A wise man once said..."better late than never".

Hello all, it has been a while. I'm sure you've all heard the news. Terrible, I know. What were they thinking? What a ridiculous decision! I'm still angry about it, to be honest. Alex definitely should have won The Apprentice! Can't believe it, can't believe it. Seriously though, after 16 months, 20,661 reads, (<----- that is an Oxford Comma, by the way) and God knows how many hours spent on iMovie, the Tommy B blogs are coming to a close. This will be the last one because, well, there isn't that much to report on any more....

So that, as they say, is that. Mumm-Ra is no more. That little tour we did at the beginning of March, as hard as it is to believe, would turn out to be the last that Mumm-Ra would ever do together. So, if you didn't happen to be there - which is quite likely if you don't happen to live in the south-east of England - I hope you'll enjoy a few of the highlights as Mumm-Ra enjoyed staying in the finest Travelodge's the country had to offer, just one last time:

So the fixture list went something like this: Southampton, Oxford, Bedford, Hertford (though I was sadly absent), Brighton, Tunbridge Wells, Colchester and Cambridge. It was great to be out on tour again, there really is nothing quite like it. Plus the crowds that turned up were as great as always, so if you were there - thank you, we had an awesome time. Plus we got to try out some new material which, sadly, will now never see the light of the day. Still, chin up! How about three videos documenting that week and a half, with one including a rendezvous with a WORLD CHAMPION Mumm-Ra fan - yes, you read that correctly! We've also got extreme fishing, Niall talking about one of the best bands of all time, cycle lanes, incredible keepy-uppy skills, chinese food, Jonny Borell impressions, cheese allergies, juggling and Celine Dion. Enjoy, people...

PART 1
..

PART 2
..

PART 3
..

Rock loves to Waggle Dance


Smierlap!


Skillz that Killz


Steve - flippin - Davis!!


OK Tokyo - a fine support indeed


It all got too much for some...


Bucky post last gig


No sleep till Bexhill!!


Southampton Joiners


BYE! - Cambridge Graduate, last 'Ra show (cheers Oli T www.olleytalibudeen.co.uk)


The Cambridge crowd "struggle" with Noo


Cambridge Graduate post show (cheers to David Gray for the photo)


Right, well I guess that's it! Before I leave, seeing as I'm probably never going to be able to do this in the sleeve-notes of an album, I'd just like to say a few thank-you's in true Oscar award-winning fashion.

Tommy B would like to thank:

All the bands we ever played with (well, most of them), Gaz, Dale, Joe of Youngplan (get that f*****n album out) , Phil, Sulli, Roz and Beal of Ripchord for being the best tourbus housemates for three weeks, Sammy, Jonny and Matt from OK Tokyo for being awesome tour support on the March tour, Keith McColl without whom these blogs would have been incredibly dull, Steve Coombes for being the greatest tour manager on Earth, our sound man Christian "Smooth B" Bayley for being the nicest guy on the planet and putting up with us singing his theme tune in innapropriate places, Matthew Dawson for being an excellent merchman/roadie/and a lot of other things for very little or no money, Mad Jon for always keeping us entertained, Olly Long for his inhuman efforts as driver, tour manager and sound tech for the March Tour, all at Sony Japan for making our trips over there unforgettable, all at Supervision, David Gray for many things but especially the Wycombe Wanderers shirt, Oli T for some cracking photos, all those brief crew members Yug, Mad Mike, Roo, Hans, Gaz Gray, Original Jon in the Original Bus, all those other people who've I've forgotten to mention and of course those 5 chaps from Bexhill for giving me the best 18 months of my life.

Oh, and not forgetting you guys for actually taking the time to read these things - much love.

So, what next for Tommy B? Well it's on to pastures new. I'm now playing live keys for a band called White Lies, so if you happen to come across us in the coming months, come and say hello and we'll have a beer.

Take care ya'll,

-B

p.s www.myspace.com/mirrorsmirrorsmirrors

???

"Wear the eyepatch, Brett. Wear the funky, funky eyepatch"

So, 13 weeks and 1 day later - here is the latest instalment of the Tommy B blog. Since we last spoke, Mumm-Ra made the short hop across to the other side of the planet to play their very first Japanese Tour. We took in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo and a rather smashing time was had by all...

OSAKA

Definitely a party town, Osaka. The night we arrived we hit a bar called Rock Rock which, by looking at the thousands of polaroids on the walls, has been frequented by just about every British band you could possibly think of. As a band, It's kind of a rite of passage to have a night out there then get snapped on the way out looking a bit worse for wear. If any of you are lucky to go to Osaka, check it out and let us know if we've made it onto the wall of fame - http://www.rockrock.co.jp/

The show the following evening was a really good way to kick off the tour, we even opened the set with a new song which, as I think I've said before, is the best 'Ra track to date in my opinion. As I'm so generous, I've included some footage of it from our Tokyo show, just scroll down and it's there in the Tokyo 1 video. So yes, Osaka - great. Day one video and photos....



The customary nerdy photo


We were playing in that building called Parco. On the 8th floor!!


More Osaka madness


What do you mean you've never seen a giant mechanical crab before?


Buckler


Rock Rock


Wave your chopsticks in the air like you just don't care


Buckler tells that Des O'Connor joke again


Keith hitting a homer in the fun-nest (is that a word?) building in the world


NAGOYA

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, or rather feeling the effects from the copious amounts of Sake ("sar-kee", in case you were wondering), we made our way from the hotel to the train station to get the bullet train to Nagoya. With a name like that, you can kind of guess what sort of speeds this thing hit. If we had them in the UK I'd get to London in 25 minutes, rather than nearly 2 hours stopping in places like Frant which, if you ever have the fortune of stopping at Frant, is just a field. So, big fast train and stewardesses than bow to you when you get on board. British Rail it certainly aint. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to explore Nagoya, though there was a Tower Records next to the venue which allowed us to blow our PD's for the week in record time. After another good show, we made our way through the city to a really cool restraunt. En-route, our sound guy Christian "Smooth B" Bayley treated us to a rendition of Singin' In The Rain. It's all in the video for your delectation...



Arrival in Nagoya


Yes, that's the album artwork!!


It was Halloween


Tate. Bags.


Bullet train excitement


TOKYO

Tokyo was, as last time, a real treat. Such a cool city. We were lucky enough to have a day off, in addition to playing two shows there, meaning a total of 3 nights. One of the highlights was a store near the venue called "Tokyu Hands", that's not a typo either. Just think of everything you could ever purchase ever ever ever. It was here, and it was quite insane. The fitness section was something else. You can see Noo, *cough* toning up his abs, in the video. We also managed to return to the Jazz Cafe from our last visit, as well as host a tea-party. Okay, it was for Sony competition winners and it was at Sony HQ. Mumm-Ra are well know tea lovers and gave four lucky ladies a masterclass in the art of tea-making, the English way. Again, photographic and film evidence below.

The 2 shows were really, really great. The last night was especially memorable, as not only was it a top gig but it was also the birthday of one Gareth Jennings. Cue party poppers, cake and an onstage rendition of Happy Birthday complete with out-of-place minor-chord from Noo at the end. For a final hurrah we headed to a Kareoke bar and sang the night away. I won't give away who sang what, but I've never heard anything quite like the one particular version of "Nothing Compares To You".

TOKYO DAY 1 VIDEO



TOKYO DAY 2 VIDEO



Back at the Jazz cafe. Niiiiiiiice.


Tate


We put Peter Beardsley on the guestlist on the off chance he might want to come along


Rock and Buckler sporting some of the many gifts given from the Japanese massive


Today's Live!


There aint no party like a Mumm-Ra tea-party


A piece of Tate art
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During "She's Got You High" on the last night


Smooth B and Sasha (who hasn't cut his hair in 24 years)


You may not know this, but Rock has a real fascination for ladybirds


A quite brilliant piece of art. Oli, Gareth and, who's that in the corner?....Piano Man!!


Raw fish. A lot tastier than expected


Japan Massive - November 2007



Okay, that's yer lot. Take care folks.

-Tommy B

MUMM-RA IN "NOT DEAD" SHOCK HORROR!!

It's true. Contrary to popular belief, I can confirm that Mumm-Ra are not, in fact, dead. No no, quite the opposite. The lads have been beavering away in deepest, darkest Sussex for the last 2 months, writing, creating and playing the occassional hand of poker. As for me, well I've also had a rather productive 8 weeks. Not only have I taken up cooking and golf, I've also found time to enter a marathon, get a haircut, see Ricky Gervais live, sell most of my worldly possessions on eBay and listen to an obscene amount of Talking Heads. Oh, and I've also created this blog for you guys, my loyal readers and Mumm-Ra devotees. The blog reads hit 15,000 the other day - many, many thanks. Anyway, enough drivel. Here we go...

So did you spot it? "Spot what?" I hear you cry. The lie! The vile and odious lie that I spouted in the last blog, all 2 months ago. If I remember rightly it went something along the lines of...

"Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 3, featuring our trip to Barcelona last month and possibly our French festivals as well, will be with you within the next few weeks."

I can't help but feel partly responsible. So, as way of an apology, I am giving you - the Mumm-Ra massive - the biggest blog to date. There are seven, count them, SEVEN videos of our summer adventures in Spain, France and Japan. I've also chucked in a shed-load of photos for good measure, some with partial nudity, so if you are offended by images of Noo in his pants then I suggest you view with caution.

