Tag: Pink Floyd

Gigs From Abroad Part 27 Greece – Part 3

Continuing the tale from last week where we had decided to undertake some island hopping and in advance research it suggested there would be daily ferries available heading from Zante to our next destination of Kefalonia. However, we subsequently discovered there was only transport every two days and that didn’t match up with our schedule. It is a nine-mile crossing, and we were beginning to embrace our inner Steve Redgrave or Michael Phelps before we thankfully discovered a Plan B.

This involved a 30-mile taxi to the other ferry port at the northern fishing village of Agios Nikolaos Skinari. The friendly taxi driver dropped us at his favourite bar, and we bedded in for a while as we had landed there 3-4 hours before our departure. We then shuffled down to the rather sparse ferry point before departing on the 7pm sunset crossing to Pessada.  

The Sunset Ferry. Image Credit Jimmy Crossthwaite

Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian batch of islands and was the location of the siege of Argostoli between the Italians and Germans in 1943 during World War II. After the German’s victory their brutal reprisals including the execution of five thousand Italian soldiers. The subsequent English author Louis de Bernieres book and film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ is based on this event.

There is also an unproven synopsis that the island is the actual setting in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Musically they have a long history with a Philharmonic Orchestra being in play since 1836. Additionally, Richard Wright who was the keyboard player in Pink Floyd for ten years was born there.  

We were there for six days and stayed in Argostoli and hopped on the ferry over to the fishing harbour of Lixouri for day trip. Taking a route over a steep hill from the town centre brought you to the resort of Lassi, where one night we attended a restaurant with the owner having a striking resemblance to Ian Dury.  Across the road we saw a chap called Gary performing in the Lassi Kefalos Restaurant and Bar.  

Ian Dury. Image Credit listal.com

Our previous remaining visit to Greece was in 2010 to the small island of Skiathos which only has 27 miles of coastline but has 60 individual beaches. In the 19th century it had a profitable period where it was a shipbuilding hub which utilised the profusion of pine trees naturally at their disposal. The international airport is located very close to the lovely capital of Skiathos town and is a plane spotters paradise. There were some dangerous cakes and fabulous restaurants where you could dine on the Catch of the Day and imbibe the local ice cold dry white wine. 

The core bus route runs regularly along the length of the island and has numbered bus stops, 1 being the capital and 26 being the last drop at Banana Beach, and during our stay, we travelled to every stop to fully view the island. One of the previous residents of Skiathos was the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip who was born there in 1921. Additionally, the island and its neighbour Skopelos were utilised as locations for the Mamma Mia film.

We made our trip at the tail end of the season in September and the weather as a result was a tad erratic. On the Saturday we were endeavouring to head out to a local bar to watch the Burnley v PNE match and also grab some tea but outside there had developed the most cataclysmic electrical storm I have ever witnessed. The field opposite was completely swamped, so much so the water was threatening to enter our accommodation.

Finally, there was a marginal easing in the monsoon, so we grabbed the opportunity to scamper down the soggy track to the bar. Immediately after our windswept and sodden bodies bumbled through the door, a lady in the corner piped up with a ‘Deliverance’ style voice asking, ‘Are you the entertainment?’ to which I replied instantly ‘I can be if you want me to be’ which thankfully resulted in her craning her neck back in. It got worse before it got better as PNE proceeded to improbably throw away a 3-1 lead in the last 10 minutes and lose 4-3.

Deliverance Duelling Banjos scene. Image Credit americancinematheque.com

Thankfully the friendly accommodating bar owner fed and watered us superbly despite the constraints of the inclemency, which resulted in him scampering to the supermarket next door to top up his dwindling larder supplies.

Our next planned Greece trip was going to be to the picturesque location of Santorini with the bonus of grabbing a couple of days in the capital Athens before heading home. It was all booked but then the pandemic struck and everything was cancelled. We have never yet had the chance to rebook and slay that particular ghost, though I believe it is now hugely oversubscribed with tourism numbers. 

