Christmas 2010

Happy Christmas!!!

While Santa Claus is coming to town, I’m leaving it all behind & heading off to the sunshine to pull my cracker, to the Canary Islands to sing for Christmas & New Year.
Thankfully it’s been a very busy year I’ve been so fortunate to travel the world working & meeting fabulous people.

It all started in January (as each year should!) when I was awarded for the third year running ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR! It was an enormous surprise & a great thrill to know I must be doing something right!!
Even before the excitement of the award had subsided I set off for Brazil & enjoyed a brilliant month in South America. Rio De Janeiro was so exciting & performing there for the Carnival was incredible. It was an amazing spectacle, all the lights, costumes & floats made the Blackpool Illuminations look a bit dowdy!!!!   On a trip out to see the statue of Christ The Redeemer in Rio I got chased by a little tree monkey that took a fancy to me, I had been told you could get VD from them if they bit you, I could just see me going home & saying I’ve got VD but I got it from a monkey…. HONEST!! Anyway, I got away unscathed thank goodness!

No sooner had I returned then I took off again, this time for Hawaii for a Valentines Day show. Five of us were flying out, when we got to the airport we found out the flight was going to be delayed by 5 hours so we would miss our connection in Los Angeles. We were flying American Airlines so they transferred us to United Airlines as they had a flight that we would make our connection to Hawaii. Once on board the plane we were told that they too were being delayed, but only by 3 hours so if we ran we SHOULD make it. We arrived in L.A at 3.10pm & we had an hour. That’s ok if you have a few feet to walk, but remember this is me. We had to go through immigration, collect our luggage, go through customs, then RUN from terminal 1 to terminal 7 – 2.5 miles!!! Needless to say, we missed the flight. When we eventually got to the desk we explained our situation but the lady was very unhelpful & said we had forfeited any help by changing flight companies, even though they told us to do it. They suggested we sleep in the airport & come back in the morning as there were no flights as everyone wanted to go to Hawaii for Valentines Day! Luckily the woman on the desk left for a break & a wonderful woman took her place. The tickets for this trip had been divided, I was on a ticket with Jimmy Tamley a brilliant ventriloquist & the other three were on another. Jimmy & I were about to explain yet again our predicament when she looked up & screamed, well, I know I had been running, but didn’t think I looked that bad, she just stared at us both screaming “it’s You, It’s You”!! She said she loved us & it was such a thrill to meet us. I said I didn’t think she did knew us but she was certain, oh yes I’ve seen you so many times in Las Vegas…. YOU’RE SEIGFRIED & ROY!!! Just in case you don’t know, they are magicians who work with tigers who are in their SEVENTIES!!!

Then to add insult to injury she asked if I was the one who had been mauled by the tiger, so not only do I look 70, I now look as though I’ve been eaten by a soddin’ tiger!! I was going to complain but Jimmy said, I don’t care who she thinks we are as long as we get on the plane!
She said she would do her best, but we would have to fly to Las Vegas & go to Hawaii from there. If we couldn’t get on the plane we could drive to Vegas because we would know how to get there with working there all these years! She took our cases & wrote Seigfried on one, & Roy on the other & just sent them to Hawaii via Vegas. God only knew what would happen if they had got lost, we would have had to have I.D to get them back & amazingly enough Seigfried or Roy don’t appear on my passport.
She pushed us to the front of 25 people on the stand-by list that then came up on a big notice board in the airport that announced that SEIGFRIED & ROY were 1st & 2nd to get on board.
Because of our new identity we got on the flight, were looked after very well & ended up having a lay over in Vegas for 8 hours where we had a brilliant tour of the city. We eventually got to Hawaii at 6am in time for Valentines Day! Thank You Seigfried & Roy!!!

Australia beckoned next, & a wonderful time was had down under in Brisbane, Sydney & Adelaide, I was looked after so well & was able to perform Phantom Of The Opera on my Australian friend Lyn’s birthday!

My next trip was to New York & it was a delayed trip due to Iceland’s volcano erupting. I joined the new Silver Spirit that was sailing back to the UK, & as a lot of people couldn’t get flights, people who wouldn’t normally come on a ship but who could afford this line were coming on board. After my first concert I went into the bar & a guy who wasn’t exactly dressed for the part was there. He looked over & just said “cool”. I said “excuse me”? He said “you, your show was cool, its not my cup of tea, but the wife wanted to come, but I’m glad I did it was cool & you made me laugh too”. I gave my thanks. He said it was good to see a pro working, so I asked if he was in the business, he said he was in band. I asked if he got much work & he said it was ok, I said well although there was not as much as there was, a lot of pubs in the UK (he was British) were having bands at the weekends & I’m sure if he stuck at it he should be able to get some gigs in a pub at the weekend. He thanked me for my help & left to meet his wife. When he had gone I turned to see the barman staring open mouthed. I asked if he was ok & he said he couldn’t believe I had said that, why I asked? He said “do you not know who that was”? “I didn’t” I said. He said that was LIAM GALLAGHER from OASIS!!! I was mortified, & here was me saying if he stuck at it he might get a gig in a pub on a weekend…. OASIS the biggest rock band….. I avoided him for the rest of the trip! I did meet his wife, who again I didn’t know & she said I had made her night as he had told her what I had said & she was telling everyone, I begged her NOT to mention my name!! OH THE SHAME!

I made it back in one piece to star in my show in London at the Brick Lane Music Hall, it was fantastic fun & I got to do my Big Band concert that was a huge success.
I had a Turkish bath in Istanbul that should put me in therapy for a lifetime. They put me naked on a hot marble slab, I’m sure my eggs are well & truly poached now! Then I was covered in carbolic soap bubbles, I looked like the abominable Snowman! Then he threw a bucket of cold water over me. I opened my mouth to scream & swallowed most of the soap! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse the thinnest, oldest man came in to massage me. My body was pulled into places it had never been in its life, at one point my legs were so far apart I felt like a chicken wishbone & should make a wish!! I crawled out of the place & went back to the ship to bed! So much for listening to peoples good ideas, & to make it worse I paid for it!!!
So from Brazil to Barbados, from America to Australia & Iceland to Istanbul, it’s been a great adventure.

In November I made it back home to appear in a concert for the Lest We Forget Society, for the survivors of ALL wars, it was a very humbling experience. I also got to perform for my peers at the Grand Order Of Water Rats Ball in London.
As I said way back at the beginning, I am in the Canary Islands singing for the Christmas & New Year period. I am so blessed to have done so much this year & to have the amazing support from Family, Friends & Fans all over the world. I thank everyone so very, very much.
Whatever you are doing & wherever you will be I wish you the happiest of Christmases & a healthy happy & peaceful 2011.

Enjoy EVERY minute.

Lots of Love

Andrew

xxxxxxx