BARCELONA - BREAD AND BUTTER, 4th-5th July 2007

For those of you in the UK, I am sure none of you can forget the summer we had this year. Or, indeed, the lack of one. Which is why it was such an absolute joy to jet off to Barcelona for a couple of days and soak up some much needed sunshine, and play a gig in the process. We were staying the Espanya Placa, might not sound familiar but you will probably recognise it when you see it (see photo's/video). Got there early afternoon-ish, hit the pool, then headed over to the event to soundcheck. Bread and Butter is best descibed as some kind of fashion trade-fair, I guess. We were playing an outside stage in an area they had dumped a load of sand in and created a sort of makeshift beach. So with soundcheck done by 6pm and not being onstage until the next night, it was off into Barcelona for tapas and sangria.

The next day was spent at Bread and Butter in the Playboy clothing section. Now, before you say anything there was a genuine reason for this. The Rock had designed to Tshirt for Playboy that was to be sold for charity, I think The Flaming Lips did one as well. It features the Mumm-Ra drummer boy and everything. The fact that we were provided with as much free champagne as we wanted and were surrounded by Playboy bunnies had nothing to do with us hanging around there, look at the photos below - we look really uncomfortable. So with that done, it was off for a huge paella then we headed back for the evening festivities. Free beer all night? That's a Mumm-Ra thumbs up. The gig was a bit weird, playing to all these pissed-up fashion types, but we had a laugh doing it. When the clock struck midnight, our soundman and all round top bloke, Christian "Smooth B" Bayley, turned 42 (i think??) although he doesn't look a day over 25, ladies. As a celebration, the organisers took us into town in 3 mini's, it was just like The Italian Job, and got us into this club by saying we were the Arctic Monkeys. From then on it's hazy, but I do remember coming out of the club and falling straight on my arse. Alex Turner would never do that.



Outside Barca hotel


Rock's Tshirt in all its glory


They've all had a sangria...


Bucky feeling right at home


Noo in a really really really expensive dressing gown


Smooth looking smooth


Oli doing his best Hef impression


Ra and bunnies


Smooth being smooth


Paella time


So.Much.Free.Beer.


Sometimes things get stuck in Tate's hair for weeks on end


A rather large Mumm-Ra banner


You haven't lived until you've seen Keith dance



FRANCE - MUSILAC, AIX LES BAINS - 13th July 2007

Flying can be a bit hairy at times. Let's face it, a huge lump of metal weighing hundreds of tonnes is not meant to be in the air. Gravity says no. So, taking a flight on Friday 13th of July? Good thing I'm not superstitious. After two cracking tours there in 2006 and earlier this year, Mumm-Ra returned to France to headline the Musilac Festival in Aix Les Bains. Well, when I say headline, I mean unofficially. Obviously, we wouldn't be headlining above Muse. That would mean playing after them, and that would be just plain silly.......

Aix Les Bains is easily the most scenic festival I've ever been to. At least it was until we hit Fuji Rock a few weeks later, I would now say they are both pretty much on a par. It consists of two main stages opposite each other, and when one band finishes another one starts up. All of which is going on next to a lake and beneath mountains in 30 degree heat. It really is quite something. Not going onstage until 1 in the morning meant we had the whole day to chill out, have a few drinks, have a swim and generally just enjoy ourselves. We did manage to miss a signing session at 9.30pm because most of the band were in the lake at the time, something which would result in disastrous consequences - it's all there for you in the video. As for our "headlining" set? Well, broken strings aside it could have been a lot worse. For reasons known only to the promoters, we were put on after Muse. Think of all the feats of mankind - the internal combustion engine, the wheel, landing on the moon (supposedly), stonehenge, splitting the atom - following Muse has got to be up there, hasn't it?

Part 1


Part 2


Scenic is the word


Calm yourselves, ladies


Throwing rocks at a buoy (that's pronounced "boy", Rock)


Dom from Muse, complete with own personal bodyguard



FRANCE - GARDEN NEF PARTY, ANGOULEME - 20th July 2007

A week later we returned to France, specifically the rather pleasant town of Angouleme, but not before a classic Mumm-Ra travel nightmare. RyanAir - who from now on shall be known as Brian McClair airways - decided it would be great if they got everyone on the plane and not take off for three hours. Let me put this in perspective. The journey should only have taken one hour, yet it was quadrupled by the most incopetent airline around. They blamed the weather, although every other plane in the airport was taking off just fine. Being 6ft4, I don’t really fit in airplanes at the best of times so you can imagine how I was feeling at the situation. We weren't even offered a cup of tea by way of an apology, and there was no way I was going to spend £1.90 on some molten-hot PG Tips. Idiots.

4 hours later than planned, we eventually arrived. The fest was a lot smaller than seven days ago, and this time normal service was resumed as there was just the one stage, headlined by Muse with Mumm-Ra opening up the proceedings. We arrived onsite around 5ish, cracked open a few 8% Guiness and spent the next 20 minutes in awe of all the Muse equipment. You've seriously never seen anything like it in your life. They have what looks like a small army working for them, and God help you if go anywhere within 30 feet of the drumkit. Bucky and I did manage that at one point however, we tell you what we saw in the video.

Our show went a lot smoother than Musilac, but Noo still managed to break his sunglasses as he did at almost every summer festival this year. The rest of the evening was spent sitting on the hill watching the bands, making paper planes and handing out Mumm-Ra flags to all and sundry. During the Muse set, Oli and I wangled our way to the side of the stage for the last half an hour or so, right next to the bass amps. The sounds we were subjected to in that time were just out of this world, indescribable really. Easily one of the best live bands you're ever likely to see. And with that, we packed up the van and made our merry way home.

Part 1


Part2


Two of the most distinguished gentlemen you could ever meet. In front of them, Oli and Rock


It turned in to one of those nights


Muse


Who needs eleven bass guitars? Honestly



JAPAN - TOKYO/FUJI ROCK - 25th-28th July 2007

It's not every day you travel half-way round the planet to play a gig, but then again it's not every day you get the chance to play Fuji Rock. It's up there with Glastonbury for me, just one of those special places. The rest of the lads had played it last year and wasted no time in telling me I was in for the time of my life.

12 hours on a plane later (which, using the equation from the last French trip, would take Brian McClair Airways 48 hours, or two days, to do. Thank god they don't fly to Japan is all I can say) and 1 hour in a van and we had arrived in Tokyo. Think it was mid-afternoon but it was obviously the early-hours of the morning in our heads. A quick kip in the hotel and we went out exploring. We were staying in the Shibuya region of Tokyo, where that famous massive crossroads is an' all that. For those of you who have never been, Japan is just mad, in a good way. I thought that Banzai show on Channel 4 a few years back was a joke. Walking around is a total attack on the senses. You could walk all day and you wouldn't be bored, it really is like another world. Culture shock over, the evening was spent having dinner in the same restaurant as Britpop heroes Ash and drinking in a bar where you have to take your shoes off and sit on the floor. Just another normal night in Tokyo. They had just the one toilet in this place and it looked like Klaxons had been in to decorate it - photographic evidence down the page. It was a top night and a great way to kick-off the trip.

One of the benefits of being the session guy is that you don't often get involved in the press side of things - interviews, photo's etc. So, while the rest of the guys had to get up at 8am for a whole day of press, band manager Keith, sound man Smooth B and I headed out into the Tokyo heat for a spot of sightseeing. We ducked in and out of a few shops, seeing Smooth trying to haggle down the cost of a pair of Levis with a shop assistant who didn't speak any English was highly entertaining. After a few hours of wanderage (I just made that word up, I quite like it), we struck gold. In desperate need of some liquid refreshment we happened upon the coolest bar you could ever see. It was up this rickety spiral staircase on the outisde of a knackered old house, which led to a door that I only just fitted through. The bar was about the size of my bedroom and had hundreds of jazz records on the walls. Smooth B describes it all for you in the video, but if you ever visit Tokyo make sure you go to 6-29-6, Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku. Come the evening we met up with the rest at SonyHQ, went for a fantastic meal, then jumped in the van for the drive up to Fuji Rock.

Upon arrival at the biggest hotel I've ever seen in my life, which during festival time is purely filled with bands and crew, we set about finding our rooms. Not easy in a hotel that has several thousand of the buggers. We set off in what we thought was the right direction, when up ahead, sitting on a window sill just like a normal person would, was Jarvis Cocker. He's no normal person. He wrote Common People - without doubt one of the greatest tracks ever written by anyone in the history of the world ever. Feeling suitably star struck and pleased with ourselves we jumped in the lift, got out and decided we were in completely the wrong location. So back into the lift we went, back along the corridor past Mr Cocker, back to reception to ask for directions. Turns out we had been right the first time, and so for a third time had to try and look cool in the presence of an indie hero. This time however we clocked him and had a brief joke with him about being lost. You had to be there. With bags dumped in rooms, we made our way out of the hotel and into the festival. From then on it was a blur of camera phones and two-fingered salutes (the Japanese way, not the British way). Without getting into it too much, Mumm-Ra did, for obvious reasons, stand out a mile. It was like bees to honey. Japanese fans are the most polite bunch you could ever meet and their reaction to seeing Mumm-Ra in their country was fascinating to watch. I pointed out to one band member on our way back to the hotel that night that Mumm-Ra camped at Glastonbury for 3 days solid without being recognised once and after only playing two gigs in Japan before, it was mayhem as soon as we stepped foot on the Fuji Rock site. Interesting eh? That night we propped up the hotel bar until the early hours then it was off to bed, we had quite a day ahead of us.

