Sunday 24th March 2024

Got up and breakfasted, or rather, enjoyed a late brunch. I baked the Guinness cake, ready for icing later. Got a bus to Finsbury Park, and then took the Victoria Line to Kings Cross to meet Jim and Katherine off the Leeds train at 1315. Walked them round the corner to get a No.91 bus home nly to find the road closed as a huge crane was lifting lengths of another crane into position behind the Premier Inn. Walked to Caledonian Road, but realised we were still on the one-way system, so had to double back and catch a bus on Euston Road, which was obviously on detour. Got home and got our guests settled, and we caught up over tea and amaretti biscuits. Aki and Katherine went out for a brief walk, and Jim went for a lie down...they had been out late last night at MRCY's gig in Manchester, and had it all to do again tonight! I iced the Guinness cake, and stuck the dinner in the oven, and we ate around 1730...the aubergine parmigiana lasagne was a hit, followed by chocolate Guinness cake and marmalade crumb ice cream. Caught a bus to Finsbury Park, then a Piccadilly Line train to Hammersmith, and made our way toward the Apollo...big SOLD OUT sign above the entrance doors, and a huge queue snaking it's way around the frontage. Jim and Kath had passes for downstairs, whilst we had standing tickets right at the back of the Circle...the stage looked very distant from our vantage point. 

Got talking to the guy next to us, who was over from Cardiff at the invitation of his London-based son...they were Black Pumas fans...I hadn't realised how popular The Black Pumas were. MRCY came on at 2000 and did a half-hour support set. They were excellent...they are basically Barney (on bass) and his co-writer, Kojo, a singer of West African descent, born and raised in Woolwich...only last year he was working the tills in Lidl! His voice is sublime...a bit of Marvin Gaye mixed with the purity of tone of Diana Ross...gorgeous. They had hired in a keyboard player, a mate of Kojo's on drums, and a multi-instrumentalist who played keyboards, fiddle, and guitar...all superb. I was astonished that so many people had turned up to see the support act...it's a huge venue, and MRCY got a rousing reception. The guy from Cardiff reckoned them "awesome...they're going to go places!", and his son booked tickets for their forthcoming Soho gig in June!!! We stuck around for the first four or five Black Pumas numbers...the lighting design was way over the top, with banks of bright lights that would be pointed at the audience every now and then, blinding us all. Good band...US soul with a bit of funk thrown in. We decanted to the Circle Bar where we found Barney's mates Tom, Louie, and Jack, and Jim, Kath and Genna joined us five minutes later, before Barney came out from backstage. Everyone in good form, and we'd all had a good night. Wandered round the corner to the Duke of Cornwall for a beer with Kojo and members of Barney's label and management...good vibes all round, and it looks like Barney is due for a meteoric rise to the upper levels of the UK music business...amazing! Eventually managed to drag a loquacious and very proud father (Jim) out of the pub and get us all back to Finsbury Park just before the tube shut down. Got to bed at 0115...exhausted!!!