Ken Hensley

"Sunrise Over The Kremlin"

Day 3

I woke up hungry for cholesterol and carcinogens (bacon and eggs) but I endured the usual mix of omelette, cold meat, cheese etc. and, somehow, the coffee was never quite hot! But I am not complaining, well, yes I am but only a little bit! It had rained last night and the skies were a bit threatening which is always cause for trepidation when a show is outdoors and they have no inside fall-back. But there's nothing anyone can do about the weather!

The press conference was re-scheduled for later so I had plenty of time to practise and change guitar strings etc. and this was really helpful. I had chosen 12 Songs for this evening, including three from the new CD so I needed to do some work. This is the set list I expect to perform, alhtough sometimes I do change it around depending on the audience and their mood or reaction(s).

Lake Seliger Set List
(or should that be "Wet" List?)

- The Wizard
- I Won't Change
- I Don't Wanna Wait
- I Close My Eyes
- At The Last Minute
- July Morning
- Come To Me
- Through The Eyes Of A Child
- Rain
- Tell Me When
- Longer Shadows
- Lady In Black

Also, when you are in the studio working on an album and popping out now and then to do a show, you really need to refresh and practise so the guys delivered the piano early and set it up in the living room.

Alexander was at the camp site venue so I had lunch with Marina. This (the lunch, not Marina) was marginally better than breakfast, then I practised a little more and took my siesta which was wonderful. A soft, sweet and light sleep that really helped a lot.

Marina had by now become such a valuable asset. Her English is excellent and she was always there to run interference for me in all things. She is a professional translator for a Russian, English language TV station so she gets lots of practise and I know she will be important to the show tonight where I will not only be playing but talking to the mainly young crowd. (see photo)

Eventually the time came to leave for the venue and the little power boat that ferried us back and forth arrived exactly on time.

The sun was shining now and when I arrived the crowd and the press were very enthusiastic. They keep telling me I am very famous in Russia and they certainly treat me in a very special way. I don't really get the "famous" thing, but I sure do appreciate their kindness, courtesy and respect.

The press people were introduced to me one by one and each was given 5 minutes which made it go quickly and smoothly. Many of the questions were familiar but I did get stuck with one new one…. "how much money would it take for you to cut your hair?". I didn't really have an answer for this so I made something up which probably sounded daft but I am not going to cut it any time soon so…..

By the time I started the show, most of the crowd had arrived from their last classes and by the end we had around 5000 very enthusiastic young Russians in the audience.

I can only say that this concert was magic for me! I was able to connect with the crowd from the very beginning and they received each song (including the new ones) with such excitement and enthusiasm the show went from strength to strength until I had 10 "volunteers" singing, strumming, playing piano, clapping, playing tambourine and dancing on-stage with me for Lady In Black.

We had fun with the questions and answers after the show and it was just really special to connect so powerfully with such a young audience.

I would just like to share one quote which came from a 19-year-old boy in the front row. He said (in perfect English!) …. "when I came here, I knew nothing about Ken Hensley or the music of Uriah Heep but, within 10 minutes, I became a huge fan".

It's probably impossible for me to convey to you how much this means to me but this, and some of the other comments lifted my heart and my spirit in a way I didn't think possible.

I won't forget this experience in a hurry… if ever!

We made our way across the the edge of the lake where we had a typical Russian dinner and then sat for a while around a camp fire and listened to beautiful Russian songs played and sung by a wonderful guitarist.

By now I was tired though, so it was time for our boat ride back to the island where my bed was.

What a great day!