And so to showday. We had some time to kill as we weren't needed until 1ish, so after brekkie Noo, Keith and I planned on hitting the 30-hole putting course the hotel had outside. Alas, it was closed so Noo and I had to make do with table tennis, or to give it its real name - ping-pong. You know what annoys me the most about ping-pong? Not the fact that your hands get really sweaty and you lose your grip on the bat. Not the fact that when you go for one of those smash shots the ball can go about 50 feet past the end of the table. Not even the fact that Noo is better than me and as such played one entire game hitting the ball between his legs. No, the most annoying thing about ping-pong is when Kings Of Leon walk past you and put you off your stroke. No respect for anyone those fellas. Anyway, that's what happened. Yet another surreal moment in a series of thousands that happened over the three days.

We went onstage at the Red Marquee at about 4pm I think. I've never seen a tent so rammed for Mumm-Ra, it was pretty incredible really. The highlight of the set for me was Now Or Never and the reaction it got from the crowd when Noo struck up the first chords - magic. So with the set declared a triumph, the rest of the lads went off to do a signing whilst I took full advantage of my AAA pass and went and stood side stage for Kings Of Leon. And who did I happen to be standing next to? Why, Jarvis of course. The Kings were just something else. My band of the year, no question. I plucked up the courage to go and say hello later in the evening as their dressing room was just down from ours, and I can confirm they are thoroughly nice chaps. I even got a setlist signed - well chuffed. Later on in the evening, the rest of Mumm-Ra achieved something of a personal goal. One of the first songs that Mumm-Ra ever played together was one by mid-nineties indie-popsters Ocean Colour Scene, and many of them have a special place for OCS in their hearts. I can't see it personally but that's neither here nor there! The point of the story is that Steve Cradock, OCS guitarist, was milling around and Mumm-Ra took it upon themselves to meet the man himself. What started out as a friendly chat turned into Steve coming into our dressing room and taking requests for Ocean Colour Scene classics. He also agreed to saying to camera "Hi I'm Steve Cradock, you're watching the Tommy B blog" combined with a lot of effing and blinding. Tragically, I have lost the said footage but you can still see highlights of his visit in the video - as well as Oli's utter joy after the encounter. Talking of lost footage, I also had Robert Smith from The Cure fiddling about on his MacBook and a whole load of other backstage shenanigans, as well as all the film I took from the Underage Festival in August. I wholeheartedly apologise to all who were there, blame technology. Anyway, we spent the rest of the night trekking round the site, resisting the temptation to go and see Muse for the 3rd time in as many weeks, and generally just taking in the whole Fuji Rock experience. Eventually the time came for us to depart so after picking up a few souvenir tshirts, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Tokyo. Our time in Japan was something I know I'll never forget, and to make things better - we're going back next week! Depends on when you're reading this of course, we might have already been. Videos and photos from a quite brilliant few days...

(note; I went all arty-farty on the outro of Part 2 because, well, just cos I felt like it!)

Part 1


Part 2










There is something that really amuses me seeing Bucky stood next to a square watermelon


The most nu-rave toilet you are ever likely to see


Japan massive


Ancient Japanese hand massage or just plain painful?


That Harry gets everywhere


Tower Records, Tokyo


Tokyo backstreets


Keith can't get enough of his pickled octopuses


Red Marquee line-up, Fuji Rock


Our kind of restaurant


View from my hotel window


Literally thirty seconds before going onstage


Crowd for Kings Of Leon (Jarvis Cocker not pictured)


Kings Of Leon


You don't get this at V


This doesn't need a description


The moment Mumm-Ra's life became complete



And so ends another chapter in the ongoing saga that is Mumm-Ra. That also concludes the series of blogs known as Mumm-Ra's Summer. I hope that you have found them suitably to your taste, there will be more to come as the good-ship Mumm-Ra stirs from it's slumber and begins to motor once again.*

Until next time,

-B



















*what a finishing sentence!!

Okay, so this is where we're at. This, I think, is still Part 2 of "Mumm-Ra's Summer". However, this is the second part of it. And it's only short so I can't make this "Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 3" like I said I would in "Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 2 - Germany Part 1". Therefore, this is "Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 2(b)", but it is "Germany Part 2", not "Germany Part 1". I'm glad I've made that clear for you all.

So here it is. The chance to see 2 members of Mumm-Ra plummet to the Earth during our trip to Germany back in late June. I've said pretty much all there is to say in Part 1 of Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 2 - Germany Part 1 (I hope you're keeping up), but what I will say is that a most fantastic time was had by all. I hope you enjoy the video, and I've stuck in a few photos for your delectation as well.

Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 3, featuring our trip to Barcelona last month and possibly our French festivals as well, will be with you within the next few weeks. Until that time, sit back and enjoy more utter nonsense from the members of the band we call Mumm-Ra.

-B



There is absolutely no way Snow Patrol could all fit in there



A favourite Mumm-Ra past-time



Oli and The Rock pre-show



Tate pre-show



The rather magnificant Bloc Party



Stuttgart, lock up your daughters



Toasting another job well done



Worst.....pub......ever

The Glastonblog...

And so we come to the big one. The mac daddy. The numero uno. The top of the pile. The king of the castle. The holy grail, and any other similar phrases you can think of. Yes, after 7 years as a band, it was finally Mumm-Ra's turn to play The Glastonbury Festival Of Performing Arts. Nervous? Possibly. Fully rehearsed? Hopefully. Dream come true? Oh yes. So, at 7am on the morning of Wednesday 20th June, Mumm-Ra made their way to the fields of Pilton in Somerset. Being Mumm-Ra however, the journey was never going to be easy. In the past 6 months we've had:

-Broken down buses
-Broken down trains
-Gridlock on the M1 at 11.30 at night
-A 1 hour plane journey that ended up taking 4 hours

and my personal favourite...

-3 ferry crossings instead of 1

So when our taxi driver took us into the town of Glastonbury rather than Pilton and we became stuck in a 4 hour tailback going to the festival, we weren't really surprised. To put it in perspective, it took 3 hours to get there. So double the journey time and add one hour - that's how long we were stuck for. Looking back we really should have briefed the driver beforehand about where exactly to take us, but we're Mumm-Ra - we do things the hard way. Anyway, we eventually made it to the drop-off point and queued up for the buses to take us to the promised land. It took about another 2 hours before we actually got through the gates. During that time the five of us had consumed 10 cans of lager and a bottle of rum, which passed the time nicely. Friends located and tents erected, it was off to the Brothers Bar to purchase the essential Glastonbury beverage - Brothers Pear Cider. You may have heard me speak of this in previous blogs, and indeed declaring my joy at finding it in certain establishments round the country. However, what you get in the pubs really can't compare with what you get at Glastonbury, for several reasons. One, it's 4.7% compared to the festival strength 7.0%. Two, pubs always stick it in a glass full of ice - sacrilegious. And three, it really is best enjoyed in a field in Somerset. So, with great excitement we headed down to the Jazz World Field, stocked up, sat under the flags in the sunshine and toasted the start of Glastonbury 2007. The rest of our Wednesday was spent walking, drinking, paying £3.50 for a pointless oxygen inhaling experience, playing with velcro phrase walls, eating square pies, going on a see-saw with Noo (the weight difference was hilarious), praying for good weather, more walking, more drinking and of course, losing our tent. It's what Glastonbury is all about. Some photos from our Wednesday...

Some building, just off the A303.


The traffic jam did not dampen spirits.


Someone's happy to be in.


John Peel - absolute, 100% legend.


Tate and an elephant made from plastic milk bottles. Just a normal day in Glastonbury.


From Thursday on, there was only one thing you could wear on your feet. The sun gods had quaffed one too many pear ciders on the Wednesday and had wandered off never to return, all of which meant the Somme-like conditions of previous years had returned, yet again, to turn Glastonbury 2007 into another mud-bath. Some people say they don't mind the mud, that it wouldn't be Glastonbury without it. That it makes for a better atmosphere. Does it b*****s. I'll take warm, sunny days and being able to sit down on the grass over trudging through bloody knee-deep mud for 5 days solid, thank you very much. We were due to leave the site on the Friday night after our set, and leaving the mud behind was the only thing that made that bearable. All you can do is get on with it. And get on with it we did. On one of our many expeditions, we were suddenly confronted with a quite surreal site. It looked as if someone had covered an entire stall with the artwork from These Things Move In Threes. And they had, but it was nothing to do with Mumm-Ra. It was a stall for The Guardian newspaper. You can see Noo's obvious displeasure in the photos below. The rest of the Thursday is a blur of mud, rain, more mud and more rain. I did see this unbelievable beat-boxer though. Can't remember his name but he was out of this world, as was the tea we had whilst we watched him. Chai tea in the Chai-Wallah tent for all you tea-loving Glastonbury attendees. Couple photos from Thursday...

The Guardian - sponsored by Mumm-Ra.


Essential Glasto-wear.


