So the final gig of the Summer was finally here - a trip up the M4 to leafy
Surrey - the original Modern World! The CIU was our destination, having been recommended due to our excursions to The Fox
in Bisley. (Many Thanks to all those who came to see us because they had seen us before at The Fox)
Whilst we were setting up, I noticed out of the corner of my eye something
which you don't normally see at your average 'Q' gig - plates of sandwiches, sausage rolls, cheese and pineapple on sticks
- you guessed it - a buffet! At first we thought that it was a really nice gesture of them to put some food on for the band,
until we realised that it was actually for a private function which just happened to be going on at the same as we were due
to play! Whether they had bargained on a kick-arse guitar combo full of modness we'll never know and whilst its fair to say
that they weren't the first on the dancefloor, by the end of the night they were all up dancing and clapping to a cracking
version of 'Down in the Tube Station At Midnight'!
The Lightwater audience were the first to witness two new additions to the
ever growing 'Q' set - 'Saturday's Kids' and a new original tune 'A Taste of Honey'. Both went down well alongside all your favourites - 'Big Issue', 'Interlude', 'Substitute', 'David
Watts', 'She',
'Itchycoo Park' and 'That's Entertainment'.
All in all a decent night's work. Many Thanks to Richard who took the time
out to email us after the gig. He wrote:
'Have to say you played a great set, despite the initial indifference of most
of the audience. Must have been difficult to give it your all under such circumstances, but it was good to see that by the
second set, you seem to have won over most of the crowd!
Great song selection on the covers front and the original material was strong.
Would love to see you playing to a full house with a more up for it crowd, as I am sure it would make you lift the bar even
higher.
Will definitely keep an eye open for when you are next playing in the area.'
If you come to any of our gigs and would like to send us a review or any
comments please contact us on info@theq-hq.co.uk
Take it easy
Tim
Sunday 17th August 2008
Summer's Here and the Time is Right Part 1!
Part
1 of our summer video diary is now available on You Tube, MySpace and here!
Hope you enjoy it
Take it easy and see you on 5th September at CIU Lightwater
Tim
Monday 21st July 2008
'Interlude' gets airplay on Bristol Uncovered!
BBC Radio Bristol's unsigned bands show 'Bristol Uncovered' played 'Interlude' on Sunday night.
Cool!
To listen to the broadcast click on the link below:
The Q on 'Tour' - 'Summer's here and the time is right!'
- Part 2
I think its fair to say that the last two weeks have been a bit of blur!
Thursday 26th June saw Rob and I start an epic journey from Devon to Camber Sands via
Brighton and back (a 500 mile round trip!) on our trusty steeds - Lambretta Li 150 and Vespa PX 125 E respectively.
What a weekend we had!
An excellent ride saw us reach Brighton on Thursday evening - six hours after starting
out that morning. Stopping only for fuel and the occasional call of nature, we motored our way across the south coast (getting
only slightly lost around the Portsmouth area!). Brighton saw us partake in the obligatory 'Quadrophenia' moment; riding along
the seafront trying to spot as many locations as we could; 'The Real Me' playing in our minds.
As luck would have it the first hotel we came to had a room available - brilliant - all was
well with the world. Thursday evening is now a distant memory for me, a few bars, a chinese meal, the beach.......
Friday morning and a rather fragile pair of scooterists managed to make their way to breakfast,
devouring a full english before continuing on our way to Camber Sands.
A superb weekend ensued - Camber sands is an excellent rally. Robin and all the organisers
do an excellent job! Brilliant accomodation, full use of all facilities, great bands, Northern Soul and thousands of like
minded people all make for a fantastic time. Mike joined Rob and I on Friday and we fully engrossed ourselves in all that
is 'scooter rally' for the weekend. Shane arrived on Sunday, completing our line up and making us ready for our appearance
in the 'Live Room' on Sunday night.
