My trip to Moscow was pretty straightforward even though I did have to get up at 4:00am for the flight to Madrid!!  The events in Moscow and St. Petersburg were set up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of russian rock band Zemlyane and these are the people that were invited to come at various times over the 6 days and celebrate that:

ZEMLYANE
KEN HENSLEY
GLENN HUGHES
BONNIE TYLER
TONY IOMMI
RICK WAKEMAN
NAZARETH
KINGDOM COME
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISITED
ANIMALS AND FRIENDS
TONY MARTIN
SUPERMAX
ALAN SILSON

So this should result in some really great reunions!!

The first night was at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.  It was just for TV and it went really well.

Just getting into the Kremlin is a major event.  I have done it a few times now and it’s no surprise that security is incredibly tight, since it’s the operational home for President Putin!  You have to change cars at least once and there are i.d. checkpoints all along the way so that, by the time you are in, you know it’s a big deal.

The big surprise to me was that, before the show, I received a “Peacemaker” medal from the deputy mayor of Moscow and a delegation  from The Worldwide Charitable Alliance.  I think you can see my surprise in the attached picture!!!  Really cool and I share it with Monica and give the honour to God who has so totally changed my heart.

After dinner we all set off for the train that would take us overnight to St. Petersburg.  I’ll keep you all posted on how the rest of the week goes!!  I am really lucky in that I don’t have any trouble sleeping on the move although the “beds” on the Russian trains are a bit on the small side, even in the first class compartments.  The trains themselves are very old but well-maintained and they are always on time!!

Tim is with me on this trip.  He lives in Moscow and we have worked together many times before so I trust him and he knows exactly what to do.  We are sharing the cabin on the train so I feel comfortable and safe.  The train ride was around 7 ½ hours and I slept for six of them so by the time we got to St. Petersburg I was feeling fine but when we checked in to the beautiful Nevsky Palace hotel I was still ready for an early siesta.

The promoter of these shows is one of Russia’s new millionaires and it’s a good thing because he is wasting so much money on this whole thing… but that’s his business.  The performances are all “playback” and yet he brought all of Glenn’s band and a lot of other musicians who ended up doing absolutely nothing, except stay in five-star hotels and eat constantly… oh well!  Things have been relatively well organised but the TV factor has caused a lot of confusion.

After the inevitable press conference, the show went fine and soon we were back on the train to Moscow which was where things really fell apart!

The day off was welcome (for me at least) so I was able to rest and do a bit of shopping.  I declined the invitations to lunch (same restaurant, three hour wait for food you don’t order) and to the evening celebrity event, preferring to eat at the hotel and continue working on the Toni Rowland project.

On the day of the show, Tim, Vitaly (our driver) and myself did some more shopping and then went to the Sports Palace for sound-check.  This was where I ran into the most incompetent, unprofessional and ignorant lack of organisation I have ever experienced.  Anywhere!  Russia is still quite new to the intricacies of these kinds of shows and when TV gets involved it gets even worse.  I am not sure how they managed to master the art of screwing up even the simplest things but, amongst other things, they expected me to sign a TV release agreement that was in Russian and that included a financial clause that had been left blank!  Right!  But some of these people (even some who really should know better) did actually sign it!

In the end my show went fine but they started Glenn’s with the wrong song and the CD Bonnie was using for playback started skipping so I guess I got off lightly!!  There were all kinds of after-show activities planned but Tim and I skipped out of a back door and escaped this madness, back to the hotel.  The following morning I heard all of the tales and that made me even more glad that I stayed away!  Maybe I am growing up...

Sunday was a late check-out for me and one last chance to network a bit and say goodbye to some friends who I might not see again any time soon… if ever!

So, back to work on the CD.  No more road adventures until next year for me!!!

God bless,
Ken
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