And so to Friday. It didn't feel quite right packing up the tents with 3 days of the festival remaining but that's what we had to do. We then had to lug said tents and bags from Pennards Hill to the John Peel Stage. In the mud. In the early evening. It took bloody ages, but we were playing Glastonbury tonight - so it didn't matter. Arrived at the JPS around 6.30pm and had one of the most incredible showers in my life. I didn't want to get out but we had the small matter of a show to do. Walking out for that gig was something I'll never forget, but the gig itself flew by and is really hazy. Highlights for me were the crowd signing back She's Got You High and the kick-in at the beginning of Now Or Never. The first time I saw that song live as a punter (years before I joined), I thought it was made for Glastonbury. And here I was, actually playing it at the greatest festival in the world. Life moves in mysterious ways sometimes. Thanks to all that came down at watched us, especially as Arcade Fire were playing at the same time. We had to leave at 11pm to make our way to Stansted for two German festivals that would turn out to be quite eventful (you can read about and see footage in Part 1 of our German adventures below), but I think I speak for all the band when I say that our Glastonbury experience will not be forgotten. Below is a video (15 minutes, mind!) of what we got up to on the Wednesday (would have filmed Thursday and Friday but for battery issues)....



MUMM-RA DO GERMANY!!

"Ich bin müde"

It's 4.04am. Bleary-eyed and mud-splattered, Mumm-Ra roll in to Stansted Airport. We looked a right state I can tell you. Most were still drunk, some hadn't showered in 4 days, but all were covered in Somerset's finest. How we got through security I do not know. It's a strange feeling when you realise that 7 hours ago you were onstage at Glastonbury and in 7 hours time you'll be onstage at a festival in northern Germany. That's rock n roll for you, kids. I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the plane journey to Germany, apart from sitting down and marvelling at the the RyanAir "Dual Purpose Sick Bag" (see below photo). We arrived onsite at the Hurricane Festival around 11.30am, and found that our dressing room was next-door to the Manic Street Preachers, though they weren't in. Sound asleep in their luxury tour-bus, no doubt. The show was interesting. We were first on so not many people there as we walked onstage but by the end it had packed out nicely. We were also subjected to every weather system known to man in our 30 minute slot. Still, fun was had. An hour or so after our show we had to leave and travel to Bremen where, unlike all the other bands who simply jumped into their nice fancy tourbuses, we had a train to catch. What more could you want on a Saturday afternoon having not been to bed since Thursday night than an 8 hour train journey? Wunderbar! (German for "Wonderful", fact fans). So from Bremen to Cologne and then Cologne to Stuttgart where we would catch our connecting train to the town where our hotel was. Well, that was the plan anyway. Check out the Part 1 video below to see what actually happened. Arriving at our hotel, I've never been so tired in all my life. Just ridiculous. I did a diary entry in my room that night which is also in the video. Just so you know when you watch it, I'm not putting it on. That's what Glastonbury + Travel + Hurricane Festival + 10 hours travelling does to you. Our day one photos...

Even at 4.04am, Niall spreads the word of the 'Ra.


6am. Filth.


If it was a competition, Buckler would have won.


Throw-up in it, then send your films off to be processed.



Up at 7am, looked out the window and saw something I hadn't seen in 5 days - blue sky! From that moment on I knew it was going to be a good day. We arrived about 10ish and found that our dressing room neighbours today were a certain Arcade Fire. The show was similar to the one the previous day. Great crowd though, and once again the SGYH hand-claps were pretty special. We were done by about 1pm so had the rest of the day to get up to no good, which we promptly did. Let's just say that the words "bungee" and "jump" we being banded around. I can tell you now, that some members of Mumm-Ra DID jump out of a crane with an elastic band tied to their feet. I won't reveal all now, but the Part 1 video below is a little teaser before I bring you the jumps in Part 2. On the Mumm-Ra Forum we've been running a poll as to who you guys thought would do it. Results:

23% - The Rock
20% - Niall
20% - Noo
17% - Tommy B
11% - Oli
11% - Tate

Will the predictions prove be correct? Find out in Part 2 of Mumm-Ra Do Germany (which will be with you in a matter of days), but for now here's Part 1...



Cheers for reading Part 2 of Mumm-Ra's Summer! Part 3 will be with you very shortly where you can see some Mumm-Ra members flirt with death.

That's all for now, folks

-Tommy B

"River Deep and Mountain High. There's two lyrics that'll never apply. Cos I don't like awake at night, with thoughts of river depth or mountain height."

Right, what we have here is the first in a whole series of blogs that I am going to call "Mumm-Ra's Summer". It's gonna be a bit like that show "Pugwall's Summer" shown on Channel 4 about 10 years ago, but without Pugwall, and with Mumm-Ra. This is part one and there is a hell of a lot more to follow. And trust me, there is a lot to look forward to. For example, in part two you will be able to see two Mumm-Ra members jump out of a crane with just a bit of elastic tied to their feet. Who were these daredevils? You will find out soon enough. For now though let us return to the days of mid-June as Mumm-Ra embarked on their first festival of the summer…

Wireless – meaning "without wires". Well from what I remember there was an absolute abundance of wires. The festival would have been lost without them. It's gonna be a while before we get an actual Wireless festival. All run on Bluetooth or something. Interesting Mumm-Ra fact number 362a – this was my first festival with Mumm-Ra, a full 9 months after joining the band.

The journey up to Leeds didn't start too great. BLT (Backline Tech) Matt and myself hit the rehearsal room at 2pm but Mumm-Ra were nowhere to be seen. An hour later they turn up, something about Noo not filling in a passport form correctly, I dunno. We pile the gear into the van, then after a M&S service station stop up the A21 (whoever had the idea of putting M&S at service stations needs a knighthood), we hit the M25 and as is always the case with that road – it wasn't moving. The M1 was no better. We eventually hit Leeds about 8 hours after we set off. Want to know how we passed the time in the van? It's all in the Day1 video below…





After a swim at the hotel and a less than appetising McDonalds breakfast (which kind of rendered the swimming session pointless), we headed to the festival site whilst enduring your typical British summertime weather. So upon arrival it was on with the wellies and straight into catering for a cup of tea before meeting up with our old muckers Ripchord. The weather held up okay and were were able to wander round the site in what I would call acceptable mud conditions (as opposed to what would confront us a week or so later. See - "Mumm-Ra's Summer" – Part 2). We caught Ripchord's set in what looked like a UFO, then I went over and saw a bit of Good Shoes which I've gotta say I was a bit disappointed with. I'd been told they were great live but it was all over the place, so I gave up after 4 tracks and headed off on other pursuits. Namely, beer. Wireless was sponsored by Tuborg, which I'd never heard of before but was very tasty I must say. Not that I'm advertising it with the hope of getting a few free cases or anything. No, I'm definitely not saying "WHENEVER MUMM-RA HAVE A CRAVING FOR A COOL, REFRESHING BEVERAGE, WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE CHOOSE TUBORG BEER". Anyway, refuelled we headed out to watch the brilliant Polysics. Just insane. Tommy B recommends you check them out. It was then our turn to take to the main stage. Walking out onstage was pretty amazing (this was my first festival remember) and there were a hell of a lot of people considering this was Leeds and The Pigeon Detectives were playing at the same time over in one of the tents. We only had half an hour so we didn't stick in any of the new songs, but the set all went pretty much to plan. Noo got a pink fluffy Stetson from the crowd which was worn by several band members for the rest of the day. Our Day 2 activities can be seen here…




Ripchord minus Roz



Tate - the height of fashion



Sulli Ripchord with favourite bag



Cribs


And so to London. Stepping out of the hotel at 9.30am to be greeted with blazing sunshine just gave you that feeling that it was gonna be good day. It proved to be a good omen. We did 2 shows today. The first was a competition winners gig which was only about 20 minutes but was a bit of a laugh. It also gave us an opportunity to play a new song for the first time before doing it later on the main stage. So with 5 hours or so to kill, I grabbed a few Tuborg (that's Tuborg, TUBORG) and walked over to the Tuborg Tent (seriously) to watch Ripchord play an absolute blinder. The crowd were nuts. Easily the best I've ever seen them. And so to our gig. I'm gonna stick my neck out and say that it could be my favourite ever Mumm-Ra show. Everything just clicked, and the hand-claps for She's Got You High were something else. And yet, amongst the thousands and thousands of people, you couldn't help but spot Mad Jon of Youngplan. We got a DVD afterwards of the show, and you can see him every time the camera pans to the crowd. If I had the technical know-how to rip some video from it I would show you. Instead you'll have to make do with our Day 3 activities…

[N.B In the video you might hear me refer to Keith as our "Tour Manager". He is, of course, Mumm-Ra's manager. Someone was bound to pick up on it so I'm getting in there first]




Pigeon Detectives VIP gig



Ripchord tear it up



So, this concludes our Wireless adventure and the first of many festivals for Mumm-Ra this summer. Coming very, very soon will be Part 2, which promises to be essential viewing. So much to show you. Sit tight, it's on it's way.

Until then, take care and keep drinking that lovely Tuborg beer. Mmmm.

-Tommy B

P.S The blog views have nearly hit 10000 - my thanks go out to you all.

"Light, out of the darkness. What did you see? Peter Beardsley??"

Hello friends,

Look, before you say anything....Yes, I know....Yes I know I've haven't called in ages....Yes I know we haven't seen much of each other recently....Look, just stop shouting....I know I haven't paid you much attention, and for that I'm sorry. But look, the blogs are back okay?! They're back! And they will be here as long as you want them, so just stop crying your heart out and lets get it on...

[NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T TOO KEEN ON DOING MUCH READING, THERE IS A VIDEO DOWN THE PAGE YOU LAZY SWINES]

The UK tour undertaken by Mumm-Ra in the months of April and May 2007 will be remembered for many reasons, but above all else it will be remembered for the love. Mumm-Ra were in the most fortunate of positions of being on the road for the best part of a month with some of their best mates - namely Youngplan, Ripchord and Dead!Dead!Dead!. Many of you will have witnessed their sets during this time, and I hope you all continue to support them throughout their respective careers. Ripchord made the most excellent housemates, Dead!Dead!Dead! played some of the most original, awe-inspiring music I've heard in ages and Youngplan loved showing us up every night. As a wise man from Belfast once said - it was a BELTERRRR!!

The teams lined up as follows:

TEAM 'RA - J.New, N.Buckler, J.Arguile, G.Jennings, O.Frost, T.Bowen, M.Dawson (Merch), G.Gray (Tour Manager), M.Bennett (Backline), S.B (Sound)

TEAM RIPCHORD - P.Wallbank, T.Beal, R.Duignan-Pearson, J.Sullivan, G.Gray (Tour Manager), M.Bennett (Backline), S.B (Sound)

TEAM YOUNGPLAN - G.Doherty, J.Claire, D.Weeks, J.Page, P.Dawson (Driver/TM)

TEAM DEAD!DEAD!DEAD! - N.Dunsire, M.Canning, B.Acharjee, M.Crocker

Our fixture list went something like this....Hastings-Tunbridge Wells-Brighton-Portsmouth-Norwich-Exeter-Stoke-Newcastle-Liverpool-Cambridge-Colchester-Nottingham-Oxford-Luton-Manchester-Sheffield-Glasgow-Aberdeen-Leeds-Preston-Birmingham-Bristol-Reading-London. All in all 24 gigs and 2491 miles (yes I worked it out). Or to put it another way, the distance between Bexhill and Baghdad. After two warm-up shows in Hastings and Tunbridge Wells (widely regarded as the greatest Mumm-Ra set in living memory), we made the short hop over to Brighton to headline the Concorde2 which was something of a personal goal for many band members. Ripchord were notably absent as lead singer Phil had something living in his throat, so we weren't to meet until 4 days later. Having seen The Horrors pack out the same venue 3 days earlier it was pretty amazing to see so many people through the doors to see the 'Ra. From my hazy memory of the show (it was on April 14th, give me a break) I think it went pretty well?? I do remember I was wearing new jeans though, so it must have been good.

From Brighton we made the trip along the coast to Portsmouth, the Wedgewood Rooms to be precise. I'd been there once before as a teenager with short spiky hair and an eyebrow piercing to see a band that shall remain nameless, but back then I remembered it as a cracking venue and being one of the loudest shows I'd ever been to. With nothing to do for hours prior to the show we went out looking for inspiration. Finding none, other than a shop called "Rothery's", we did what Mumm-Ra do best - found a pub and played copious amount of pool. The show that night did not quite go to plan, for reasons unknown. Some photos from our Portsmouth jaunt...






ROTHERBEAT!!!



From Hampshire to Norfolk, and to one of the most beautiful venues we'd play. A converted church called the Norwich Arts Centre. The weather was out of this world so it was off with Youngplan to a nearby park to play some locals in a footy match set up by Mumm-Ra pals Kate and David. Can't remember the result personally but I know we came out victorious - it'll be the Soccer Six tournament next, you'll see. The gig was hot, sweaty and pretty mental. In a good way. Cheers Norwich...


(cheers to Dave for the photos)







Obviously when you are in East Anglia you'd expect the next gig to be not a great distance from where you are. At least on the eastern side of the UK. But you'd be wrong. Yes, Exeter was the next port of call. The Cavern reminded me of The Crypt in Hastings - a dark, grimy, underground hole where I did most of my underage drinking. The kind of place where it takes ages to walk from one side to the other, not because it's big but because your feet stick to the floor. Smashing. Gig wasn't half bad either. In fact it was so good that I forgot to take any photos all night.

We had a day off after Exeter - quite possibly the finest day off you could ever have when you're out on the road. The city of Bath was our destination of choice and an inspired choice it was as well. The weather was insanely good, so instead of sitting in a beer garden all day like a real rock n roll band would, we hit the golf course. It wasn't a full on golf course, but an amazing 18-hole pitch-and-putt that was on a hill that overlooked the whole of Bath. Fees paid, clubs and balls hired, pencils ready and £5 wagers set, we headed out onto the course. The Rock and myself made one pair, with Niall, Tate and Oli making up the other group. We'd lost Noo in Exeter so he missed out. I won't bore you with a hole-by-hole account of our game (although I could as I still have my scorecard), but from what I remember Niall, Tate and Oli all finished on 85, The Rock came in second on 80 and yours truly ran out the winner with 75. After a celebratory Solero, we began the second phase of the day off from heaven. As some of you might know, Bath is a spa town. Naturally occurring spring waters an' all that. So, when in Rome.... We spent 2 hours in the Thermae Bath Spa!! Google it, it's unbelievable. We stopped short of getting a £140 caviar facial though. Feeling suitably relaxed it was off to an Italian restaurant round the corner followed by a night at the Moles indie club. Best day off ever...

I think you can just see Tate teeing off




Stoke-on-Trent. We'd played here on the last headline tour, and although it was only half full it was one of the best we played from what I remember. Thankfully Ripchord had recovered and it was today that they joined us for the remainder of the tour. Not only were they supporting us but they were also our roomies for the next 3 weeks on our bus. Last time we played the Sugarmill, Tate, Niall and myself went looking for a pub showing the footy but there was nothing doing. Instead we happened across this pub near the BBC Studios. I can't remember for the life of me it's name but it was so bad it was good, if you know what I mean. You could tell it hadn't changed in 40 years. In fact we somehow enjoyed it so much that we visited it again, this time with the rest of the band so they too could experience the yellow, tobacco-stained walls, creaky furniture and locals who looked like they too have been coming here for most of their lives. There was a beautiful logo above the door as you went out which confirmed all our suspicions...



Thinking back, I believe it was a good show but nothing could have prepared us for the next night as we made the journey north to.............Newcastle. I love Newcastle, I think this was the third time we'd played here and each time was great. We played the Academy2 which is just upstairs from the Academy1 that we did on the NME Tour. The dressing rooms were the ones for the Academy1 so we had to walk through that huge room to get backstage. Doing so I had one of those "moments". You know when you smell something and it takes you back to something that happened in your past? I love it when that happens. Anyway, the smell of the Academy1 took me straight back to that little tour in February - amazing times. After two superb sets from our why-did-we-get-them-on-tour-they-are-both-so-bloody-good-if-we're-not-on-it-every-night-they-will-properly-show-us-up support acts, we took to the stage and from there it's just a blur. The crowd were incredible, if you were there then well done you! Easily in my Top 3 gigs of the tour. Post-gig we stuck around and had it into the small hours at the club night in the Academy 1. It was Phil Ripchord's birthday as well, so it wasn't going to be a quiet one. Photographic evidence...



























Bleary-eyed I got off the bus the next morning to be confronted with the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of excitable teenage girls. For one mad second I thought Mumm-Ra had reached stratospheric levels of popularity in Liverpool. I soon realised that McFly were playing round the corner and normal service resumed. The Academy 2 is another Peter Crouch of a venue, but there was a fair amount in for the gig if memory serves. What I do remember is the stage invasion during Out Of The Question. This now seems to be a fairly regular occurrence for some reason. Well our guitar tech seemed to have fun throwing the said invaders back into the melee. For some reason there is distinct lack of photos from Liverpool. Well, I say lack. I really mean I have none. So, quickly moving on...

Where are we now? Ah yes, Cambridge. One of my favourite cities in the UK. Shame about the venue that we were playing. Not taking anything away from the crowd - they were once again brilliant. Just, when you're onstage and you literally have a 1cm gap between your head and the ceiling you have to spend most of the gig trying not to knock yourself out during songs. Amps blowing up also tends to be a problem (though that was no-ones fault). It also doesn't help that a veritable coach-load of drunks can wander into your dressing room where there are laptops, iPods, phones, wallets etc. without any security around to stop them. And the sound was shit - our sound guy Chris had a right job on his hands. So all in all, a pretty stressful night but cheers to all that came and packed the place out. However, I hope to never see the Soul Tree again in my life. Just the one photo, Dale from Youngplan in a WWSD T-Shirt looking about as happy as were...



From Cambridge to Colchester. I made the journey there on the morning of the show in the Youngplan transit van. Two passenger seats, a mattress in the back and all the gear - proper. I'd never been to Colchester before and I've gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. It also wins the most aesthetically pleasing venue of the tour award - congratulations Colchester Arts Centre. Loads of people in, but it was a bit of a car crash of a set. Oli's pesky amp from the previous night returned to haunt us which led to a break in proceedings. We tried to turn things round but to be honest it wasn't that great. Once again, taking nothing away from those who came to see us. Throughout all the crap that was going on onstage they remained right there throughout - cheers for sticking with it. Thankfully there was a day off after this for some much needed re-grouping and amp replacement.

Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottingham. The city that hosted one of the best NME dates and also that pretty mental market square gig a month or two ago. For some reason our show at the Rescue Rooms was 18+. I've no idea why, and it was a frustratingly recurring theme for a lot of the shows on the tour. Looking at the gig listings for the RR, there were plenty of shows that month that were 14+. So why wasn't ours? Yup, good question. The gig wasn't half bad, just a shame that so many couldn't get in. Post gig we went for a curry with Ripchord, and rather tasty it was too...


(Left to Right: Gaz - Tour Manager. Smooth B - Sound. Noo. Tate. Sulli. Phil)

Ah, the Oxford Zodiac - soon to be the Oxford Academy. What to say about this one? Let's just say this is what happens when you make a gig 14+. The place was totally rammed right from the first Youngplan song up until the last note of Out Of The Question. You can see some footage of the Youngplan and Ripchord sets in the tour video down the page should you so desire. The hottest show of the tour by a mile (discounting the Tunbridge Wells Forum warm-up of course) but the crowd were relentless throughout. Post gig photos anyone?....















You still with me? Splendid. This one won't take long. Luton Live Room. Went to a pub pre-show where the locals thought we were the Arctic Monkeys. The gig was okay, the venue was half empty, but the dressing room did have a signed Kurt Cobain poster which definitely, definitely had nothing to do with Jon Youngplan...





I awoke the next morning in total darkness as usual (no windows in the bunks you see), stepped outside into the blinding sunshine and found myself looking at a very familiar venue - Manchester Academy. Played that place 3 times now and love it. We were doing the Academy 3 the next day so we had a whole day and night in Manchester. Both bands headed to a local to get a roast dinner and watch the Arsenal scrape a win against Fulham. We then made our way into town a bit more to a bar called Font which had 2 pound cocktails and free Pro Evo on a giant screen. I didn't partake personally but Beal from Ripchord was having a right old time. We spent the rest of the night in an underground bar called The Temple (weird, no?). Great place though, really small and a great jukebox. Roz Ripchord couldn't get enough of it I tell ya. A kebab from Abduls and it was off to bed...









Showday. Today we were joined by the brilliant Dead!Dead!Dead! who replaced Youngplan as first support up until Reading. I'd never seen them play before but the rest of the guys had played a few shows with them a couple of years back. I was hooked right from their first song. They're just so different (in a good way) from what's out there right now and it would be almost impossible to stick a genre on them. Check out their Myspace and make your own minds up. So, to our gig. I'm running out of adjectives you do realise. I'll stick my neck out and go with....mental. Just so much fun to be a part of, and from what I recall we also played pretty much spot-on. We headed to one of the best bars in the country, Big Hands, to toast a job well done.

Sheffield Leadmill was next. Much better than the last time we played it, where one man and his dog turned up and I swear it was below freezing. This time the turnout was great and I fell off the side of the stage, great. As soon as I played the last note of our last song, I was out of there. I legged it out the venue, through an alleyway, up some stairs, into the students union and up some more stairs. It was the last 10 minutes of the Liverpool - Chelsea Champions League game and it was gonna go to penalties. I reckon the rest of the lads were still onstage doing the big finish to the set, but you know, the football was on.

So, on to Scotland. Scottish gigs never fail, it's just the way it goes. You can't have a bad gig in Scotland, it's just not the done thing. Glasgow King Tuts was a belter, even if Niall and I were reeling from United crashing out of Europe. Ripchord also played a great set that night from what I recall, here they are in action...



Aberdeen also didn't disappoint. We played a great venue called Tunnels, I'm sure you can guess what it looked like. Memories of the show are a few and far between but I do remember shouts for "Song D" from the crowd. I don't even know how to play that one. Cheers Aberdeen for yet another cracking night. I should really have taken some photos, they make great reminders and are really good for sticking in blogs.

Okay, 18 gigs down and the body is starting to suffer. Lack of sleep, combined with too much "partying" and too many late night food establishments will test even the most hardened tour veteran. But then again, what else are we supposed to do with our time? So like any good band would do, we made Leeds into one long party. Never played The Cockpit before but would go back in a second. The dressing room walls had been defaced by a band who obviously loved changing band names to include puns around the word "beef", or beef-related products - "U-BEEF-40", "LIMP BRISKET", you get the idea. Of course we had to add our own - "THE YOUNG STEAK KNIVES", "CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY RARE", "GRAHAM OXON". It's amazing what you do when you've a lot of time on your hands. Quite an intimate show this one, but I had a great time. Post-gig The Cockpit opened up it's room next-door and there was one big indie-disco which are two words that go really well together. The bus was leaving at 2am, but no-one wanted to do that. Our merch guy Matt literally had to drag Oli out the club, whilst Phil Ripchord and myself managed to disappear into the crowd for one last tune - it turned out to be "Brianstorm" which sounds epic in a club. Night over, on to the bus, few drinkies, off to bed with a smile on my face.





After a day off in Wolverhampton spent watching the snooker and eating French Fancies, we descended on Preston on a wet Sunday morning. The day started promisingly - the venue was immaculate. We're talking leather couches, plasma TV's for the now essential viewing of the snooker, clean showers, huge rider, the lot. So, with soundcheck complete it was off to the students union round the corner to watch Arsenal draw with Chelsea to hand Man United the title. High fives all round. All was set up for a great night, shame not that many came to the show really. Mind you, rainy Sunday night in Preston, 18+. We weren't expecting it to be a classic. Onwards...

Birmingham started life as a small Anglo-Saxon farming hamlet on the banks of the River Rea. The name 'Birmingham' comes from "Beorma ingas ham", meaning "home of the people of Beorma". See, this blog is a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge. Educational, yet mildly entertaining. A bit like Look & Read. So yes, Birmingham. On a mission to find a pub with a pool table (a failed mission, incidentally), we found ourselves walking past the Birmingham Academy and most colourful queue I'd ever seen - Klaxons were in town. Anyway we had a gig of our own to do and we made our way back to the Barfly. Tonight we were blessed with the presence of our old tour manager Mr. Steve Coombes - legend. Gig was pretty good I think, I even signed my first nipple. Granted, it was my mate Scott but it still counts. I was in no state to take photos that night...

Bristol. Great city. It was bloody windy though, and we were playing on a boat. It was a place called the Bristol Thekla - thoroughly recommended. Not just for gigs, but also the food upstairs. Best burger I've ever had. All homemade, with this cherry tomato marmalade and foccacia bread. It was insane. It's worth visiting Bristol just for one of those. It's called the Social Burger and I'm hungry just writing about it - check it out. This was Dead!Dead!Dead!'s last gig with us and I reckon their finest of the whole tour. Really great bunch of guys as well, make sure you track down their Myspace or better still go see them live. This 'Ra gig was one of my personal faves. We had a great crowd in and playing the bottom deck of a boat was quite surreal but a really cool experience at the same time. Nice one Bristol. After the gig we walked along the river to a place called The Apple, now with a name like that in a city like Bristol I'm sure you can guess what they sold. After a few festival-strength Brother's Bar pear ciders, all three bands were singing and gurning like loons. Twas a great way to see off DDD, photos...













And so to the penultimate show. Reading - the home of rock, if the rumours are to be believed. The Fez club is kind of funky, there is a bastard great pillar in the middle of the stage which is a little odd but apart from that it's cool, a bit of a hippy vibe about the place. The whole day was proper great. Not only did we welcome back Youngplan from their 10 day exile but we were also visited by Dave Kitson (for those who don't know, he plays in the Premiership for Reading) who brought down a load of tshirts for us from his company called Chateaux Roux - cheers Dave! I got up onstage during the Ripchord set to play guitar on their brilliant track "Lock Up Your Daughters (And Throw Away The Key)". I think I did alright but like a proper numpty I banged my head on the speakers on my way offstage, the bruises have just about subsided. Really enjoyed our set that night. Yet again we had a great crowd in which makes all the difference. With the show over we packed up the bus and headed into London to play the last show of the tour...

Another dodgy choice of bands had led me to the ULU once before, but I'll keep them under my hat for now. By far the biggest venue of the tour, it was a pretty big deal to be playing a headline show here. First of all though, a radio session at Virgin Radio. After a few acoustic numbers (the video of which I believe is now on the Virgin Radio website) we were handed a piece of paper which turned out to be a message from.....*drumroll please*.......Suggs! He presents an afternoon show and had requested that we record a jingle for him to the tune of She's Got You High. I can't remember it exactly but it went something like "He's on Virgin Radio and he's on at 2 o'clock". It didn't even rhyme. Still, we had a laugh doing it. Oli found this incredible chair in reception, it was huge and had a massive ball attached to it on elastic. You can see his delight in the photo below.
So to the evening. Seeing so many people in a venue to see the 'Ra was amazing. We had a brilliant time up there, thanks to all those who came. It was a great way to cap off the tour.



Okay so that pretty much covers it. Thanks to all those who came along, and if you've read all of this give yourself a pat on the back. As a reward here is a short film of our time on tour. It was a blast.

-Tommy

Mumm-Ra and Friends UK Tour 2007

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***BONUS BLOG***

Woahhhh there! For those who want more, how about some photos and a video from our time spent in France with The View and The Enemy? We had four dates that covered the length and breadth of France in four days. And a bloody good time it was as well.

Enjoy!

