Seeing The Alarm on both sides of the Atlantic

May 2018 will go down as one of the most amazing months of my life. It took me until the grand old age of 52 years to make it across the Atlantic to America for the first time. I'd always wanted to go to New York, and I was able to achieve that dream, and get to see The Alarm play there at the same time at The New York Gathering. This trip took plenty of planning, and there were many times during the build up when I feared that it might not happen. A poorly dog, my mate Prince, was an ongoing issue, and then my brother had a cancer operation just before I was due to fly out. Thankfully fate smiled kindly on me, and I was able to make the trip.

If I had made this trip a couple of years ago, I would have been able to list a few names - people who I met on the trip. However, life is very different for me these days, and there are simply too many names to mention of the people I met out there. I enjoyed meeting each and everyone of you there, and the warmth and friendship extended to this solo traveller from the UK will never be forgotten.

I flew out of Heathrow on the Thursday morning, which potentially made getting to the Thursday night gig a potential problem if there were any delays. All went to plan, and I arrived in New York at lunchtime local time. My Alarm baggage tag worked a treat spotting my suitcase straight-away. I was a bit nervous about getting the train into the city from the airport, as I had no idea of the public transport system, but as someone said to me that half the fun is the adventure, so I got on with it, and within the hour I walked out of Penn Station into the heart of New York City.

It was an awesome baptism into the city. The Empire State Building immediately presented itself to me, and I casually walked past Madison Square Garden and Maceys. I certainly was an Englishman In New York as the song naturally came into my head as I walked towards my hotel. It soon became quite easy to work out the road system, and it was probably the most logical road layout I have come across in a major city.

A quick shower, and I decided to walk to the Slainte bar for the pre gig meet up before the show at The Bowery Electric. The walk was not without incident as a native New Yorker grabbed hold of me and my camera, and took me to the Blondie mural which was so impressive, and pushed a photographer out of the way so he could take my photo for me. The fact that the photographer was doing a photo session seemed to matter very little. But we all ended up having a fun chat.

It was a little surreal walking into the bar and seeing West Ham v Man Utd live on the TV screens. The bar soo began to fill up with fellow fans, and it nice to hook up with Cathi and Dean also over from the UK, and the lovely Lily who could not have done more to make my stay in New York as good as possible. It was the first time I had properly had the chance to chat with the legendary Barney too. Then it was a procession of being welcomed by the locals from start to finish.

The Thursday night gig was a small affair for a lucky 150 or so people who had the early tickets. Not sure how I manged to be one of those, but I was really glad that I was. Once in the venue there was a meet and greet with Mike Peters. I'm not usually one for that kind of thing, but having travelled a few thousand miles I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity. I don't know Mike that well - the occasional handshake and hello. As soon as he realised that I was Tim over from England he was pushing the microphone into my hand telling me to tell the audience all about my fundraising. I had no idea he was aware about all that, in spite of the fact that I do go on about it rather excessively on Facebook! 😆 Backtracking a little one of the first people I bumped into you was the ever friendly and genuine nice guy Smiley with his usual big hug greeting. I then had a chat with Jules who as ever was giving her time to everyone. I managed to avoid the Mastermind quiz. My knowledge of The Alarm is not that great in terms of facts. I love the music from the start to the present day, but specifics elude me.

Mike played a solo set to begin with, which was outstanding. Always a joy to see him play Majority, especially in such a small intimate venue, and of course in New York City! At one point I was prodded in the back, and it was another legendary Alarm figure Cindy Sivak saying hello to me. After a short break the whole band came out to do a set including Deeside and Superchannel, which blew the roof off. Quite stunning! By the end of the evening I had been up for a very long 24 hours, so I headed straight back to the hotel and crashed.

Although I didn't really suffer from jetlag, the time difference did mean that I was awake very early every morning whilst there. Friday daytime was rammed full of sightseeing before the pre-gig meet up later that afternoon. I faced my fear of heights by going up The Empire State Building to get the most amazing views, and then headed through Times Square to Central Park, which was just beautiful. I returned to the hotel via Grand Central Station to meet with Andrew and Suzanne Wallach.

