Lucky escape Joe
Back in 1987, my band played a Thursday night gig at the old Majestic club in Reading. After the gig, everything -- drums, backline, instruments, the lot -- got loaded into the van to go back to the lockup ready for our Saturday night at the Red Lion in Brentford (RIP).
Saturday night... the van arrives at the Lion, and we start piling everything out. Drums, backline, keys, guitar, ba...
hold on...
where's my Wal?
Not in the van.
Frantic phone calls... it's not in the lockup... it's not at home... not even at my mate's house...
In desperation I call a mate who I knew was coming to the gig, and asked him to go to the Majestic and see if it was there. In the mean time, I rushed over to Tempo Soundhouse in Hanwell, where resident diamond geezer Lawrie Keys was kind enough to lend me a bass after I gave him my sob story. Rushed back to the Lion... call from Simon... relax, the bass is at the Majestic. The club's manager found it in its case, left behind after the Thursday gig, and locked it away safely.
Simon screams down the M4, arrives with smoking tyres 5 mins before we go on, and reunites me with my baby.
From then on, it always came home with me.
Coincidentally, that was the night I met my ex-wife.