We took to the stage to an appreciative crowd, thanks to all who supported us, playing a 45
minute set of all your 'Q' favourites. 'Big Issue' was the stand out song for me. All in all
our first rally set went really well.
Monday morning arrived and it was 'throttle open and head down' for the long 8 hour journey
home!
It took me till about Thursday to get the feeling back in my legs and arse and also get my
head around working for a living! By then it was time for Run to The Shires at Catton Hall, South Derbyshire. Our first national
and our first appearance at a VFM rally.
10pm and it was time to take the stage... Kicking off with 'The
Modern World' and then straight into 'Time For Action' we quickly started to create some
interest. 'There's not many mods in here are there?' was Mike's observation and he was right. What we
did have though was an audience who wanted to party to great music. We delivered and then some! Originals and Covers were
greeted with equal appreciation ending with a 'Town Called Malice' encore - fantastic! Thank you
very much to all who saw us at Run to The Shires - for us a gig to remember.
Incidentally, if you took any video footage of either performance and would like to
share it with us we would be very grateful. I'm putting together a 'video diary' of our exploits this summer and would welcome
some performance stuff. Please send to info@theq-hq.co.uk - I'll make sure you get a credit if we use it.
Next weekend its Weymouth, a full set and more high jinks no doubt!
Take it easy and ride safe
Tim
Tuesday 24th June 2008
The Q on 'Tour' - 'Summer's here and the time is right!'
- Part 1
After the early months of 2008 mostly 'holed up' in rehaearsal or recording studios, it's
time for your 'snappiest dressers right down to their inch wide ties' to take to the road to begin a summer of gigs, scooter
rallies, secret shows and generally modding about!
On June 15th, The Three Counties Show beckoned, with all its promises of agriculture, livestock
and WI produce (I have to say I was badly let down by the WI as there wasn't a pot of jam to be had anywhere!). We were
part of the 'music village' sponsored by the mighty Severn Sound and Wyvern FM. Two shows ensued - 10:00 (I know!) and
14:00, both dispatched with the usual vigour and voracity you come to expect from a 'Q' show.
It was brilliant for us to see an old friend and his family (great to see you Dom!) join the
audience (in between getting ice creams for the kids - ahh the joys of fatherhood!). Many Thanks to all who came to see us.
Saturday 21st June saw us take in the seaside town of Burnham on Sea, to re-introduce ourselves
to the punters at The Railway. Battling marvellously with Russia vs Holland and then Amir Khan boxing we gave the crowd (and
the sport) a good run for their money.
Both of these shows will feature on the video diary we're putting together to document our
summer shenanigens - watch out for it on our myspace, You Tube and website soon!
Next up for us are a couple of excellent weekends - Camber Sands and Run to the Shires. Watch
this space for more tails of 'daring do' from your favourite intrepid modenists!
Sunday 30th March 2008
This is the Modern World! - Queen Vic style!
And so it came to pass - The Q juggernaut rolled into Stroud for a night of complete modness.
Suitably suited and booted we strutted our stuff with an air of confidence which soon rubbed off on the ever increasing crowd.
'The Modern World' kicked off procedings getting people on their feet from the word go. 'My
World', 'Ego', 'In The Crowd' all soon followed, with a blistering 'She' getting people jumping. 'Helter Skelter' and 'Growing
Up' left the crowd (and the band) needing a well earned rest!
The second half continued where the first half had finished, culminating in a cocophony of
modernist classics - 'You Really Got Me', 'My Generation', 'Town Called Malice' and a cracking 'Tube Station'. Couple these
with the excellent 'Big Issue', 'Through Your Eyes', 'Interlude' and 'Good Enough' and we left 'em wanting more!
The crowd were truly excellent - thank you all for making the gig a fantastic memory for us
as a band.
Keep your eye on our gigs page for news of future dates.
See you at a venue near you soon
Take it easy
Tim
Saturday 15th March 2008
Exeter City Gig Cancelled
Unfortunately we've had to cancel our gig at Exeter City FC. Look forward to seeing you at
The Queen Vic on Saturday 29th March
Monday 25th February 2008
The Q Reviewed!
