One of the things that kept me sane during the lockdown was a weekly Zoom trivia put on by my friend, the great performer and songwriter Corn Mo. He did a session in the afternoon for his UK friends—including the core group of Simon, Fred and Alex—that fit my teaching schedule. Through that, I got to know these great British guys who were all brought together by the magic that is Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees & Beyond of which Corn is a member and which is based here in NYC. The ringleader of Tragedy is another friend Pete, who also joined in trivia most weeks along with his partner Cara. Each week, during the worst of the lockdown, we would all talk about what was going on here and there, and then eventually get onto the trivia, which was always great and fun. It was a weekly happy lifeline during this incredibly dark time, and through it I made real friends who I only knew virtually.

Tragedy has a large and loyal fan base in the UK, last performing there in March 2020, surfing just in front of the COVID wave. They finally were able to plan their return for an epic run across the UK this April, three years later. I figured this tour would be a great excuse to take my own run across the UK, intersecting with the tour and meeting my virtual friends (and others) in real life. It was a great trip.

April 18: NYC to London

I flew over on a daytime flight (which I highly recommend, except for the getting up stupidly early part) on Virgin Atlantic, and paid a little more for Economy plus. As much as I generally hate flying, this was one of the most pleasant flights I’ve had in a long time (in part because of a very interesting seat mate). I took the Heathrow express and the tube to my hotel in Islington, where the band had a gig the following week. Getting across the border was easy-I just had to scan my passport and walk through the gate. Tired after a long day. I took a walk around and had some Guinness at a local pub.

(Click on any thumbnail for a larger version.)

April 19: London

I slept late due to the jet lag and then got sorted and went to see The Beams at the Centre for New Culture in the Royal Docks. I’ll post more on this later but it was pretty cool. I then wandered along the Thames and saw the Thames barrier, and then rode a really cool ferry over to the O2 and then back though the barrier to Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City. I’ll write more about this later as well.

April 20: London

The next day I went to Camden, which I first visited in the 1980s while working on the Little Shop of Horrors movie. At Camden Market, a teenager pulled out a vinyl copy of Kate Bush's The Dreaming and said to his girlfriend "I love this album"; I felt like I was in some kind of weird time warp. I then travelled down to Trafalgar Square and got a tourist overload. That night, I took the train up to the amazing Alexandra Palace, where the Damned were playing, which was a great show.

In my time in London I rode probably more than 20 trains, and I have to say that I didn’t see one unhoused person off their meds ranting, not a single person smoking in the car, and not a single person jumping a turnstyle. All of these things are sadly routine here in NYC. And on top of that I saw very few cops and the only guns I saw in two weeks there were big and appropriately in front of 10 Downing Street (prime minister’s residence).

April 21: London to Sheffield to Blackpool

The next day, I took the train up from London to Sheffield it was crowded but punctual, and even this beaten down line is better than most of the trains we have in the US. I picked up a car—my first time driving on the left side of the road. I immediately departed into Sheffield’s windy streets and then—following the GPS—went straight over “Snake Pass”. I can see these parts of the trip on my Fitbit heart rate log. I made it to Blackpool, a choice of destination that baffled many of my British friends, but made perfect sense to all my Coney Island friends. I definitely want to return here during the summer season with the camera.

April 22: Blackpool to Glasgow

The next day I drove up from Blackpool to Glasgow. It was pouring rain most of the way but I did get off the motorway to see a bit of the countryside.

I got settled into my hotel and then had a quick bite with Fred and his wife Liz, and then headed over the Cat House rock club. I briefly saw Corn Mo in the queue, and met Simon for the first time at the barrier literally a minute or two before Nanowar of Steel took the stage. They are quite the experience live and I’m now a fan.

Next up was Tragedy. I can't remember how many times I've seen them live back home in NYC, but I don't think I've ever seen them in full force as they were in Glasgow. The band was tight, the Scottish fans were nuts and the energy in the room was off the charts. It was just a intense night of joy and glitter.

Afterwards our trivia gang (along with a bunch of other die-hard Tragedy fans) all got together for the first time in real life (photo by Kath Hill):

April 23: Glasgow

I had left the next couple days open on the calendar to figure out once I got over there. I ended up doing a lovely walk around Glasgow with Fred and Liz, and then drove out to the western coast. The statues are called “The Shipbuilders of Glasgow”. I edited photos over curry that night.

April 24: Glasgow to Edinburgh

The next day, I drove over to Edinburgh. I met with the great psychologist Richard Wiseman, who I hadn’t seen in years, and he gave me a fantastic whirlwind tour around the city. In some ways, I'm glad I only had an afternoon to look around Edinburgh; It's so spectacular that I want to spend a week here, and definitely want to come for the fringe.

