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I’m
sat in Costa coffee on a Thursday morning planning my
day when my phone rings.
“Hi
Pete, it’s Adrian” (our manager), “What are you doing
Sunday?”
“Nothing in particular” I reply. “Why?”
“Ratt have pulled out of Download and the organisers
want FM to replace them, you’re on the main stage.”
“Really? Bloody hell” or words to that effect…
So we’ve been asked to play the main stage at one of the
biggest rock festivals in the UK… Bring it on I say.
We
know all the band are free so frantic calls are made to
see if we can cobble together a crew at this very short
notice. I give Richard our soundman a call. This is an
important one, he is an integral part of our live show.
He’s free, praise the Lord! Merv is having a bit more
trouble getting our backline boys sorted. Steve Church
may be ok but not 100%, Smudge is laid up after knee
surgery. Jo (Jem's tech) is fine. Funnily enough Craig
and Andy from Romeo's Daughter have heard the news and
volunteer to take care of guitars and drums respectively
- “It’s gonna be a right old laugh, a great day out”
comments Andy. We get a call back from a lovely guy
called Charles who is up for doing Merv's gear. Even if
Steve C can’t make it we’re cool.
 
We
turn up to our rehearsal room in Kings Langley Saturday
lunchtime to work out the set. Rhona the owner (I’m a
poet) has shifted bands around we have 3 hours to set
up, work out the set and pack down. We have 30 minutes
onstage, we’re 2nd band on so we need a hard
hitting half hour, nothing subtle. We write out what we
think is a good set, we play it and time it, again the
gods are smiling on us - bang on 30 minutes. We’re
ready.
  
We’re staying the night before in a hotel about 15 miles
from Donington Park the festival site. Some of us have
things that we need to do before we travel. Steve O and
I arrive about 2.00am and Merv is in the hotel bar along
with Dave Ling who travelled up with him. We have a
beer and discuss England’s woeful opening World Cup
display against U.S.A. We decided things could only get
better (we were to be proved horribly wrong as it turned
out things got even worse). Steve and I headed off to
our room around 3.00am. We had to be at the festival
site by 9.30am latest so our alarm was set for the
ungodly hour of 6.15am. Seemingly only a matter of
minutes later the alarm goes off and that madman
Overland is out of bed and going for a run. Respect
mate! I have a shower and start to feel slightly more
awake. A slightly flushed and sweaty Steve returns and
showers. I head down to breakfast which if you pay in
the morning is £15.00, I pre-paid the night before and
got it for about a tenner which is still fairly
extortionate. Jimmy K has just arrived along with Steve
Church. Ant Critchley has also come along to do some
filming. Jim is outraged at the cost of breakfast -
“Fifteen quid, fifteen f***ing quid for breakfast that’s
a f***ing rip off, I’m not paying that, I can’t believe
you’ve paid fifteen f***ing quid.”
“I paid a tenner Jim”
“A tenner? That’s nearly as bloody bad, f***ing hell…
fifteen f***ing quid.”
You can take the boy out of Nantwich etc.
We’re leaving the hotel at 8.30am. Everyone is present
- albeit a little bleary eyed - and correct. Off up the
M1 and to the festival site, we pick up our passes and
board a mini-bus which takes us to the backstage area.
We’re shown our porta-cabin dressing room, everything is
good.
 
It’s so early the festival gates are yet to open so Merv
and I go out front and have a look about. We head back
and go up onto the stage, bloody hell it’s big. I get
the first pang of a few butterflies as it hits me we’ll
be performing on that very stage shortly in front of
thousands of people. It’s really well organised
backstage. Our backline is being set up on movable
risers, as is each bands, so it’s just a case of roll
one lot off and one lot on. A silky smooth operation.
I go and see Andy who has set my kit up perfectly. We
have a good laugh together, he’s a top man is our
Wellsey. The gates are open and people start running
towards the stage just as the first band on start up. A
young band called Dommin and they’re sounding really
good. They do a really rocking cover of Cutting Crews
“I just died in your arms tonight”. Nice one fellas!
They finish and we have only a fifteen minute
changeover. It’s filling up nicely. I’m not sure if
it’s nerves (probably) but I can’t be bothered changing,
I’m happy as I am. With a mixture of excitement and
jangling nerves I make my way up the steps to the
stage. We’ve no intro tape… just get up there and do
it. Bang, we’re off and into Wildside, its sounding
pretty good where I am. Merv turns and gives me a wink
and a smile. The applause and crowd is growing after
each song. I can see cowboy hatted festival organiser
Andy Copping and our agent Steve Strange, arms around
each other, singing along to our songs. We’ve known
Andy from when he used to book us back in the day at
Nottingham Rock City. The singing marathon runner is on
fine vocal form as usual, but especially today
considering our late night and it’s not even lunchtime.
The set flies by and our time is up, and as the final
chord of Grapevine reverberates around Donington Park we
take our bow and leave the stage. The boys done good.
Pete Jupp
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photos with kind permission of Marty Moffatt and Pete
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