Before heading out to New York, I'd arranged to buy the stunning spiral poppy painting done by Andrew, who is an amazingly talented artist, and Andrew and Suzanne kindly bought a copy of my Lives & Times fundraising book. The guys were also staying at my hotel, but sadly just for the one night, but it was great spending a bit of time with them. The painting is now hanging in my living room.

My hotel was perfectly placed for the Friday night gig, as it was literally just around the corner from the sold out Gramercy Theatre. The bar next door The Dog & Bone was well populated late afternoon, and it was great to meet some more friendly faces including Graham Lampen, who had so kindly sorted out my flight for the trip. The larger than life Peter Simmons was on fine form, and really nice to meet him.

The gig was in two parts. To start with Mike played a 30th anniversary set of Eye Of The Hurricane. This was another chance for me to see the set he played in Llandudno in February, but as ever you pick up on different things, and Mike also played some of the songs with modified arrangements. It's an album I love, so I was captivated throughout. After a short break the full band came on stage, and played a blistering two-hour set. It was very special seeing the band I love play across the ocean in this amazing city. After the gig it was back to The Dog & Bone, and time for farewells as people went their separate ways. I still had a day and a half left in the city, which was spent seeing as much as I could including the 9/11 Memorial, going on the Staten Island Ferry to see The Statue of Liberty, and walking The Brooklyn Bridge.

The warmth and friendship shown to me in New York by so many people will stay with me forever!  I can't thank you all enough. It was a trip that was everything I had hoped it would be and more... I really hope that I can return there sometime soon. 2019 perhaps? You never know...

As fate would have it a mere two weeks after New York, I went to see The Alarm at The O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London. This was back on familiar home territory for me, and meeting up with so many friends that I have made over the last couple of years. Long gone are the days of me hiding away at gigs on my own. In fact when I walked into The Bull & Gate pub next door to the venue, Smiley, James and Jules were there enjoying a pre-gig drink. I should point out that typically Transport For London decided to close The Northern tube line that weekend, which made getting to the venue very interesting. I had my first ride a red London double-decker bus for 25 years or so, and it was actually quite nice seeing some of the sights of London on a bus.

Before heading to the venue, I was back on bowel cancer book work, and met with former Alarm roadie, now television presenter and genuine good guy, Gareth Jones aka Gaz Top. He was really lovely and couldn't have been more helpful. I think his chapter in the book will definitely be of interest to the fans of the band.

Always nice to see Dave Sharp play live, and he played a superb set to get the evening going. He was well received, although the early start meant there weren't as many people in the venue as might have been the case. Then Jericho followed with a great set full of energy. Mark Shaw was on fine form and he and the band went down very well. 

The Alarm then stormed it! It was a set pretty much the same as I'd seen in New York, but that made no difference to me, as I wouldn't tire of seeing the band live. Songs from  the early 80s combined with songs of the present day pretty seamlessly. It was nice seeing the band play in a decent sized venue in London. Travelling back on the bus was interesting in a lightning storm, and typically I missed the last fast train back to Reading, so I had to travel home on the snail train!But back to The Alarm, and I hope that the momentum that seems to be building with the band at the moment can continue. A new album, Equals, comes out in June, and hopefully will win them new fans, and bring  back some more of the fans from yester-year.

Life has changed very much for me since my mum passed away in 2016. Out of the sadness came the positives, and my bowel cancer fundraising has been supported by so many fans of The Alarm, and as a result my life has been changed dramatically. I have emerged from the shadows, and made friends with so many wonderful people. I can never thank you all enough for the support for what I am doing, and welcoming me into the fold, it means the world to me. 

So what next? A Smiley gig in Ascot in September, and then The Gathering next February in Llandudno. After that I'd love to see the band in Scotland, and if the opportunity presents itself to return to New York I'd love to gop back. It most certainly has been a merry month of May!

To see my New York photo album click here.