A week of rehearsals for a big arena show... WoT's gig diary!

[wateroftyne]

Hey gang..

 

Some of the longer-term members here might remember that I play in the house band at Sunday for Sammy, a huge music & comedy show that - until 2020 - happened every couple of years at Newcastle Arena. We've had some amazing guests over the years... Mark Knopfler, Brian Johnson, Trevor Horn, The Auf Wiedersehen Pet cast, Johnny Vegas, etc.

 

But then COVID happened. And then nothing... until now!

 

After 18 months of planning by an amazing team, it all happens again next Sunday. Two shows in one day, with a huge cast, it's a massive logistical challenge.

 

I've been working on the songs in my own time for the last few months, and rehearsals start in earnest tomorrow.

 

In the meantime, the crew loaded in to the rehearsal space today, and we (the core band) popped along in the afternoon to set up and do line checks.

 

Here's some photos - more tomorrow!

 

 

Two J's at the moment - both with flats. I might switch one for a P.

 

 

FOH is set up in one of the dressing rooms.

 

 

Monitors.

 

 

My drummer pal.

 

 

Guitar village.

 

 

My hangout.

 

[TrevorR]

Brilliant!! Hope that it all goes well. The vids of the previous Sundays for Sammy have been amazing. Such a great thing to to and such  great cause. All the best for the night. Any special guests you’re in a position to divulge yet or is that all under wraps until the event?

[wateroftyne]

2 hours ago, TrevorR said:

Brilliant!! Hope that it all goes well. The vids of the previous Sundays for Sammy have been amazing. Such a great thing to to and such  great cause. All the best for the night. Any special guests you’re in a position to divulge yet or is that all under wraps until the event?

 

Cheers! So far, so good.

 

Yesterday was just the core band. Today we were joined by our BV ladies, and tomorrow the brass lads will be joining us. We're having to do all the rehearsals without lead vox as out guests won't be arriving until later in the week so there's always that worry that we'll need to change keys. Hopefully not...

 

Bass-wise, I'm sticking to the two J's. They're doing everything I need.

 

As for guests -as ever, it's top secret but I can say that Matty Healy from The 1975 will be making an appearance...

[Beedster]

You do some lovely interesting gigs Michael 👍

[TrevorR]

11 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Bass-wise, I'm sticking to the two J's. They're doing everything I need.

Ah, go on push the boat out… something subtle and understated like a Bootsy Star Bass for the rocky numbers and an Ibanez Iceman for the ballads. G’wan, you know you want to! 🤣🤣🤣🤩

[wateroftyne]

29 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

Ah, go on push the boat out… something subtle and understated like a Bootsy Star Bass for the rocky numbers and an Ibanez Iceman for the ballads. G’wan, you know you want to! 🤣🤣🤣🤩

Oh, I’ve pushed the boat out. I’m using a tuner pedal 😄

[Clarky]

Bass nerd question: what model is the non-66 RI Jazz lurking behind? Also, does this mark WoT becoming a Jazz afficionado rather than the dedicated Precision guy of the last umpteen years?

 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:39 by Clarky

[Sean]

I loves a look behind the scenes. Thank you for posting this. 

[Beedster]

18 minutes ago, Clarky said:

Also, does this mark WoT becoming a Jazz afficionado rather than the dedicated Precision guy of the last umpteen years?

 

 

As if Trump and Brexit weren't enough change to be going on with......

[Huge Hands]

Aah man, lost both my mam and dad in the last 2 years.   They were always huge fans of the show and went a few times, including to the last one. 

 

Memoriiieeesss!

 

Hope it all goes well WoT! 

[jonnybass]

This looks like great fun and a real experience. Looking forward to more updates and pics.

 

Jonny 

[Owen]

On 11/02/2026 at 09:39, Clarky said:

Bass nerd question: what model is the non-66 RI Jazz lurking behind? Also, does this mark WoT becoming a Jazz afficionado rather than the dedicated Precision guy of the last umpteen years?

 

 

Yeah. You've changed. 

[wateroftyne]

40 minutes ago, Owen said:

Yeah. You've changed. 

Aye... sorry, everyone. Being in an Eagles tribute band will do that to you. I need that bridge pickup for some of the tunes.

 

On 11/02/2026 at 09:39, Clarky said:

Bass nerd question: what model is the non-66 RI Jazz lurking behind? Also, does this mark WoT becoming a Jazz afficionado rather than the dedicated Precision guy of the last umpteen years?

 

 

That's a 2017 American Standard, and it's blummin' lovely!

OK - that's four days of rehearsals over... I'm knackered, but so far, so good. It's a great batch of songs, but inevitably the trickiest tune of the lot has had a late-in-the-day key change. As a non-reader, it keeps things spicy.

 

We're in to the Arena tomorrow night to check lines & monitors, and have a couple of run-throughs before a day of full production rehearsals on Saturday.

 

There's 13 in the band: Drummer (founder member of Lindisfarne), Keys (Ex-Dire Straits, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton), Keys / Violin / MD (Ex-Sting), Guitar #1 (Ex-Tygers of Pan Tang), Guitar #2 (Ex Arctic Monkeys / Last Shadow Puppets), 4x Brass (Including The 1975's sax player), 3x BVs (including the lady who sang 'I'll Do Anything for Love' with Meat Loaf) ...and little 'ol me.

 

I'm on double-duty - I'm also responsible for the content on the video screens, which is nice as I get to make sure the visuals closely match the music. I'm looking forward to it all coming together.

 

There was a segment about the show on the One Show on the BBC this evening if anyone's interested.

 

Here's some more pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 55 minutes ago by wateroftyne

[Burns-bass]

Looks wonderful and what a fantastic cause and event. 

 

I remember a video with Lee Sklar talking about how Phil Collins would make them spend months drilling the set so it sounded super tight but still felt fresh. Bet this will be the same. 

 

 

[Geek99]

Would these be the same 3 blonde BV ladies as a previous occasion?