Check us out! We're starting to generate some media interest having received a brilliant review
from Red Track Music. Follow the link to see for yourselves!
Two in Two nights! - The Q Plough Inn to Tewkesbury
and then Euphoria at the Queen Victoria!
I'm still getting my breath back from what was an excellent end of the week in
the life and times of The Q! The weekend started on Thursday for us when we pitched up at The Old Plough Inn in Tewkesbury.
We were pleasantly surprised by a fine turn out from the local mod/scooterist scene - Thanks to all who came to see us and
hopefully we've made a few friends who we'll see again.
Two fine sets ensued with the Who covers in particular going down a treat! Of the originals
'Big Issue' is a big favourite of mine with 'Ego' hot on its heels!
Friday at The Queen Victoria in Stroud was the climax and culmination of something that had
started in Burnham the weekend before. If the The Railway and The Plough gigs were a 'warm up' for this one then they had
certainly done their job. Regular readers of this column will know that I'm not usually one to 'blow our own trumpet' (not
much I hear you say!), but from the first bar of the first song the crowd were up on their feet and partying like it was 1979!
We fed off this and played a complete blinder - from 'This is the Modern World!', My
World, She, Too Young To Know, Dear Prudence,
That's Entertainment, Heatwave, David Watts
(the list goes on and on) through to the last 'Whoa - oh - oh' of 'Tube Station' we
had them jumping! In terms of audience reaction, I can't remember a better gig! Paul - you did a great job (again) with the
sound!
Many Thanks to all who came to see us - it was great to see a bit of style in the audience
- not to mention the odd boating blazer and cravat!
So it was a very tired and sweaty 'Q' that packed up our kit and drove off into the night,
safe in the thought that once again we had delivered!
We've got a gap in our schedule for a couple of weeks now before another
important show at Exeter City Football Club - watch this space for more details..
Until then...
Follow the Blue Smoke, or if not, as an old friend of mine says.. 'Keep a Lazy Hammer' (I
haven't a clue what this means!)
Saturday 2nd February 2008
The Modern World (Studios) and the first gig of the
year - The Q burn 'em in Burnham!
2008 is upon us already! and what a hectic time its been for us so far! Most of
January has been spent at the Modern World Studios in Tetbury recording and mixing three new tracks including 'Big
Issue' and 'Interlude' which are scheduled to be released later on this year through
Time For Action Records. A mega and major part of this project has been the re-recording of 'Through Your
Eyes' which is being produced by the legendary Vic Coppersmith-Heaven! This has been an
absolutely amazing experience for us - one which we'll never forget! Look out for a special page on our site which tells the
'story' of the song and the recording.
And so on to the first gig of the year - a first excursion for us to The Railway
in Burnham on Sea. Many Thanks to all of you who turned out to see us - we had a brilliant time, delivering our energy-filled
brand of modness into the Saturday night air! It certainly blew the cobwebs away for us and we're looking forward to
returning later in the year.
Early in the evening we had a wander around town, and being impressionable youngsters
(at heart if nothing else!) we gravitated towards the bright lights of the amusements on the 'Pier' With 'a pocket full
of change' each we set about cleaning up on the 2p slot machines with Mike in particular playing like a man with an addiction!
Shane got a bit disheartened when he lost a pound and Rob was busy working on a winning system (not sure if it worked though!)
Me - I just got quietly on with the job in hand and would probably still be there now ploughing in 2p after 2p desperately
waiting for the 'big one' if the lads hadn't reminded me we had a gig to play!
We rattled through the first set ending with a fine 'Heatwave'
and throat wrenching 'Helter Skelter'. Second set highlights for me would have to be 'Big
Issue' 'Tube Station' and the encores complete with audience participation on 'David
Watts'.
This is just the start for us this week; on Thursday we're Tewkesbury and Friday
we're at The Queen Vic in Stroud!