Manchester Venue 192 – Palace Theatre

As you stride down the hill from Oxford Road train station you reach the junction of Oxford Road and Whitworth Street where Manchester Palace Theatre is located, situated across the road from the Refuge Bar. The grand old building designed by architect Alfred Darbyshire at a princely cost of £40,500 first opened its doors in 1891, and at that stage was known locally as the ‘Grand Old Lady of Oxford Street’, and the sister theatre The Opera House across town on Quay Street are owned by the same company. 

Manchester Palace Theatre. Image Credit ticketsonsale.com

Their first ever production was a ballet version of Cleopatra where they had a seating capacity of 3,675 though that figure has reduced significantly over the years to its current number of 1955. The theatre struggled initially but garnered more success when they had more popular performers playing there. Luminaries such as Lillie Langtry, Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, Gracie Fields, Danny Kaye and Laurel and Hardy have graced that very stage.

It had an extensive refurbishment in 1913 and was reopened seven months later by Harry Houdini. It was unfortunately struck directly during the Manchester Blitz of 1940, but then had successful productions of Guys and Dolls, Hamlet and Look Back in Anger running during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

It had a fallow period in the 1970’s and was threatened with closure but the intervention of the Arts Council saved the day. As a result, some further renovations took place before reopening again in 1981 with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2009 as part of the Manchester International Festival a premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna opera was staged there.

Musicians to have performed there include the Platters, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Johnny Cash, Damon Albarn, and the indefatigable Sparks were astonishingly playing there back in October 1975!

Sparks. Image Credit pinterest.com

The current layout contains three tiers of seating in the Stalls, Circle and Grand Tier. On our first visit in the early 1990’s we were sat in the vertigo inducing cramped seats ‘in the Gods’ watching West Side Story where we had a literal vertical view of the stage, but lessons were learned and never again have I ventured back up there! There are a plethora of amenities including the appropriately named Stage Door Bar and the whole venue is available to hire if you had the urge to do so!

I have cogitated long and hard regarding what may constitute a gig and have surmised (at least in my own head!) that in the scenario where bands are essentially part of the story of the theatre production that criteria is fulfilled.  

Thus, in September 2022, Gill and I had an outstanding credit note from previous shows that were cancelled during the pandemic so we utilised that in purchasing tickets to go and see the longstanding production of Ben Elton’s We Will Rock You, which had originally opened in the West End in 2002.

For the uninitiated the show was about the band Queen, and it is apparently classified under the category of a Jukebox musical, for which the definition is that it contains an abundance of pre-existing well known popular tunes, instead of songs being written specifically for the musical. Despite all that, the show personally didn’t work for me, and I found it all rather disappointing.

On the converse side, the other musical School of Rock that we saw earlier in that year was on a completely different level. It was an adaption of the original Richard Linklater movie released in 2003, which is an excellent feel good movie with a starring role for the effervescent Jack Black. Jack himself is a talented musician and was one half of Tenacious D who had a big hit with ‘Tribute’ which featured a cameo from Dave Grohl playing Satan.

The movie is based around the premise of Dewey Finn (Jack Black) impersonating a substitute teacher and turning a class of talented kids into a rock band in order to perform at a Battle of Bands contest.

Some of the children have had interesting lives since the movie with Lucas Babin who played lead guitarist Spider going on to be a district attorney in Texas. Miranda Cosgrove who was the agent Summer Hathaway was at the age of 19 in 2012 the highest paid child actor and has also released a few records herself.

Letter to Brezhnev. Image Credit imdb.com

There was also Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli who played classmates Marta and Frankie who met years later and subsequently got married 22 years after the original movie. This also brings to mind the two main actors Alexander Pigg and Peter Firth in the 1985 flick Letter to Brezhnev, who married other people but then later wed each other in 2017. I have recently watched the film again and it certainly stands up to scrutiny and my abiding memory from its initial release was the phrase ‘Kirkby Girls’ being uttered by Margi Clarke in a deep scouse accent!

The theatre show was a faithful reproduction with extra gags included, and the child performers were absolutely superb making it a very fun night. It was topped off perfectly with the show finishing in synchronicity with us able to catch the last train home from the station opposite.