April 25: Edinburgh to Sheffield

The next day I drove down from Edinburgh along the beautiful coast line after sampling some Hampton (Inn) haggis. I gassed up the car (no one from the states can complain about gas prices after this, and my hybrid got close to 60 miles per gallon) and then a very nice lady at a small town post office changed out my outdated British paper cash by putting it into and out of her own account. I went and bought her and her colleague cookies. Then it was laundry time in Sheffield; apparently you are supposed to book an appointment at the laundry, but I got lucky and they had an opening. That night I started getting a little congestion, but figured it was allergies or something.

April 26: Sheffield to Derby to London

I dropped off the car in Sheffield, and then took the train down to Derby (pronounced darby) to give a really fun talk at the University of Derby which seemed to go well. They have a great entertainment technology program there, and I had even posted a project they did all the way back in 2008. I had a nice lunch with the faculty, all of whom seemed great and dedicated to their students. Afterwards, I got on the train back to London, and then discovered the benefit of concentrating all my stays in Hilton properties: an awesome free executive suite upgrade! I now had a bit of a cough.

April 27: London

I woke up on this day with much stronger cold symptoms, but since some in our group had a cold up in Glasgow, I figured that’s all it was. I had lunch with Charlie Richmond and Will, who I hadn’t seen in many years, and then took a rainy walk around London.

That night the bands played at the O2 Academy in Islington and I was fortunate enough to get a photo pass, and it was great to see Nanowar again:

And of course Tragedy killed it as usual:

There is such an amazing community of fans around this band--especially in the UK--that are "smart enough to get it and dumb enough to like it", as Pete says from the stage. It’s a remarkable and joyous community each night, and the UK is small enough that many fans go to multiple (or even all) shows.

The band hung out after the show, but I was starting to cough enough that I went back to the room and crashed.

April 28: London to Bristol

My original plan was to follow the band out to the Teddy Rocks festival, but sadly I wasn’t feeling well, and figured I should skip this long day and instead head straight to Bristol. I got some afternoon walk tips from Fred, and then had a nice dinner with Fred and Liz and saw a bit more of this lovely and fun town.

April 29: Bristol

The next day, I had lunch again with Fred and Liz in a very cool market, and then we took a walk around to see some of the works by the great Banksy, who is from Bristol. It’s a very cool place.

And then that night the bands were playing on a boat called the Thekla. It was packed and the crowds were great.

Bristol has many Tragedy fans and was one of the last places they played three years ago before the lockdown. The crowd was totally into it.

Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and then hung out with the band at the awesome Gryphon bar, the owner of which is a Tragedy fan.

April 30: Bristol to Brighton

The next day, I rode with ever-generous Simon down to Brighton, and we took a walk around in the afternoon. I got some vegan donuts and apparently the seagulls know the deal and one stole a donut right out of Simon's hand! This is another interesting place to which I want to return.

And that night the bands played at the Concorde 2. Since it was the last night of my trip, I left my good cameras at the hotel, and just enjoyed the show up front with the die hard UK fans. Here’s some phone pictures.

There was a guy behind me who was apparently attending his first Tragedy show; repeatedly when the lyrics started and he realized what song it was he just uncontrollably yelled "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" and then started singing along. It's remarkable to watch, and my friends in Tragedy--along with new friends in Nanowar--have really created something remarkable and beautiful, that is shared by so many music fans.

May 1: Brighton to NYC

On the last day, Simon gave us a ride back from Brighton to the airport, and I flew home.

Home

A couple days after I got home, I was supposed to head into school for a retirement party they were throwing for me, and at the urging of a friend tested for COVID. I was shocked when I came back positive. I messaged my friends in the UK, and it turned out that several were also surprised to find out that the “cold” we thought we all had was COVID all along. It’s ironic that this virus—which shut the world down but brought this group of people together—got in one last hit. Luckily for me, it’s been pretty mild, and I feel like I see the end of it as I write this.

All in all, it was a great trip. It was great to catch up with old and new friends, and since so much of the UK exists in Americans’ imagination (especially for music fans, from Pink Floyd to Mark Knopfler, from The The to Siouxsie and the Banshees), it’s always fascinating and constantly surreal travelling around this amazing place.

When I see my friends’ bands here in NYC, everyone has a good time and goes home. I’ve travelled myself working backstage on larger tours, but it was eye-opening to see what these guys at this scale of touring endure to make such a beautiful thing. In fact; as I was writing this they reported that they had their passports and laptops stolen. You can donate to help out here.

I and many other fans and friends are in their debt for creating such a beautiful and joyous thing; This kind of community is the kind of stuff that makes life worth living, and I hope to do more of this kind of thing now in early retirement.

The beach in Brighton was entirely made of small rocks; that means when the waves pull back it makes an amazing sound. I’ve heard this elsewhere on similar beaches, and I went down the morning of my last day and just sat for a while to take in this final experience to wrap up this great trip. (Sorry about the wind noise).

UK Trip