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May 7th 2004
The band left for Helsinki at 07:00 on the first
leg of their journey home. Apparently some of them had a hard time
getting out of bed!! :-)
Monica and I managed to get a slightly later flight to Moscow and
that went smoothly enough. Tim met us at the airport and we went
straight to the hotel which was a bit over the top but that was
somebody else's business! I used to stay at hotels like this one
all the time but not any more so it was a little bit of a flash-back
and I really wasn't sure how I felt about it until they charged
me €9.00 for a glass of milk!!! Very silly!!
Anyway, we were here for a number of reasons and we didn't have
too much time. First I met with the people organising the New York
concert on September 11th (more of that later) and then we left
for the TV station. I was to be the token rock-star on Russia's
version of Pop Idol/Fame Academy/Star Search… a show called
Star Factory. Everything went very smoothly and I was invited to
watch the rehearsals until it was my turn! AAAAAAAGGGGHHHH…
these were like… BABIES!! Anyway I struck my most dignified
"rock legend" pose and began to really enjoy it. These
were some very talented singers and dancers and, even though I had
no real idea what was going on, it was soon time for me to do my
thing. I took my place on the stage behind a Yamaha synthesizer
(this was all lip-synch) met my duet partner (who is a very good
singer by the way) and we launched into the edited version of July
Morning that Victor had prepared. I was actually miming to David's
voice and, whilst you might consider that a bit weird, I was okay
with it. No-one has ever sung that song the way he did and no-one
ever will so I considered it entirely appropriate. This show is
watched by around 50 million people on Russia's Channel 1 so a lot
of people got to hear David sing what is one of the most popular
songs in Russia. After rehearsal we had a quick snack and a coffee
before it was time to get ready. The make-up girl arrived (I had
suggested plastic surgery actually!) with her bag of miracles and
I was ready to go!
One problem (and those of you who have read my past diaries will
recognise this)… Mr. Putin was being inaugurated today so everything
was delayed. One day I am sure I will meet him and then I can ask
why he keeps "appearing"!!
The performace went well and the reaction was wonderful so, all
in all, it was a great experience and something else for my memoirs.
I am a very lucky guy and I am very thankful that my life consists
of so much more than the mundane things that so many of my contemporaries
get stuck with.
Almost immediately after the show I began to feel quite unwell again.
This "cold" was developing into something far more sinister
and I began to reflect on just how much of a miracle it had been
that I had the energy just when I needed it!
Back to the hotel to meet the people organising the Anthology recordings
(more of that later) and then to dinner where we were able to watch
the broadcast of the TV show. It seemed fine, everyone was very
complimentary (as always, I wasn't sure what that meant) and the
make-up girl deserves a medal!! It had been fun but I was really
feeling pretty rotten so I left the party to try and get some rest.
I made a pit-stop at the concierge desk so he could be rude to me
again and then went straight to bed!
Next day...
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