Mumm-Ra Do France

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"Yo cos of the mix up with the 'shroom burger I'm gonna kick that off your bill so you eat for free, bro."

Texas, ya'll...

Another advance warning, this blog is a bit of a monster. Going through all the video footage, editing out all the useless bits, uploading the videos, uploading the photos and eventually actually sitting down to write this thing has taken much longer than I thought it would. My life between tours is becoming increasingly filled with blog-based activities. So much so I think I'm going slowly mad, plus I'm convinced it affected my performance on the football field on Sunday (a 4-1 defeat to the Bexhill Quiffers, the shame). No matter, as long as you guys are still interested in them, then continue they shall. The last one from The Killers tour broke all known records - 800 reads in one day - so hopefully this will go one better...

We had one day between Frankfurt and Austin which we filled with an instore performance at Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street. Cheers to all those who came down, much fun was had. The following day we were up at 7 to fly the 9 hours to Atlanta, then 2 hours south to Austin, Texas. Arriving at the hotel at 5am English time, it was straight to bed. Well, apart from a select bunch of band members who visited the nearby Denny's - and it wouldn't be the last time...

DAY 1 - NME SHOW @ STUBB'S BBQ

Stubb's BBQ is, in my opinion anyway, probably the best venue in Austin. It's easily one of the biggest, yet still retains that intimate feel when you're watching a band. For anyone who's been to the Black Horse Festival in Telham, it's a bit like that. Also, they do unbelievable food for next to nothing. Plus as soon as you've sat down it arrives, them Americans clearly don't like to wait to eat. We got there about 11ish for a 12 o'clock soundcheck, but something was missing that was pretty integral to the Mumm-Ra show. No, not Matthew The Duck. It's all in the video below. The Young Knives played a great set before us, though the weather wasn't being too kind to them. Our show was pretty good from what I remember. Noo disappeared onto the balcony towards the end - it's all on nme.com if you fancy having a look. So, 5pm and our work was done. All this meant we were properly able to go out and sample what Austin had to offer. Quick geography lesson. If you ever go to the SXSW Festival, 6th St East is where you want to go. Just bars and venues everywhere. What you'll find is that there is music everywhere you turn. The best thing to do is to walk down the middle of the road until you hear something you might want to listen to, then just head straight in there. Alternatively, just go into any random bar and take a chance. We did this several times and it can go either one way or the other. For example, that night we went into a place called The Chuggin' Monkey, got the drinks in, found a table in the corner and were tortured by a band with the worst band name in the history of bad band names - Painkiller Hotel. They were like Nickleback crossed with Puddle Of Mudd. Mmmm. In the photo's below, you can see Oli's delight during their set. Sometimes though the risk pays off, as it did with a band called Beat The Devil who I'll come to on Day 3. The rest of our first night we spent exploring until we eventually wound up back at Stubb's for the NME evening event. By the time we got there we had missed the sets of our touring buddies The Automatic (though throughout the week we would bump into them practically every hour of the day) and our travelling counterparts The Sunshine Underground. Caught a bit of Jamie T, then Lily Allen came onstage. Or "Mumm-Ra's biggest fan", if the rumours are to be believed. Halfway through her set we decided that the travelling and the drink had all caught up with us and we called it a night. The following is a video from our first day in Austin, complete with another EXTREEEEEME INTRO!!! (N.B All 4 videos feature special guests. Are you excited?)

Texas Day 1

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Mumm-Ra (minus The Rock) and the manager walk 6th St


Just one of 10 tables the same


The Automatic and Mumm-Ra - forever in the same place at the same time


Oli enjoys Painkiller Hotel


The drink of choice for the week


Not just your regular Fajitas


Another normal night in Austin



DAY 2 - DAY OFF

Ah, the day off. Though it had hardly been a chore so far. After an Extreme French Toast Slam Breakfast from Denny's, we jumped on the shuttle bus from our hotel into town and lo and behold it dropped us off right next to The Horrors, who looked like they were struggling in the 30 degree heat. Seriously though, everywhere you went in Austin you would see people you knew - quite surreal 5000 miles from home. We exchanged pleasantries then made our way to the Drive Thru Records party at a venue called Emos. As we had been invited to this party we were all given free drinks passes - score. The two bands we saw there weren't too bad, though that might have been the vodka's we were chucking down our necks as we completely abused our free alcohol priviledges. The Early November were okay if you like that emo-ish stuff, but the band before them called Steel Train were actually really good. 5pm, the event finished and we disembarked back out onto the streets and into the mayhem once again. The heat was really getting up so we headed to the nearest bar, which would actually turn out to be our most frequented venue of the week. It's a place called Bourbon Rocks which has this great outdoor area where you can get a drink, sit in the shade and get your energy back. What was interesting about today was that The Rock, usually a non-drinking man, was putting away the vodka and cranberries like a man posessed. You can see for yourself on the Day 2 video. Later that day we walked up to the Clash Magazine party at a venue called the Karma Lounge. Here we paid not much for ridiculously strong drinks and watched The Rumble Strips who seemed pretty good and a bit of Jack Penate who I was less keen on. Just round the corner was another SXSW venue called The Central Presbyterian Church, which you can probably guess what it was like. We ducked inside for a bit of a look, and it was pretty amazing. Really quiet (obviously), and they just had solo guitarists and singers playing up at the front. From there, it went from one extreme to the other as we made our way to the Red Eyed Fly to see The Horrors. When we got inside, Tate and Niall became somewhat star-struck as they spied one of their heroes - presenter of cult late-night indie quiz show "Popped-in Crashed-out", Phil Alexander. Phil is also the editor of Kerrang and Mojo. I suggested them going and having a chat and I'd get a photo but Tate wasn't having it, "It's PHIL ALEXANDER, Tommy. PHIL ALEXANDER!!". Niall did however want to get a snap of him and the main man so I went up and had a word and Phil happily obliged. Seeing his opportunity, Tate ducked into the shot just in time. You can see the resulting photo below, and a cracker it is too. Then, as their American label boss tried to introduce them, Faris Horror rugby tackles him off the stage and The Horrors start their set. We all agreed that this was the best we'd ever seen them. Highlights included...

- Faris pulling a girl up onstage who seemed very happy to be up there with her favourite band. Smiling, laughing, dancing etc. That is before Faris properly chucked her off the stage.
- The same thing happening straight after, but with a fella.
- Faris throwing himself offstage and landing on me.
- Faris throwing what looked like a plastic owl, which hit me.
- Faris climbing onto the bar and swinging off the lights.
- Faris collecting a dustbin full of empty beer cans, hauling it onstage, then lobbing it into the crowd. It also landed on me.
- Tate throwing the dustbin back onstage and The Horrors being pelted with the cans for the final minute of their set.

And it was only 20 minutes long! Either way, it capped off a great day. Day 2 highlights...

Texas Day 2

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So bad it was good


Off the bus and there are The Horrors


Bourbon Rocks


Yes I am wearing a What Would Steve Do? t-shirt


The manager


Tate, Niall and Mr. Phil Alexander


The Rock


Aviators were definately everyone choice of sunglasses


Rob Automatic steals our taxi



DAY 3 - GIG @ URBAN OUTFITTERS

Yes, Urban Outfitters. Mumm-Ra have sold their soul. Well, it served us right because it was downright horrendous. Even the most hardened Mumm-Ra fans would not have enjoyed it, apart from maybe the final 5 minutes but I'll get to that in a moment. We were set up in the corner of the shop, and we played the same set as we did on the NME Tour except that instead of thousands of sweaty kids, we "entertained" probably about 50 Americans whilst they did their shopping at 4 in the afternoon. It's a funny world sometimes. We couldn't hear a thing onstage, apart from The Rock's drums that is, and there was this constant feedback from the mics that just would not stop. I won't give too much away now, as Noo and I explain all in the video. I will however tell you about the last 5 minutes. As Out Of The Question kicked in at the beginning, Noo had decided he had enough, said the show was over and walked off. Seeing an opportunity, the remaining Mumm-Ra members launched into a song, nay, an epic, known only as Cobbler Cobbler. What to say about this track? Well, Niall sings it and it is based around this cracking riff. It was written years and years ago, wayyyyyyy before I joined, and the early Mumm-Ra sets were often closed with crowd members invited onstage to play along. Back in the day, I was often that crowd member - I always went for Noo's tambourine. Sometimes it would descend into a half-hour long free for all. Someone told me that at one early show during Cobbler Cobbler, all of Mumm-Ra found themselves at the bar and realised that none of them were onstage but the song was still going. Amazing! Anyway, I digress... The main point is that this song was resurrected after 2 or 3 years in the doldrums, and although we didn't play it for half an hour, it was still pretty special. Post-gig we got a taxi back into town and headed straight to Bourbon Rocks for a well-earned drink. Someone quite ridiculous was playing as we walked in, check the video. It was now early evening and whilst we were sitting outside, The Horrors wandered in. We caught a bit of Gruff Rhys doing his solo stuff just inside then made our way to a venue called Beer Land Texas where I saw two of the best bands I'd see all week. One called Beat The Devil, the other called The Birthday Suits. Check 'em out if you can. Also, today was the birthday of Keith (Mumm-Ra manager and culinary expert). The best thing to come out of Urban Outfitters was his birthday present which you can see him modelling below. The rest of the night was spent at a place called Mohawk where we saw The Pigeon Detectives who were absoultely fantastic, and The Blood Arm who were sh*t. After a failed attempt in the early hours of the morning to get into the Purevolume party we agreed it was time to go.

