Bat Out of Hell

August 19, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of weeks. Mine have been fun and interesting. In a world where we all just seem to be getting busier and busier it is important to make the most of your free time. Therefore the other Monday I did just that, as I enjoyed another evening at the Horse Racing at Windsor. I am a huge fan of the sport and it is always a good fun way of spending a few hours. I like the whole experience from the dressing up, the arriving and getting a race card to try to find the winning horses, to the looking for the best odds in the betting ring before each race.

I generally have mixed results on selecting the horse that is going to shine and be successful in each race. But let me tell you when your horse is in contention coming in to the final furlong that certainly gets the adrenaline pumping and raises the excitement level. It also gives you a nice rush when your horse does win. Sadly for me on this last visit I was not troubling the bookies at all. I did not pick any winners. But it was a great evening of racing with some exciting contests. Which included one race which was won by a horse whose odds were eighty to one. Trust me we all wished we had put ten pounds on that one afterwards but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The atmosphere was good as ever. As Windsor is quite a small course it is very easy to move between the parade ring, the grandstand and the winners enclosure. So you can really follow the story of each race and feel very involved. Plus they do tend to theme each of their events and often put on live music after the racing has ended. This time it was a sausage festival, which I did have to get involved with and sample a few of the flavours on offer. Well it would have been rude not to.

The first football team I joined after begging my dad to get me in, as he knew the manager was Risborough Rangers, my home town team. I was seven years old. I played for them pretty much from the Under ten age group through to the Under sixteen’s. Then I played for the Aylesbury United Youth Team for a couple of years before returning to play for the reserves at Rangers and then going on to make a few appearances for the first team. Before I found radio and swapped football pitches for studios. Now the reason I bring this up is the other week I actually got to watch the first ever club I played for, play in the FA Cup.

They were at home in a FA Cup Extra Preliminary replay against Cockfosters. Who they had drawn with at their place the previous Saturday. It was a Tuesday night and I was free, so I thought I would go down and cheer them on. They play at a ground called Windsors. A pitch that I have played on and scored on many times over the years. It is a really nice set up down there and is a very friendly club. They have two small seated stands for fans and the playing surface is in excellent condition. Plus they serve tea at the tea bar in proper actual cups, which is a huge plus point for me.

Before the game it was great to bump in to so many people I knew. I saw my first ever football manager who would have picked me for my first ever match when I was a kid. He was also the manager of the reserves when I played for them. I also caught up with my manager at the Aylesbury United Youth Team, who then went on to manage the Risborough Rangers first team for many years. He is now the stadium announcer there. While his son has replaced him as manager. I ended up watching the game with my Uncle and another former player, who we had both played with. It was great reminiscing about the old days and talking about how things had changed since our time.

Needless to say none of the players I knew are still playing, so I did not know any of the current side. And it was the first time that I had ventured down to watch them for years. The game itself was very entertaining. It was a competitive and close fought encounter until the away side grabbed two late goals at the end of the first half to lead two – nil going in to the break. Bearing in mind Cockfosters were a league above Rangers, it looked like a big ask for the home side to get back in to the game.

However Risborough pulled a goal back about twenty seconds after the restart. This gave them the momentum and hope to keep going and they were creating some decent chances but were unable to take them. Until they were awarded a penalty with about twenty minutes to go. Which was emphatically converted much to the delight of the home fans. And but for one exceptional save from the home keeper Risborough had the better chances but just could not get the ball in the net. So it went to extra time and penalties. Risbourough lost four-two in the shoot out. But it was a good performance and the town can be proud of the team and players for the effort they put in. I had a nice night, so I might even try to get down and see a few more games there this season.

The Premier League football season is now also underway. It was an interesting and exciting opening weekend with a few surprising results and plenty of goals. It was good to see Tottenham start the season with a win. We have been very slow starters the last couple of seasons, which may have cost us a little at the business end of things. Plus Newcastle’s last game in the Premier League before they were relegated was a big home win against us, which led to Arsenal over taking us in the league on the final day. So I felt we owed them one. Although it does still seem that Harry Kane is unable to score in August. Hopefully he can change that this weekend against Chelsea.

With Spurs playing at Wembley Stadium this season I am hoping to get to as many games as I possibly can. Annoyingly I am unable to attend our first two Premier League matches but I will definitely be at the Swansea game. I am trying to organise a weekend in Liverpool for the Everton away trip to. Whatever happens I am sure it will be a fun and exciting season. I am looking forward to it. Plus who does not like a season that also ends with a World Cup to enjoy. It really has never been such a good time to be a Tottenham Hotspur fan.

Last week I went and saw Bat Out of Hell The Musical at the London Coliseum. It features the music of course of Jim Steinman and many songs that were made famous and originally performed by Meatloaf. It was initially written as a musical before it was then turned in to the classic album that we all know and love. Which this October will celebrate its fortieth birthday. Packed full of big rock anthems, all performed in Meatloaf’s unique and distinctive style. It was huge.

