The office prank, prior to Chicken Shack's set
Jim assisted Mick Taylor on his UK tour with John Mayall in Oct. & Nov. of 2004. See Scrapbook, Diary & Bulletin Board below... www.JohnMayall.com 25-Oct Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 26-Oct Belfast Waterfront Hall 27-Oct Newcastle City Hall 29-Oct Croydon Fairfield Halls 30-Oct Coventry Warwick Arts Centre 31-Oct Ipswich The Ipswich Regent 1-Nov Dartford The Orchard 2-Nov Cambridge Corn Exchange 3-Nov Northampton Derngate 4-Nov Manchester Bridgewater Hall 5-Nov St. Albans The Alban Arena 6-Nov Buxton Opera House 7-Nov Harrogate International Centre 8-Nov Nottingham Royal Concert Hall 9-Nov Reading Hexagon Theatre 10-Nov Portsmouth The Guildhall 11-Nov Brighton The Brighton Dome 12-Nov Cheltenham Town Hall 13-Nov Bristol Colston Hall 14-Nov Chatham Central Theatre 15-Nov Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre |
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10/23/04: LA to UK to Glasgow(train) (28 hrs) oh yeah... 10/24/04: A plane, a train, a bus and two cabs. From point "a" to point "b" about 29 or so hours. Needless to say, aside from my arse being tired, it was quite a journey. We changed plans, and i was diverted directly to the Edinburgh show @ Usher Hall. I caught the last few songs. What a great band. Many of the halls on tour are Symphony type venues (gorgeous). Highlite: Talking to a young British fellow on train about his service in Iraq. 10/25/04: We traveled to Glasgow. First meal with John's band & crew. All went well for my maiden voyage as Mick's guitar tech. Highlite: Talking (or trying to) to a man in downtown Glasgow about his fears of America... in Gaelic. Stopped at Post Office... ten clerks, the line went very fast. In America there are never that many, no wonder we have the phrase "going postal". 10/26/04: Easy-Jet 25 min. flight. Road to Belfast is gorgeous. Walked & took snapshots near hotel. High energy show. Great lighting system & show. New Wah-wah. Needs adjusting. Hilite: Towel warmer in hotel. Great venue. 10/27/04: Crazy Day. One of those days where lots of little things go wrong, but it all ended well with a tremendous show. Amazing historical venue. Colorful. Hilite: Heated bathroom floor @ hotel. 10/28/04: Only day off. 6 hour drive to Mick's House. Worked on guitars in evening. 10/29/04: Tricky driving day. Great vibrato from Mick at show, reminiscent of early Mayall records. Encore: Duet w/John & Mick. Late nite drive home. 10/30/04: Great college town. Some dressed in Halloween costumes. Very energized crowd. Mick was very melodic in his phrasing tonite. Overall great vibe. Thrown for a temporary loop on late nite drive home, with many detours. High number of roundabouts on this route. Roundabouts are better than stop-lites. Mick drove a bit. 10/31/04: Boo! No rest for the wicked. Worked on a couple of Mick's extra guitars. Turned clocks back an hour. Max Middleton sat in with Bluesbreakers on keybords for 2 songs. There were fireworks going off around Ipswich, at about midnight. 11/1/04: Dartford. Mick handled the encore tonite with a soulful, uptempo version of "No Expectations". Really a great version. Prior to the song, John prompted him to make mention of the "Band" from Dartford he joined after playing in the Bluesbreakers, back in 1969. That crowd went wild. There was another guest keybordist for a couple tunes. 11/2/04: Cambridge. Oldest University in England. Beautiful college town. Mick rocked "No Expectations" for encore. John's blues harp works well with this number. Rhythm section was great tonite. 