Texas Day 3

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Niall and Tate consider their options


The Pigeon Detectives


Beerland...


The less said about this the better


It's his birthday and he'll have a fight if he wants to


Aviators.com


DAY 4 - GIG @ FENWAY RECORDINGS PARTY

And so to our last day in Austin. Our show wasn't until 12.45am, so we had all of Saturday to enjoy the time we had left. Noo, Tate, Keith and myself rolled into town around midday and walked up the whole way up 6th St in the baking sun to a record store called Waterloo Records. En route we discovered a stall selling mineral water. Nothing out of the ordinary there, you might think. However, this was no ordinary water. It was WILLIE NELSON SPRING WATER. If there was ever a scenario where the phrase "Only in America" could be used, this was it. There is a nice photo further down the page of the highly over-the-top bottle artwork. We also stopped off at the Austin Hat Emporium. Photos of Noo and Tate in stetsons anyone? Yup, down the page. Anyway, Waterloo Records - a great little place. Not only did it have a ridiculous amount of music - I dread to think the sum total of what was spent between us - but it also had a beer tent outside for when you eventually emerge. We chilled out here for a bit, then headed back to 6th St East. There, we saw an unbelievable artist called Barbara Lynn. She's about 65 and she plays rhythm and blues guitar. Her guitar style I've never seen before, she kind of flicks the strings. Really weird, but it sounded great. Plus her singing voice was something else. Her band were top as well. There is a clip of her set in the Day 4 video - enjoy. After sitting out at Bourbon Rocks (yes, again), we met up with the remaining Mumm-Ra members and headed up to probably the biggest venue at SXSW called La Zona Rosa. Here we saw a band I've followed for many years called Mohair who played a cracking set, as well as one of the very few bands that all of Mumm-Ra like - Mew - who were just incredible. Feeling inspired, we made our way to the Red 7 Patio for our own show. I don't know who the bands were that played before us, but I'm sorry, it was like being back at a school bands evening, except the band members were 30 and not 15. It was Painkiller Hotel all over again. Anyway, finally our time came. Noo climed about on the overhead poles holding the tent up and at one point couldn't get down. I managed to fall down a hole and almost break my knee-cap (or "do a Niall" as it will forever be known) but we had a good show. And because it was our last night in Texas, and because we had to get our plane in 5 hours, and because we could, Cobbler Cobbler made it's second appearence in as many days. This time members of the public happily jumped onstage to join in. It was a great way to finish off our time at one of the most amazing festivals you could ever go to. Our final day highlights...

Texas Day 4

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Unbelievable...


So that is that. Cheers for sticking with it, I know it's been a long one but trust me it could have been a lot longer! The next blog shall be during the April/May tour, which I hope you are all coming to.

Bye for now,

-TommyB

"We hope you enjoyed your stay, it's good to have you with us even if it's just for a day"

Actually it was it was four days but I'll let you off, Flowers.

Hello one and all, I hope this finds you well. Right, before we start I am giving you an advance warning. The following blog contains three videos. Now then, some of them are up to 6 minutes long so it might be an idea for you to let them load up a bit before you read on and try to click on them only to be confronted with 5 seconds worth of Noo spinning a plastic duck or whatever. So, my advice to you is to leave this page open and go and make a cuppa, or several, then return to the blog in a while so as to give the videos a chance to suck at your download limits. Unless of course you have a super-fast internet connection, in which case you will probably be fine. Okay, ready? Right, then let's begin...

Yes the blogs have returned as there is much to tell from Camp 'Ra. Our Texas adventures will be with you very soon (22nd/23rd March, all being well) but before we hopped over the pond, we supported The Killers for four dates on their European Arena Tour. It's a hard life sometimes...

You've read and watched our Amsterdam experiences from the last blog but there were a few nuggets of film that I declined to include. Being the generous guy I am, however, I have them here for you right now. Complete with EXTREME-INTRO!!

Killers Day 1

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DAY 2 - COLOGNE

Cologne was where I left you last, and the quite the city it is too. If you ever go you have to go to the Fruh Kolsch Brauhaus near the Cathedral - the beer is out of this world. Anyway, back to it. So yeah, another big room crammed in with a lot of German Killers fans - no surprise there. This room was really long and thin, a bit like Leeds Met Uni, or Peter Crouch. After necking a Fruh or two (cheers to Jane for sorting them on the rider) we went onstage. You can see for yourself some of the highlights of the show, I for one thought it was a cracker. (N.B. All the live footage in the videos was recorded by honorary roadie Roo, cheers mate). After The Killers show, in which B.F dedicated "All These Things That I've Done" to Mumm-Ra, we felt it time to go and properly say hello. As expected, however, they proved to be a bit elusive, except that is the main man Brandon Flowers. There was something very strange about seeing him in jeans and a polo shirt, but whatever - he is a thoroughly nice chap. Noo told him about the Killers tribute band he used to be in (only for 2 shows though, I believe) which he seemed suitably impressed/confused by and we ended the night by talking about Captain Birdseye fishfingers. Alas, no footage of that on the video but plenty more of our Day 2 shenanigans here...

Killers Day 2

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In other news, Rock found a new way to warm up before a show and Oli had never seen so much money in his life...





DAY 3 - BERLIN

Berlin Arena apparantly used to be a bus depo. Today it's a quite ridiculously huge music hall. It's all on the day 3 video so you can see for yourselves. My sister and cousin made the journey over from the UK for this one. I wonder if they would have done so if we were supporting somebody sh*t and not The Killers? Hmm, either way - respect! We had loads of time before the show, so what better to way to spend it than head to the local East German flea market right nextdoor? Safe to say there was nothing that took my fancy. If you must know, Niall bought a belt, Noo bought a watch (which has since broke) and Roo bought a rather fetching tracksuit. You can see it being modelled by the man himself, and Noo, below. Yet another belter of a gig, and again there are a few highlights in the video...

Killers Day 3

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DAY 4 - FRANKFURT

And so to the final show of our time with The Killers. The Frankfurt venue was what I imagine it would be like playing in one huge golf ball. The venue was miles and miles out of town so no chance for exploration unfortunately. Instead, we were interviewed by these two German folk who are writing a book about bands and where they come from. We took a look at their last book where they got bands to draw something and explain it and it looked amazing, so we're very happy to be part of the next one. Sorry there is no footage from Frankfurt, but as you saw on the Berlin episode, we ran out of film. Well, in truth we had one more tape but I needed it for Texas - sorry to the Frankfurt massive! A few photos from our visit...

Cooker & Josh - it's their job to go on tour with The Killers to film and photograph them. Their job!! Top blokes...



Coming to an eBay auction near you soon...


Dave's guitars - unbelievable...


The Killers end their show...


That's your lot for now people, I'm getting up early tomorrow especially for you guys to create the Texas blog. Without giving too much away, prepare yourself for a few special guests. Keep an eye out!

Much love,

-TommyB

"There is only one thing I like more than one ferry crossing, that's three ferry crossings"

Hello world,

Less writing this time round, but more videos - so stop your moaning. I am currently in the back of our bus in wonderful Cologne, but it seems like we've brought the weather with us - it's pretty torrential, man. So this is day 4 of our European travels, and tonight will be the second show with that little known Las Vegas band, The Killers. But before all that, you must hear of our journey to the continent...

Mumm-Ra were picked up by the bus at 10.30pm on Tuesday night. We then drove out into the countryside to the Mumm-Ra rehearsal space (if you've seen the home movie, it's that barn with all the tanks in). We then made our way to Dover with the view to catching the 2.45am ferry. Got on board fine, crossed the English Channel and we were all ready to leave the boat when it turns out the bus had decided that it didn't want to start up. Lovely. Also, getting a mechanic in Calais at 5.45am is impossible. So the bus was going nowhere - except back across to Dover. And what made that return journey even more fun? Thousands of PSV Eindhoven fans making their way to London for the Arsenal match that evening. Upon arriving back in Dover, Jon attempts to start the bus - and lo and behold it starts first time. Why couldn't it have done that in France?, I hear you ask. Well, yes that would have been nice. So back to Calais it was. I think we got to France about mid-day, 14 hours after we set off from Bexhill. Lovely. Either way, we got to Amsterdam with time to spare to a venue called the Heineken Arena. To put this place in perspective, it's about double the size of Brixton Academy - so yeah, pretty damn huge. Also, The Killers have 3 dressing rooms! One general one, one to warm up in (complete with full instrument set-up) and one with a bloody treadmill in!! I wonder, if Mumm-Ra ever get to the heights of The Killers, would we have a treadmill backstage? Can't see it, can you? Anyway, they've earnt it so good luck to 'em I say. Here are a couple of vids taken about 45 minutes before we were due on...

Amsterdam Dressing Room

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Amsterdam Backstage

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There were so many people when we walked on, it was insane! We played for about 35 minutes and by the time Out Of The Question came round, we had the crowd by the balls. The Killers were amazing, just ridiculously good. We went right up the top of the second balcony, here is our view...



After their set, Mumm-Ra wanted to get their photos taken with their favourite popstars from years gone by. Noo's choice is particularly interesting...













That's all for now sports fans - more as it comes!

-Tommy B