The musical is very futuristic and American in setting and story line. It did remind me a little bit of We Will Rock You in places. But it is very high energy with exceptional staging with great use of props and video imaginary. You can really tell it is a Steinman production. Featuring moments created on stage with occasional nods to Meatloaf videos or his classic performances or even his famous ribbon on his microphone. It is basically a very complicated love story set in a post-apocalyptic world.

The cast are brilliant and each get their chance to shine performing one of the big songs from the show. All the songs fit in nicely with the story and the narrative. And if you were in any doubt as to exactly what some of the songs were about the way they perform them and act them out. They make it pretty clear.

They have kept the arrangement of the songs as close to the original versions as possible in most cases. So it is basically just a rocking good night out. A top show that got a deserved standing ovation, as the cast and audience joined together for a version of its title song to end proceedings. So Rock and Roll dreams can come true.

Up in Scotland currently it is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This is an event that somehow I have never been to but would absolutely love to. I really must get up there one year to experience it or may be even get the chance to perform up there.

There are so many great comedy shows and comedians there currently it is ridiculous. I know a few people who are up there doing shows. These include Silky and Olaf Falafel, who I gigged with at the Roving Comedy Night in Tring last month. They are both brilliant, so if you are at the Fringe you should definitely go and see them.

It seems such an inclusive, wide and varied festival. As you have so many high profile and established comics performing their brand new shows for the first time. Normally before they take them out on a nationwide tour. But you also get so many acts trying to make their mark on the comedy circuit. They hire small venues and put on daily free shows, in the hope they can build an audience or that one of the many industry people there spot them and want to make them the next big thing.

So many comedians have said that Edinburgh really launched their careers and opened lots of doors for them. I would ideally like to spend a week up there and see how many different comedians I could watch a day. I like to laugh as much as possible every day, so I think it would be an amazing experience and most importantly lots of fun. I would imagine you would also meet a lot of fun and interesting people. I will get round to it one day I am sure. I am a great believer of trying to do as many different new things as possible every year and going to this would tick a big box for me, personally.

Did you see any of the World Athletics from the London Stadium? There were some great performances and magic moments. It was lovely to see the place full of people enjoying the athletics. It was a little disappointing to see Usain Bolt and Mo Farrah both bow out of track running with defeats. But you know what, that just shows you how tough it is to achieve what they have and to maintain the level of performance that they have through their careers.

Sport is unpredictable and there are no guarantees. Two legends moving on to other things. Nothing lasts for ever. Enjoy your successes, live in the moment. And if you have given your all except the times when it is just not quite your day. So many good lessons in life can be learnt from sport. I have always thought this.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil

Blues Brothers

August 4, 2017 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy with loads of fun stuff going on. A couple of weeks ago I made my maiden visit to the Cabaret Theatre at the Hippodrome in London to see a Blues Brothers Show. I was pretty impressed to be honest.

You have to go through the casino to get to the theatre. So the house rules are, that you have to check in any coats and bags in to their cloak room. Which to my surprise and delight was free. We had booked what they said were standing tickets. But that turned out to mean we were by the stage in an area where they had tables and booths. They put us in a booth just to the left side of the stage. Which was perfect. We had a great view and there was nobody around us.

It was table service, so they had waiters to take your drinks and food orders. I had not eaten, so I thought I would try one of the Blues Brother themed dishes they had on the menu. I had the Jake & Elwood classic burger. Which to be fair was reasonably priced and actually very tasty. So while you are enjoying your food and drink the actual show takes place on the stage.

It was a recognised and established Blues Brothers tribute show featuring a great live band, with excellent backing singers and the two stars who did sound and look just like Jake and Elwood with brilliant voices. They also put in quite a few nods to the film. Plus there was quite a bit of humour in the show. All done in a fun and professional way.

I went with two mates who had really gone for it and had turned up dressed as the Blues Brothers themselves. Fair play to them they both really looked the part. There was a great moment when the performing Blues Brothers were waiting off stage near us, while the rest of the cast were doing a song that they were not involved in. As they were there Elwood clocked my friends and gave them a smile and a thumps up.

It was a ninety minute show with a quick a ten minute interval. They as you would expect did all the big songs associated with this story. By the end everybody was up on their feet dancing and singing along. It was an excellent evening and all finished by around nine thirty.

It was the first time that I had been in the establishment. I have to say I was very impressed, it was all nicely run and the staff were great. I would happily go back and see something else there. I believe this Blues Brothers show that I saw is there until the end of August.

When I was working at Ivel fm in Yeovil I interviewed a guy who was in a Blues Brother’s tribute act, as they were coming to play at the Octagon theatre in the town. He looked exactly like Jake. He had even changed his name by deed poll. Plus on his passport had got special dispensation from the Foreign Office to wear his dark glasses in his passport photograph, wearing that iconic suit and wearing the hat. It really was total dedication to the cause. Although I do believe, that he was not on the run from the police or anything.

I went out for a few drinks after work in London the other Friday. It was the perfect storm. As a few friends actually all happened to be finishing around the same time on the same day, which is pretty rare to say the least. We just visited a few of the near by pubs before heading off to see another friend of ours who was Djing at a bar not to far away. It was an eighties themed night. So when we arrived we found the bar staff dressed as a Ghostbuster, a member of Kiss and a character from Fame. Beer costs and we had to start paying.