11/3/04: Northampton. A bit of a drive today. High energy show. The audience clapped-along on many numbers. The route home had many diversions (road-work re-routing). On our drive home... a rat, deer, fox & hedgehog all crossed our path. 11/4/04: St. Albans. This town is closest to where Mick spent his younger years. As with many of the shows, there were some old friends stopping by. A quaint, small town/village, set atop a small hill. The central landmark is an old Norman cathedral (sorry, no pics.) The venue was standing-room only, no seats. Great show. 11/5/04: Buxton. Heard my friend Eric Heywood on the radio with Minnie Driver driving up the M1. They are touring the UK as well. Another town, set on a hill. This drive was quite tedious. Fog, thick as pea-soup, going up and down the curvy Moors. We could barely see 10 metres in front of us. The Opera House is an incredible venue(see photos). We drove thru thick fog after the show, to Harrogate. All I could think of was the film "An American Werewolf In London". 11/6/04: Harrogate. Akin to Beverly Hills in many ways. We stayed two nights here, at The Moat House & The Old Swan Hotel. Both are top-notch. Bill Wyman's Band were staying at the Moat House the first night also. The Old Swan is where Agatha Christie hid-out back in the 20's, for a week or so, causing quite a stir. Joined Claude(Tour Manager) & Bus Drivers for a drink @ 4am. Went walking downtown, stopped @ Starbucks to go wireless. Hilite: It snowed for about 5 minutes. 11/7/04: Nottingham. Buddy was great. Big stage. Didn't see Robin Hood. An Owl flew in front of us, as we drove back to Mick's. 11/8/04: Reading. Long driving day today. Hard rain. Best show yet. Exceptional performances by all. Hilite: Another Owl flew in front of us, on the drive home. 11/9/04: Portsmouth. College town. Venue is grand. Could be a state capital type building. Went ghost hunting with Claude in top floors. In 1943 building was a library. A lone librarian was on top floor when building was bombed. She's still there, although she didn't show herself to me. Claude has seen her. Low turnout. Great show nevertheless. Drove to Brighton after show. 11/10/04: Brighton. Amazing city on the beach. Stayed at Hilton. Gorgeous. Walked around during day, shopped "The lanes". Many bohemian shops. A building next to venue is a replica of the Taj Mahal. Gary Moore sat in @ show. Mick's lovely daughter Chloe came to show. 11/11/04: Cheltenham. Seems like a small town. Posh, yet elegantly decaying venue. Great stage sound. Ties for best show. Mick sang "Little Red Rooster" for encore. 11/12/04: Bristol. Seaside town/venue. Not as bustling as Brighton. Venue has quite a history. Stones played there in '71. Mick's "No Expectations" encore was blistering. 11/13/04: Chatham. Venue was more dive than charm. Decor sort of pre-school themed. Stage sound was great though. There was a fire alarm prior to show, but after building was cleared, the show went on. All sorts of rabbits in the road, on the drive home. 11/14/04: Tunbridge Wells. The crew set up an office on-stage as a prank for Chicken Shack. Well done! Chicken Shack are a great band. Fewer rabbits crossing the road tonite. 11/15/04: London. Great lighting system. Underground passage to stage-right seemed lioke it was there long before current venue existed. Great show. Said farwells to crew & bands. Handed out business cards. Driving thru London was a breeze. Conquered UK driving. Ah... 16th-18th: Day off @ Mick's 11/19/04: Return to USA. Murdered by exchange rate. |
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London 11/16/04
Into London 
John Mayall w/Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/Bluesbreakers 
John Mayall 
Carling Apollo Hammersmith 
Mick Taylor w/Bluesbreakers 
My buds Louise & Helen 
Leaving London 
Carling Apollo Hammersmith 
Carling Apollo Hammersmith 
Carling Apollo Hammersmith 
Into London 
Into London 
Into London- The Embankment 
Approaching Trafalgar Square 
Into London 
More photography while driving 
Chicken Shack saying goodnite, on the last nite of the tour 
The creepy underground passage linking stage right & left 
Creepy door, in creepy passage 
Leaving London |
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Chatham 11/14/04
The road to Chatham 
