secret). Driving home that night after dropping off Leigh and Steve I felt great. I'd played well, the band sounded great, and everyone loved what we played - Result!
On to Harlow, for some reason it wasn't quite there, nerves, timing, whatever. We still managed to pull off a credible performance and on reflection were sounding OK. "Oh Crap!" I thought to myself "are we going to get to West Drayton or are we looking at a train wreck?"
Well, I needn't have worried. People who loved the band, a great support act (thanks Red Letter Day) and a band who had everything, and nothing to prove. What a night, from the first note to the last it was sounding superb (thanks Big Tel) and the whole crowd was willing us on to play better and better. I can't imagine a night where I've had more fun onstage than this. Then of course came the moment I'd been waiting for. Malcolm announcing "this is Slip Away" Paul hitting those first drum beats, and the bassline kicks in. Those of you who were there will have seen the grin go over my face. A great time for me and one I'll certainly never forget. Thanks to Leigh for inviting me, and to Malcolm and Paul for letting me stay.
Will "The Price" now just 'slip away'? - not if I have anything to do with it they won't. Gigs like this are too precious to not replicate, bands like this are difficult to find. 'Running Out of Time' we might be, but we'll keep doing this until you people want us to stop - that's for sure.