We were chatting in between him selecting and playing songs. While talking all over the intro’s to the songs and hitting the vocals. Which weirdly is something that pretty much always seems to happen, if you have at least two radio presenters and music in the same place. It was quite a decent and busy bar. I had been there a few times before but only during the day, so it was nice to see it full of people for a change. Another friend also popped in for a quick beer, so it was good to see and catch up with him to. A nice sociable evening with good company and decent music. Always a good way to kick off the weekend.

My cousin moved to the Richmond area about a year ago now. And last Saturday I finally got round to visiting him. Something we have been trying to organise for ages. In this hectic world we live in, it can be really hard to find a suitable date when two different people have nothing in the diary. But at last we managed it.

I have not been there for years. But it is a lovely area. We were hoping for a nice sunny evening, so we could have some drinks by the river but it was actually hammering it down with rain. After a cup of tea and an initial chat at his flat. We headed out and found a couple of really nice pubs in the centre of town.

Then we thought we better get some food. So we ended up in Nando’s. Which I guess you could argue, depending on what you order is potentially one of the more healthy fast food style options. The service in there was super quick to be fair. From there despite the weather we did go and have a drink in one of the pubs on the river. Which I can imagine would be lovely on a warm hot evening but not as good in the rain. So we stayed inside.

There was a section cordoned off for a private party. We noticed that everybody was pushed back against the wall all facing the same way. It was at that point we worked out it must be a surprise party, but it did look really odd seeing them all like that. I was relieved for them as much as anything when the birthday girl arrived. Meaning they could then mingle and use the other half of the room as well.

We then decided to head to Putney to try out a bar that my cousin had heard was good and wanted to try out. We decided to get a taxi there, but only ended up finding one on the wrong side of the Richmond one way system. Which meant the journey took longer and cost us a bit more than we were planning.

It was five pounds on the door to get in, once we had paid the money the bouncer then told us there was a private party there, so only half of the place was open. It was not that busy, so we ended up having just one quick drink there before moving on. So the money to time ratio for this particular excursion, did not make particularly pleasant reading.

We both came to the conclusion that we fancied some live music, so we hopped in another cab and set off for Road House in Covent Garden. I actually got asked for ID on the way in, which I must admit has not happened for a very long time. Took me ages to find my driving licence and I am pretty sure I had not been asked to produce it for at least twenty years.

Once we got in we caught the last fifteen minutes of the band’s first set, luckily they were coming back on later to do another hour or that would have been a little disappointing. It was a fun night having a few drinks including a rather nice Passion Fruit based Cocktail and hearing some live music. The band were pretty good, as you would hope for a Central London Venue.

They played a lot of guitar based classics by the likes of Oasis, Kings of Leon, Greenday and Bon Jovi. They made the effort to present themselves well and to look the part. The lead singer was even wearing a leather jacket. Which in a room that warm, was at best a very bold move.

The band played till around two and then it was a DJ till the place closed. It was a fun big night out in London, which I had not done for a while. I am hoping not to leave it so long before seeing my cousin again, as I really do want to re-discover Richmond on a nice sunny afternoon and sample a few of the pubs on the river.

Last weekend I managed to catch up with two of my best mates and their families at one of their houses. It was really nice to see them all together in the same place. It is quite scary how quick their children seem to grow up. Obviously I only see them periodically but the changes that seem to take place between the times I do see them, are huge.

It was nice to see the children all playing together. And really nice to have a chat to the adults and catch up on what is happening in their worlds. I am not sure if there is a better way of spending a Sunday afternoon than simply having tea and biscuits with close mates.

I am really in to Horse Racing and I would one day possibly like to own or at least have a share in a race horse. I tend to go to Windsor Races quite a lot, as that is one of the nearest courses to where I live. Recently through their website they ran a charity competition raising money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance on behalf of one of the racing teams.

Basically for a donation to the charity you could then suggest a name for a new two year old horse that the connections have just acquired. If that name was selected you would get a five percent share in the horse for two years. Which would mean you would be able to attend at least one race meeting as an owner. Which for a fan of the sport like me would be amazing. Sadly for me I was not successful but the important thing is a lot of money was raised for a brilliant and essential charity.

As ever it has been another couple of fun weeks in the world of radio. I was leaving work the other day when I walked past Michael Gove. I also spotted Vince Cable across the office. Plus I got to do a show with the brilliant and lovely Chris Mason, which was great fun.

On the train in the other day was none other that the travel expert Simon Calder. Although that does not top my best ever train spot on that journey, which was the actor Robert Lindsay. Or even the time that Gabby Logan sat next to me on the way in to London. I clearly did not make that much of an impression, as she did not recognise me when we shared a lift at Broadcasting House a lot later on. But that is show business!

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil

Neil Quigley

Monthly Archives: August 2017

Bat Out of Hell

Blues Brothers

Neil Quigley Presenter