Les impressions de Nicko :
"Well, we have had a great couple of days and an even better weekend. We had a show in Paris on Saturday the 25th. It was a great night.
We all made our own ways too Paris. I took the Euro Star over with my son Nick and his fiancée Charlotte, my sister Ann and my brother in law Geoffrey. We left on the 12:09pm out of Waterloo.
Nice trip it was as well. You get fed and offered a drink, all very civilized. The journey took a little under 3 hours.
When we arrived into Gard de Nord station where we were met and whisked off to our hotel. After checking in we all decided to go look for a nice place for an early supper. I was desperate for some Escargot. We were recommended a restaurant named De Alsace. It is on the promenade of the Champs Elysee just around the corner from our hotel. Very convenient. We had a lovely meal and then it was about that time again to leave for the gig.
We had a van booked for 7:30pm. After a wee freshen up we all met in the lobby ready to make the journey to the Parc de Princes. It is a very big stadium right in the heart of Paris. Saint Germain one of France’s football teams play there, as did the French rugby team up until four years ago. Big gig. We had around 35,000 billies in that evening and what a ‘Kin great gig it was as well.
There were a lot of friends from all over Europe turn up for this one. My old pal Lionel, he used to race motorcycles at the Le Mans 24 hour race, was there, as was Nono, my old guitarist from Trust. He was there with a couple of his chums. Irish Pat was there with a couple of his mates and a whole bunch of folks from our London office. All in all a party atmosphere back stage before the show.
We hit the stage at 9:15pm after a great set from Dream Theater. We got going and it was a fantastic gig. I played well that night and most of the guys had a blast. Steve was a little upset with his on stage sound early on in the show but he really got into after a short while.
After the show I stayed behind to unwind and see my friends. The rest of the guys went straight back to their hotel. I had a shower and then met with everybody for a wee glass of wine. I left the show at 12:30pm and went straight back to my hotel. After we were dropped off we made our way over to the English pub that is, as it happens, just a stones throw from the hotel. It was heaving in there I can tell you. Lots of mates there and a few of the band.
I had a couple of drinks and then decided to visit the other hotel where the rest of the band were staying. You see, when I visit Paris I prefer to stay in this one particular hotel, hence I’m in a different hotel. Nice thing is they are only a hundred metres apart from each other. After we got slung out of the hotel bar.
No boys and girls it closed and we were asked to leave. What did you think I meant?
I went back to the English pub and carried on drinking until the early hours. It got to around 3:30pm when my sister, quite rightly, shepherds me homeward bound. I awoke at about 6am with all the lights on and all of my clothes. What a night.
I got undressed and closed the window blinds and went back to sleep. "