Mick Taylor w/Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Central Theatre 
The road to Chatham 
The road to Chatham 
The road to Chatham 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers & my shoes |
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Cheltenham 11/12/04
The road to Cheltenham 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor 
The road to Cheltenham 
Cheltenham Town Hall 
Ian(Driver) & Rod(Stage Mgr.) Chatting 
"See No Evil" 
Mick Taylor 
Mick Taylor & John Mayall 
Cheltenham Town Hall 
Cheltenham Town Hall 
Cheltenham Town Hall 
Near venue 
Stuff 
Cheltenham Town Hall, Catering digs 
Mick Taylor 
Mick Taylor & John Mayall |
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Brighton 11/11/04
The Brighton Dome, before encore 
Brighton, near Hotel 
Brighton Lanes 
Brighton "Lanes" 
Brighton Lanes 
Brighton "Lanes" 
Brighton Lanes 
Brighton Lanes 
Part of Brighton Dome 
Near venue 
Looking out Hilton Bar, across English Channel 
Brighton Hilton 
Brighton Hilton 
Brighton Hilton 
Brighton Hilton 
Mick Taylor, The Bluesbreakers & Gary Moore 
The "Taj Mahal", adjacent to venue 
Mick Taylor, The Bluesbreakers & Gary Moore 
After show, from alley |
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Harrogate 11/7/04
My room @ The Moat House. 
The Old Swan Hotel 
The Old Swan Hotel 
The Old Swan Hotel 
The Old Swan Hotel 
The Old Swan Hotel 
About The Old Swan Hotel 
Mick Taylor w/ John Mayall 
The Old Swan Hotel 
In Harrogate 
In Harrogate 
Thru Harrogate 
Thru Harrogate 
Thru Harrogate 
Thru Harrogate 
My room @ The Old Swan Hotel 
The Old Swan Hotel 
In Harrogate 
In Harrogate 
Mick Taylor |
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Cambridge 11/2/04
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
After show 
Across street from venue 
Corn Exchange, Cambridge 
Corn Exchange, Cambridge 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
TTP: Taylor Touring Party 
MT 
In venue alley 
Corn Exchange, Cambridge 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
On way to venue |
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Newcastle 10/28/04
Driving from Newcastle to Mick's 
MT Dressing Room 
Mick Taylor w/ The Bluesbreakers 
Mick Taylor & Buddy Whittington 
Near Venue 
"City Hall" Newcastle 
Near Venue 
City Hall- Backstage 
Newcastle 
Newcastle International 
Coast of Ireland from Prop-Plane 
Driving from Newcastle to Mick's 
Driving from Newcastle to Mick's 
MT Dressing Room |
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Belfast (10/27/04)
Mick Taylor 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Hotel 
Cab to Venue 
1968? 
Waterfront Hall 
Waterfront Hall 
Mick Taylor & John Mayall 
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers w/ Mick Taylor 
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers w/ Mick Taylor 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Neighborhood near Hotel 
Waterfront Hall 
Mick's Dressing Room Piano 
"Welcome to Belfast" I took this when we got off plane. I couldn't re-take, cuz I got in trouble for taking a picture on the tarmac. 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Cab ride to Belfast 
Mick's dressing room & David Coverdale's left over tape. He had Tibetan Prayer Cloths covering every wall, the previous evening. |
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Glasgow (10/26/04)
Mick, John & Buddy 
Road from Edinburgh to Glasgow 
Road from Edinburgh to Glasgow 
Road from Edinburgh to Glasgow 
Into Glasgow 
Mick's Dressing Room 
Downtown Glasgow, near Royal Concert Hall 
Glasgow, near venue 
Royal Concert Hall 
Hotel room view 
Molly Malone's Glasgow 
Finally able to pick-up that Tartan keychain I've been looking for... 
Marlies boarding flight to Glasgow |
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Were you able to play with the band on stage at all? I saw Dave play in San Mateo a in late September. Great as always and your name of course turned up. Love to Dani!