Posted By: Nick Dagger Corby, The Willow Arts Centre Saturday November 20th 04
After a fitful night in the Peterborough Travel Inn we set off at midday for Corby. It had been absolutely freezing in Spalding and although not quite Monkey balls weather this morning, it was still taters.
We've played Corby twice in the past, once in the Nags Head in August 96 and then the Festival Hall in Spring '98. Both gigs were very different and I didn't remember too much about the town. I knew the history of the place and that it had been a major steel town heavily populated by Scots who'd been brought down to run the mill. With the closure of the works in 81 the usual problems arose that such total upheaval brings.
It's the buildings. They're grey, decaying corpses. I visited East Germany in the early seventies and that was a country that specialised in soulless architecture but this was Northamptonshire. To my mind the greatest sin you can perpetrate on any civilisation is dull erection. We found the Willow Arts Centre. A square leperous building standing majestically opposite the precinct.
As we were led through endless corridors, Des the manager profusely apologised for the lack of heating. The boilers were not working. It was the second coldest day of the year and with 7 hours till show time, it looked pretty grim. Des, bless him had found a large dressing room and with two blow heaters was doing his best to make life comfortable for us. They'd freshly mopped the floor and combined with the hot air from the fan heaters, we had our very own weather system.
I was surprised to be told that this was indeed the Festival Hall but I hadn't recognised it. Two years ago the Council closed the venue and it was due for demolition but local protests prevented its demise and it has been taken over and run by volunteers. With lots of enthusiasm and private finance, the venue has been temporarily reprieved.
We had a substantial lunch in the Theatre's lounge bar. Certainly very big on portions, the takers of the, "all day breakfast" , soon found themselves staring at a heart attack on a plate. There was very little to see in the precinct other than the usual household names and so the rest of the day was spent in our temperate dressing room.
The main concert hall was freezing but alive with busy helpers building the stage, setting up lights, labelling seats. Eventually the hall heating arrived in the form of two Tristar engines. These giant calor gas heaters can heat a hall very quickly but they can also send the inhabitants into a stupor. So that was what we faced. Asthma in the dressing room, pneumonia in the corridors and gas poisoning on stage.
Actually there was one boiler working and it managed to get on stage and plant her rancid gob onto mine. It was worse than any "Bush Tucker Trial."
" I'm not a celebrity get [me] out of here!"
The audience was rowdy, a large number of whom went absolutely potty. It may have been the Calor Gas but we all came off stage with a slightly strange grin.
Pizza was munched and beer drunk in the lounge bar after the show and we finally set off for home at about 12:30.
Bye Bye Corby, Corby Bye Bye....
Nick Dagger (from Geezer to wheezer)
Atchooo
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