2001 Pt 3
10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY GIG

Finally, after months of planning, the big day was finally upon us. In the early afternoon, I met our fan club president, Anne-Marie Trace, at Euston station (she had travelled from Manchester by train). We made our way to the 'Aldgate Exchange' pub in East London. There I met up with the other Shorties and we set up and sound checked, while Anne-Marie watched. Steve Worthington, one of several ex-Shorties making guest appearances,arrived. He had only sung on the very first Shorties song 'Elephant Sings The Blues' . When he arrived, however, he was confused about which song he was guesting on, as it had been so long since he'd performed. It transpired he'd been learning the wrong song, so a frantic run through ensued, to ensure he was ready. Other guest performers arrived; Mal Tanner who was to play guitar on 'Eine Kleine Mook Music', Dave Horne on Miss Friel and Listen To The Band, Jane Wright on 'The Treasure Of Sarah Madre', Chris Kiely who would drum on 'All Muddled Up' and Katherine Norris who would sing 'Pleasant Valley Sunday'.
Then came the crowds! The venue had a capacity of 100 and as the crowds poured in it became clear that it was going to be touch and go as to whether we would get everyone in. BPP had sponsored the event, paying for anyone who wanted to attend, as the event was to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis society. On and on they came, until finally, miraculously, as we prepared to take the stage, the 98th and final audience member arrived.
Above Left: Mal rocks out on Eine Kleine, Right: Dan dons sombrero for 'The Treasure Of Sarah Madre'

It took over three hours to set up, and we hit the stage later than scheduled because of this. We knew we had to be off-stage by 11pm, however, so at 9pm, when we were as ready as we could be, we took to the stage. The first half of the set was all originals, and we dressed in our own clothes. With such a huge crowd we got a great reception; though, of course, many of those attending were casual fans, so they were unfamiliar with much of the earlier material. For Saul and I in particular, it was an amazing feeling. Over ten years had passed and the Shorties were still going, and sounding better than ever. It was great that we got to play some of the early songs too, some of which we'd never played live! We weren't on a purely nostalgic trip however, so we put brand new tunes such as 'Nazi Dog' and 'B Grade Underwear' into the set, to show we were moving forwards. Stuart managed to break a string three songs in, but Mal let us use his guitar, nothing was going to derail this special evening.

Above Left: Katherine Norris (right) powers through 'Pleasant Valley Sunday', Right: Aiden and Liam get into the groove

In the afternoon Stuart had been watching his beloved Wales triumph in a rugby match and had had a couple of beers to celebrate, and he was continuing to down the beers as the gig continued. This was manifested in the first half in a desire to finish every song, so that when the band all came to a tight finish, Stuart would then add a little trill on the keyboards which was hilarious. In the second half of the set, he had to keep checking what the chords were before each song, yet continued to play amazingly well.

Liam got to play his new song, George W Bush, solo. His acoustic was out of tune when he went to start the song and it took almost five minutes before he had it sounding right. The crowd obviously didn't mind, as they gave the song an amazing response, the best of the night, to that point.

Both Collette and Anka (Ravi's girlfriend) were taping the event on their camcorders, but in a fit of brilliant planning, both captured all the first half, and both camccorders ran out of battery power early in the second half
Left: Aiden gets to the point as Liam belts out 'Nazi Dog', Below: All six Blackwells grooving during 'Chuck's Party'

We closed out the first half with 'Miss Friel', and maybe it was the vibe of the event, or maybe it was having Dave Horne guesting on the trumpet, or maybe it was Ravi doing some inspirational drumming, but we nailed the song like never before and had the crowd going absolutely wild. We built the song up to a towering crescendo, and as the final note died away the place erupted. This left us in great spirits for the second half which was to be comprised of Monkees songs. We could have done with a decent break to recover our energy, but leaving the start as late as possible meant we only had time for a 10 minute break, barely time to change into our Monkees outfits (red shirts and blue jeans) and then we were back on stage again.

While we were changing, two of my colleagues from BPP, Amanda Bailey and Fiona Stirling, went round with buckets, collecting even more cash for the MS society

The second half brought all the audience into proceedings. Even the most casual Shorties or Monkees fan knew hits like 'Last TrainTo Clarksville', 'Daydream Believer' 'I'm A Believer' etc etc. Some members of the Monkees fanclub had even come to the gig primarily for the Monkees set, and they certainly made themselves heard. People were dancing and cheering and we were really in the groove. We nailed a superb 'Nevada Fighter', and by the end of the gig everyone was cheering and singing and dancing, an amazing reception. We finished the main set at 10:50 to a raptuous reception, and we only just had time to play the encore. The last notes died away at 10:59, one minute before they turned the sound off. I think it was probably the best reception we've ever had at a gig and though it meant more to some of us than others, our playing was tight and we sounded great which I think pleased everyone.

Above: Saul boards the 'Last Train To Clarksville'

With the anniversary celebrated, it was time to move on and show that we weren't just trading on past glories, but instead were a band with much of their best work ahead of them.

Set List:
Set 1:
Eine Kleine Mook Music
Nazi Dog
Treasure Of Sarah Madre
B Grade Underwear
The Fish And The Tambourine/My Mind Is On Sale
All Muddled Up
Dreams Of My Future (Anarchist)
Elephant Sings The Blues
George W Bush
Noriega
Chuck's Party
Fat Nora
Miss Friel

Set 2:
Theme From The Monkees
Last Train To Clarksville
Nevada Fighter
Great Balls Of Fire
She
Sunny Girlfriend
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Daydream Believer
(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
Listen To The Band
I'm A Believer

Further above: Aiden dances with Ravi's girlfriend during 'Miss Friel'

Immediately above: Dave Horne blows his own trumpet on 'Miss Friel'

Right: Aiden and Saul relax after the concert

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