Status Quo

Night of June 29th/30th
Cue the hottest night so far of 2002. Temperatures during the day in London had seared over 32 degrees [a blinding 36 on the underground] - so trust us to want to try and get some sleep on the hottest night of the for 13 years... mind you - the hottest day was yet to come.
Around the early hours it was panic that roused Lady Rockingham [well, me!]... due to mole-like short-sightedness, I managed to mis-read the clock on the TV set in our room and turned 5:10am to 8:10..... Cue much squealing and shouting, only to realise the error and try and force another hour out of the elusive, sweltering state of sleep.

July 30th 6am
Beth is up - pacing the room, washing, dressing, doing that girly thing 'the nails' - whilst Richard still snuggles on the duvet dreaming of whatever it is that Richard's dream of.
By 7am everyone's up and we've beaten the businessman-queue to the breakfast room. You never seen anyone eat so fast. Back to the room and by 7:30 we were on the tube from Redbridge to Victoria [change at Oxford Circus] to meet Pam, Monica and Lesley at their swanky central-London 'residence' the Thistle. [Its alright for some, say us, from Ilford North Travelinn!].
Much more girly squealing ensues [Richard still doesn't partake] and at 8:45 am we meet assembled masses in the lobby and make our way through the express tunnel entrance to Victoria Station, heading for Platform 2.

The Media check-in, at which point many fans started to get accosted and questioned by the Mac-wearing tide. This is, in fact a lie, there wasn't a Mac amongst them, but it sounds good for the report purposes!
See the table to the right for a list of on-line articles and reports from the media - they make for a good read, finally some positive Quo publicity.
The day's transport rolled elegantly in [as elegantly as you can with a blimmin' great diesel pulling you!] to London Victoria, platform 2.
At this point, the melee start swarming towards the train - but we're still gassing on the platform, in the end, a good move. As the carriages fill up with media and fans pouring in, we're still stood by the check-in gates, as we'll be split up for the duration of the day, arranging when and where to meet, Just as a decision is finalised, the other side of the gates assemble a familiar rabble of well-presented gentlemen… may I present to you, STATUS QUO !
And they're about 5ft from us… cue lots of hurried pictures and greetings are we're shepherded towards the waiting train and the gathered media for the photo shoot of the train. Thank heavens Richard is 6'1" and can take pictures over the top of the rest of the 'smudgers'.

July 30th 10:50am

At precisely 10:50 we're all on board and this legendary rolling stock starts her slow journey down to the south coastal port of Southampton.
Shortly after we start moving, Mike Hrano come down the carriages announcing Francis and Rick will be

MENU Roast Fillet of Atlantic Halibut with Mange Tout and a Bisque Sauce * Blueberry and Chocolate Cheesecake served with Elderflower Sauce * Coffee from Columbia

coming along about 5 minutes later, followed shortly by the others. Right on cue, Quo's irrepressible frontmen shake our hands and pose for pictures. Wonderful [and ever so huggable]. As they continue down the carriage, in comes the real 'turn' - Rhino!. Looking as if he did this every day more photos and LOTS of gossip pass between us and he continues on, with Matthew and Andrew in tow. A wonderful way of organising a meet and greet [though a tad expensive], we settled down to our 'snack lunch'… on seeing the size of a snack portion, fears were immediately raised about the size of the evening meal. A scan of the menu shows you what was in store.

Our huge, winding train arrived onto Southampton Docks, at the QEII arrivals lounge, where 7 coaches were waiting to transfer the band, media and fans to Portsmouth, 25 minutes away, for the gig of a lifetime.
It was the longest 25 minutes of our lives! Painful… no-one  laughing much or joking much [as on other coaches] we were all too eager to get there and get rocking. Last coach in, last on board. We walked through one of the massive hangars and up onto the runway of the country's newest and most famous aircraft carrier ever. Heading for the stage, with it's unforgettable backdrop of the flag and water cannon, it's 'Heavy Traffic' zaps and ever-busy road crew.
Despite being some of the last on, myself, Richard and Monica were still able to get right to the barrier and after tuning and preparing for the biggest launch since Rock 'til You Drop, Quo proved they had a real belter lined up.
A blistering set [the same as they played at the BBC show, but minus 4500 Times]. The lads gave it their all, with witty retorts and naval-based lyrics… which rapidly deteriorated the sentiments of 'In the Army' as all 3 guitarists sang, between them, 'Army', 'Navy' and 'Forces' simultaneously. During Whatever You Want, the Spanish passenger ferry, the Pride of Bilbao, rocked into port, it's entire onboard capacity spread onto the side of the ship nearest the warship, rocking, clapping and cheering as Quo thundered out their 1979 classic.

After the live set, we were treated to two playback songs - Jam Side Down and Blues and Rhythm.
The fans were supposed to have been straight back on the coaches after the set, but - in true live fashion - they couldn't even begin to round us up! Everyone mooched up towards the launch ramp, where Quo were facing another media photocall, featuring assorted dolly-birds as brought by the Daily Star, 'zapped' helicopters and much face-pulling. It was at this point The Cloud hit - only gently, but enough to remind everyone Quo go nowhere without it. More interviews with fans and a couple of grabbed musicians and celebrities passed the time amply until everyone started to return to their allotted transport for the return journey.