The Story Of the OMD Liverpool Trip...
29/10/17 - 30/10/17 (Written 30/10/17)
I was bored on the train home so decided to write something of a mini novel about what happened on the trip to Liverpool to see OMD...I literally did not go to bed last night though so I apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes! Will try not to forget anyone but apologise if I do. So first things first, my Dad and myself arrived at the hotel after a bit of a panic about the train being delayed; I actually had to get changed into the Dazzle Shirt etc. in Crewe station loos which was very cold and unpleasant! Anyway, off I dashed to venue with honorary big sister Stevie Conradi, where we promptly stumbled upon Neil and Sandra Taylor and Antea Sersic, and then also just happened to promptly stumble into the nearby Wetherspoons for a drink 😳
At about 3pm I trotted obediently off to the venue, as usual worried that I was going to be late, and as usual finding out that I was in fact rather early and that we were going to have to wait until 4pm for the soundcheck anyway. It was a nice chance to chat to various people though (and to prep the scrapbook for its forthcoming airing). The soundcheck was more interesting than expected; as well as hearing how the band fixed various technical issues (primarily by Andy affectionately bossing people about, we discovered!) we got to hear snippets of songs like 'Genetic Engineering'.
After the soundcheck and a quick examination of the merchandise we had to queue up for the meet and greet, which I will gladly admit was the most nerve-wracking fifteen minutes of my life (including my driving test...I wasn't nervous about that, I knew I would fail anyway!)
Turns out there wasn't any need to be nervous at all, although watching Andy, Paul, Martin and Stu flick through and ask me about the scrapbook that I had spent almost a year working on was incredibly surreal and a little bit overwhelming!
Paul did say he'd love to have a proper look through the whole thing one day which I thought was incredibly sweet of him, and even the usually quiet Martin asked me where I got the articles from for it! Andy was surprisingly quiet until it was his turn to sign- he dutifully scrawled away ('All my love, Andy McCluskey xxx' !!!) and then pretended he couldn't lift the book because it was so heavy 😂
Anyway, enough about the scrapbook (finally). After dinner I went back to the venue at around 7pm so I could take a look at the merch (I bought one of the blue tote bags for college) and be in time for the support act. Tiny Magnetic Pets were really brilliant, with vocalist Paula's voice standing out in particular for me. It's very rare these days that singers sound as good live as they do on the record, but she certainly does.
And then finally, the main event had arrived- and of course OMD delivered, as they always do. That's one of the reasons I like them so much...they never let you down! I won't give away any setlist spoilers, but let's just say there's a great mix of old and new, as well a few well-timed surprises...and of course lots of windmill dancing 😏 It seemed another drink in Wetherspoons with some OMD regulars was in order after the gig, until we eventually got kicked out (literally...) and all rather reluctantly headed back home/to hotels. I was staying at the Adelphi, and although it was where the indoor scenes were filmed for OMD's '(Forever) Live and Die' video, the hotel itself is rather hit and miss.
Once I got back I realised I was on too much of a high to sleep, so occupied myself with messaging people and looking gleefully through gig photos until about 7am (something which I will probably regret when I am in my music history lesson at college tomorrow afternoon).
I felt a little more (only a little, mind!) refreshed after breakfast and a walk down to the front to meet Stevie again, where we took a train (admittedly the wrong one initially!) over to Meols to see the now-famous 632 3003 phone box, as well as Andy and Paul's childhood homes. Of course, en route back to the hotel we had to pop in and see Winston in the Museum of Liverpool as well as a couple of other OMD-related things, before making our way back to the hotel so I could, rather downheartedly, hop on a train back to sunny old Wolverhampton...
Will certainly be a strange bump down to earth within the next few days, but it will all have been worth it! From the looks of things, great fun was had by all at the gig and afterwards too! Big thanks to everyone I met and/or who took the time to come and say hello yesterday, I hope to see you all again soon! OMD love and hugs all round 💕🎶 And a special big thank you to all those who have read all of this!! 🤣🤣 Until next time...
