4th July 2025
It was definitely a strange four days off the road. I was back in the office embracing what a strange but blessed life I lead. Work is smooth, I am on top of things apart from going into a panic on a meeting when someone asked if I needed some coffee. I wondered if I had been asleep! It was good to be home with the family. Same for Will. Touring is new to him, and he was needing to recharge. I was able to walk my real-life bear (Jax) and spend some time with Alfie.
I have to say that my wife, Rachael, is very supportive of me. She is picking up any slack and is happy for me. It is working out. We both said that the time was right to return, and she has made this easy for me. We have been through so much during our 28 years, making a life together. She is my best friend, and I am 100% punching! I do not take anything for granted. I missed Rachael’s birthday, so we were able to get out a week later and this was something I had booked and was really focused on getting to.
Estonia came around. To me, it was so funny that after all my early years making my way through the heavy metal school of hard knocks, we moved off our tour bus on to a flying show which was Will’s first. We went through fast track at Manchester T2 straight into his two breakfasts at the KLM lounge and after the two flights (with free wifi) he was to enjoy two nights at The Radisson Blu in Tallinn in his own room! MATE…it isn’t always like this!
The weather was cold and wet in Tallinn, but Will and I headed out late to a supermarket to grab some bits. On the way back, in the rain-soaked darkening empty streets, I could see a confused looking man in a baseball cap and Sabian jacket seemingly trying to get his bearings. We looked at each other and it was none other than my good friend, off the chart’s drummer and Canada’s finest export Mr Randy Black. Check YouTube if you are not familiar with Randy. He is one of a kind, a crushing player, different than any other drummer in his style. He is an icon to me, and I really respect the friendship of him and his partner Ulrike. We stay in touch when we can. Currently he drums for Destruction but has previously played for Primal Fear and Annihilator, where we met in Sept 95. It was so good to see him.
There were a couple of festivals on in Tallinn. In our hotel were bands such as Lacuna Coil and Kreator. Will had a lovely night out with Frederic from Kreator drinking Tequila. He looked very special the next morning and Frederic informed Will that after he had navigated the team to a bar that was closed, he was by the far the worst tour manager he had ever come across!
The show was a 90-minute drive south of Tallinn centre in a forest. It was bloody freezing! The backstage tent was right next to a lake, so the mosquito count was high and the chance of me dying from being devoured by buzzing buggers was extreme.
Technical hitches meant we were on stage late, but the gig was great. Very enjoyable. It was a full set, so we were able to throw in extra songs such as Forsaken and As I Die. As the show finished the heavens opened and the crowd dispersed. It was that fine rain that soaks you through, messes up hair and stuff, apparently.
We were on late so we left the site for the drive back to the hotel well after 2am. One of the tour rep’s friends was getting a lift with us back to the big city. She was leathered and proceeded to puke into a bag which absolutely stunk out the bus. Les commented how completely disgusting it was as he bit into his post show kebab. We rolled in to bed after 4am and were up early to head home.
Will was on a different booking to me and arrived home, after extra delays, over six hours later than me. Luckily, he was in the lounge with Aaron helping the KLM machine clear lots of food, drink and free internet. Who else was in the lounge? None other than the superstar Milly Evans, fresh from playing Glastonbury with Terrorvision and then hopping on to take guitar tech duties with Opeth at a festival in Europe. It was a shame for me to miss Milly, my old roommate. The best of the best. I certainly miss touring with the Millster. One of the funniest people I know, apart from me…obviously.
And Will made it to Manchester, unlike our flying equipment which missed the tight Amsterdam connection.
So, we moved on to a special night in Manchester, my home coming, with my family in attendance. It was set up to be a monumental Monday night in the sun. God’s own country. All we needed was some guitars and stuff. We were left hoping they would arrive in time.
On the subject of equipment, I will talk a little about my excellent sponsors in my next instalment I will introduce Nick, Travis Scott’s very own Gorilla, and fill you in on our UK King Diamond shows. Panic attacks, heat, trains and a video shoot.
Thanks for all of your comments guys!