18 shows in USA.....12,965 miles

1974 Wishbone Ash

I had been touring recently with Cockney Rebel in Germany supporting Wishbone Ash. I got to know their manager Miles Copeland, and their tour manager Mel Baister along with their crew and personal assistant Kevin Harrington. Mel called me up after those shows to ask if I wanted to come to the US with them. Kevin was having trouble getting his US work visa, I'll tell you why later, but I jumped at the chance. Little did I know that Kevin had a very interesting past, he had been working for the Beatles !!! Check out the book he recently published, a great little read, or if you have a couple of hours, I have put a youtube video of an interview he did in 2021 telling his story to Ken Michaels Radio.

Steve Harley and management agreed to let me go and get some experience, so that when Cockney Rebel went to the US the next year I'd have a better knowledge of how touring was conducted over there. Definitely the best 6 weeks of my life up to that date......

US Tour Itinerary

Pages from my diary

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It was the beginning of the winter of 1974 and I had never seen snow like it. I saw frozen waterfalls, and the crunch under your feet was so completely different to anything I had experienced before. Also the rental cars, or station wagons for the most part had AMAZING stereo radios in them, and the bass response was exceptional.

Another thing that I loved were the Holiday Inn motels we stayed in from time to time, just driving up to your room and walking a few feet to the door. Waking up though was strange, as every room wherever you were was pretty much the same, so waking up, you had to think twice or three times to recall where the hell you were!!!

How amazing fate is sometimes. Here is my ticket to the Oxford Town Hall gig that I went to with my pal Graham Moss on a Saturday night in June 1971. Just about to leave school I guess, and little did I know then that I'd be working with two of these bands within 3 years. Obviously with Wishbone here in 1974 but then in 1975 Miles Copeland asked me to also look after Renaissance for a weekend in October for two shows.

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So many stories remembered on this first tour of the USA for me. The band and the crew were really kind to me. I was the new boy, the green one, and I thank everyone of you on this tour for looking out for me.

Wishbone Tour pass Cleveland

My Wishbone Ash concert ticket 1971

wishbone ash sticker

showco card

Robin was the Showco sound tech on this tour, and it was his first tour in charge for Showco.

The events of Sunday 15th December in Grand Rapids, where the show did not go ahead because someone altered the voltage of the generator and fried all the amps on the stage, is something I have remembered all my life. The same goes for Robin and I contacted him recently about the event and he wrote me a classic email with some of his memories too. Check out the email in 'Pages from my Diary' at the top of this page. It's pretty funny............... thanks Robin

wishbone stage pass dec 3

Wishbone tour pass Fort Wayne

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Wishbone tour pass Daydream

Max's Kansas City was a buzzing club, and I was introduced to it by a couple of the crew. It has remained in my memory ever since this particular week in New York, as I met a certain lady that has become a life long friend, and her whole family became a part of my life, including her husband to be Scott. From Montclair New Jersey the Chatelliers: Eve, Jay, Danny and Timmy, along with their mother Penny made me so welcome every time I flew into New York. If I had time I'd stay with them instead of a hotel in NYC, and later we worked together, holiday'd together and to this day I love them all very much.

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I was supposed to only work with Wishbone Ash until Christmas but before I did leave to go home to my family, the band asked me if I'd like to come back after Christmas and work for them full time. I was torn for a while. I had gone out there to gain experience for future trips with Cockney Rebel and was still on the payroll back in the UK. It was so tempting, but I gracefully declined their offer as I was the tour manager at home, but only an assistant for Wishbone, and I needed to retain my position and move forward.

As my career moved on I got quite a few offers I had to decline, but I think you get that in any walk of life, it's just a little strange in mine with some of the artists being household names.

Road Stories

18 shows in USA.....12,965 miles

1974 Wishbone Ash

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