Earls Barton July 2nd

Last night Nicki was special guest at a Barbary Coast reunion show at Earls Barton WMC. As you may know, both Cozy and Bob were members of Barbary Coast back in the 80s when they were Frank Ifield's backing group.
Robbo organised the booking and Bugsy, Basil and Queenie joined Robbo, Cozy and Bob to play a couple of sets to a full house at this small club in a Northants village. Nicki played a 40 minute showcase between their sets. It was a lovely summer's evening and a good time was had by all.
I hadn't played the club since the late 70s when my band Conspiracy used to play there a couple of times a year. It hadn't changed much, but I'm glad they got an extension to the stage, because it was just as cramped as I remember it. I even recognised some faces among the crowd.
Nicki, Bob & Tracy found a chinese takeaway and ate it sitting in the van before the show started.

The show started with a set from Robbo and the boys and they sounded very smooth and polished, despite the years and miles since their last performance. Then it was Nicki's turn. We've been using a radio mike for her shows so she was able to make her entrance through the crowd as we played her opening number "Lucy Jordan". The rest of the set were mostly her own songs, and despite the unfamiliarity of the material she won the crowd over with an electric performance.
All too soon it was over and I went outside, put on my tour jacket and slowly cooled down as we chatted to friends. It was a great evening. Both bands sounded great and the hundred or so people who packed into this tiny club had an evening to remember.
Chris enjoyed his first pint of Guinness so much he had a second, so I drove the van home. It was only a few miles and it was the least I could do. We've got a lot of miles to cover in the next few weeks.
Tonight we're playing a show in Bob's home town of Rugby. I'm looking forward to that.