The café we'd arranged to meet in was closed, and there were drifts of people heading towards the station as we headed towards the Prince Albert for the Brighton gig with Pauline. We met her on the way and went to sit outside the pub with a coffee as more and more people started to appear, all very fired up with the desire to rebuff the attempts by the fascist crowd to congregate in their lovely, diverse city and poison the atmosphere. A phalanx of police horses trotted by all self-important and snooty.
It was relatively calm outside when we did the soundchecks. The sound guy there is wonderful, and it's a great room to play. But outside the energy was building. Caryne and Dave had arrived for the gig and for them, too, I think it was quite an extraordinary afternoon. People came to the gig- those who could get past the dense crowds of people who were all dressed in their best carnival clothes.
It was time to go on stage, and outside the chants got louder and louder. Keeping my mind on the songs with the rhythms of massed chanting voices was very hard. But the audience was incredibly supportive, and for Pauline too. I think she had to cope with even louder chanting- the police had rather stupidly shepherded the fascist crowd to the cramped street space right outside the pub. The road was rammed with neo-fascists with their angry faces and cheap flags. But the audience was willing Pauline on, and she has the wisecracks to deal with a situation like that; she put on a fine show.
The words of The Sea have never before been so apt. Thank you everyone for singing the chorus, and for being such a positive audience for both of us. It was a very hard gig and would have been scary if anyone had panicked, but nobody did. By the time we finished, the baddies had gone home and there were only a few goodies left, dancing to a little sound system and clearing up the streets with big bin bags.
Great to see you Jerry and Alice, and Sally, and Mark, and Stephen, and Smelly too, who bought two records and was delighted by the whole thing (apparently he was swinging them round in a bag in the pub later).
Tonight we're both at The Golden Hinde, and hoping for a calmer evening. I think there are still some tickets left so please come on down and enjoy the calm with us!
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