Tag: Sparks

Gigs Abroad Part 29 Cologne – Part 1

Cologne is the fourth most populous city in Germany and is located on the River Rhine and was totally rebuilt after World War 2 when 80% of the original city was destroyed by a grand total of 45k tons of bombs dropped by the Allies. It lies 14 miles in a Northwestern direction from Bonn, which was the former capital of West Germany from post war until 1990 and then remained the seat of government of the reunified Germany up to 1999, before both roles were hoovered up by Berlin.

Like many German cities, there are some fine structures including two basilica’s, the Great St Martin Church and the gothic and impressive medieval Cathedral (Kolner Dom) which is located adjacent to the Hauptbahnhof.  The Dom had the accolade of being the world’s tallest building during the 1880’s and even to this day remains the third tallest church and the tallest cathedral in the world.  It was originally built to house the Shrine of the Three Kings, alternately known as the Three Wise Men (most certainly not Uncle George, John Dewhurst and myself!) who reputedly presented their three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus.

Cologne Cathedral. Image Credit Unsplash.

It has a considerable musical heritage as the city contains over 60 music venues and has the most pubs per capita in Germany, many stocking the tasty local beer called Kolsch, which also doubles as the name of the local dialect. It is also famous for Eau de Cologne; a perfume created in the early 18th century and is still produced there to this day.

There was a huge outdoor music festival held there between 1993 and 2006 called Musicfest am Ring (Ringfest) where allegedly 2 million people attended the 1997 edition. Various famous and local German bands played including the fabulously named ‘The Piano Has Been Drinking’ and international acts such as Sparks, Cardigans and Motorhead performed.  Famous people from the city include Nico from Velvet Underground and the Krautrock pioneers Can were formed there in 1968.

The Piano Has Been Drinking. Image Credit genius.com

My first visit to the city was in 2007 and it was also my virgin lads trip and my first ever sojourn to Germany, and I instantly liked the vibe of the country. We stayed near the river, and I recall us walking past one of the fan parks that was used for the previous years World Cup that had been held in the country. One of the matches that took place at FC Koln’s stadium was England’s final group game, a 2-2 draw versus Sweden.  

We naturally visited various brahauses and I remember them lifting the kegs of Kolsch directly from the cellar to the bar area and then pulling a plethora of schooner size glasses of ale. They then maintaned an ongoing tally by notating the number on a beer mat, in one particular place there were a considerable number of lines when ‘Jimmy the Kitty’ went to settle up the bill.   

Jez Catlow took us on a tour around the vibrant pubs of the student area and later retrieved me from a fast-food joint where I was found devouring a giant bowl of chow mein! We also visited a hostelry where there were two macabre dolls whose heads rotated the full 360-degree circle and they were singing Kraftwerk’s ‘The Model’, a rather surreal sight. We met a couple of young Armenia Bielefeld fans who were in high spirits as their team has just reached the pinnacle of the Bundesliga top division.

Our day trip was out to the aforementioned Bonn where we visited a vinyl bar but unfortunately it was poorly timed as on entering I only heard the final notes of an AC/DC album. We also dove into a unique sports bar that didn’t do what it said on the tin and actually show any sports, so we had to rely on one of the chap’s phones to check the football results.   

Bonn. Image Credit dutchwannabe.com

In another bar Uncle George decided to have a dabble on the fruit machine where it was difficult to understand the mechanics but with the barman generously deciphering for him, he proceeding to fleece the machine. When the munchies finally struck we located a gastro pub with some lovely tucker and Uncle George had his now famous ‘Pan of Fish’. Many of the lads were also distracted and somewhat smitten with the statuesque blond frauleinwunder who was our host that afternoon.

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.