The 'European Tour' Diary

Monday 1st August 2011 - "A Complete Lack of Vision"

“I’m sorry sir, but the vehicle cannot be classed as a minibus as there aren’t enough windows”
“Eh?”
“A minibus needs windows and you don’t have enough; it’ll have to be classed as a commercial vehicle of the same size”
“But we’ve got 7 seats, is that a problem?”
“Erm, no, but a commercial vehicle costs more than a minibus, £330 more to be exact.”
In unison, the Yorkshire Battle Cry, “How Much!?”
Welcome to P&O ferries, Hull. So the European Tour had only just begun and we were already £330 lighter.

The day had got off to a traditional start with Pikey being late for the ceremonial loading of the van. Tom also was also in the spirit of things as he arrived even later than Pikey! Tom did redeem himself by loading all the vital pieces of his drum kit that Dave had left behind, but then let the side down, as, when quizzed he realised that he’d left his new drumsticks at home. D’oh!

So the van fully loaded, Tom’s sticks collected, Jon picked up we were off, off to be fleeced by P & O Ferries, Hull, but the ‘Tour’ was under way.

I’m not sure how big the Ferry was, but I can state with confidence that it comprised of at least; a bar, a restaurant, a stage and a 4 birth cabin.

The bar served VERY nice European sourced beer.
The restaurant served the ‘colon busting’ eat as much as you like buffet.
The stage had the usual ‘overnight ferry’ style ‘Turns’
The cabin had 4 beds and only permitted one of the 4 occupants to be on their feet and moving at any given point in time.

We met up with Dave, Kate, George and Emily on the ferry. While we all tried to rupture our colons over dinner Dave provided the entertainment. His boat walking, Inspector Gadget arm and broken fork routines kept us amused and his kids cringing with embarrassment. A display of entrainment skill that was more than equalled by a bunch of Pilipino waiters singing a Madonna song (apparently) on an out of tune guitar.

In the the post dinner alcoholic haze we sat down in the ‘Theatre’ and drank more beer while being entertained by the European style dancing of the, erm, European, passengers.

After many months of planning we’re finally on tour... “Á la vôtre”; Á la vôtre indeed!

Tuesday 2nd August 2011 - "The Ghost of Jim Morrison"

“Can anyone remember which deck we’ve parked the van?” That’ll be a ‘’No” then.

After some hunting there she was in all her unblemished glory. We load up and hit the road... all the way to passport control. Remarkably everything was in order so we hit the road once again remembering to “drive on the right you idiot!”

“So we’re in France?” “Erm, no, the Netherlands.”
“So we’re in France now?” “Erm, no, Belgium.”
“So we must be in France now!” Yep, we’d finally made it across the border into the third country of the morning.

The journey was broken up by a quick stop on route for “Un Big Mac, grande” and a wasp sting for the hapless Pike. Some 300 miles from Rotterdam, in what seemed like a mere 8 hours, we finally arrived; straight at the scene of the accident. Literally in the shadow of the hotel Pikey’s evasive manoeuvres on the Peripherique of Paris meant we avoided the suicidal lady in the MX5, but exchanged paint, body filler and insurance details with a smelly French man in a, now slightly customised, 206. No harm done that a body shop couldn’t fix, just one deeply embarrassed driver; I don’t think Pikey felt too good about the situation either.

The ‘incident’ did put a certain downer of the evening but we decided to drown our sorrows with a bit of sightseeing in Paris. In unison, the Yorkshire Battle Cry, “C’est Combien!?” €8 for half a litre of beer did hit us Yorkshire folks where it hurts, in our most sensitive of regions; the wallet. But we bravely fought on and held back the tears until the evening drifted into an alcoholic haze. Further ‘Pints’ at €10.25 from another venue were rejected with Gallic flare, settling for a haggled €6.50 from round the corner, a relative bargain in the grand scheme of things.

At the end of the evening (or should that be morning) Jon and Tom decided to look for the grave of Jim Morrison in the cemetery next to the hotel. Their extensive research gained them a few scratches and scrapes as they vaulted the cemetery wall, but the ghost of Jim Morrison was not to be found. Unfortunately this was ‘a’ cemetery and not ‘the’ cemetery. I guess the boys from Ecto 1 would have got him had he been around.

Wednesday 3rd August 2011 - "The Pussycat Dolls"

“Hands off cocks, on with socks; time to get moving”

Now getting the guys out of bed, washed, fed and watered is like trying to herd the proverbial collection of felines. Jon, to his credit, came up with a novel time saving technique. Sleeping fully clothed on top of a made bed meant he was up and ready within the hour.

We returned to the underground bunker where we’d parked the van, waved goodbye to Ecto 1 (we’ve no idea what it was doing there either) and set off on the dreaded Peripherique heading South once again.

A fuel stop barely woke the comatose Tom and Jon but allowed us to motor on through the rain and arrive at Martyn and Jeanne’s lovely house where we could take relax after two days of driving.

Jeanne made us most welcome and had laid on an amazing party and BBQ to which most of the local English residents had been invited. The previous night had been a stormy one and Martyn had already rescued the gazebo from the trees at the bottom of the garden. So we sat under the aforementioned gazebo drinking ice cold beer and exchanging stories. Mick’s recounting of how he dealt with the ‘wasps nest’ incident had us in stitches. We also learned that one of Martyn and Jeanne’s friends thought the band that was on tour was the ‘The Pussycat Dolls’; I think they may have been in for a disappointment...

It was a lovely summer’s evening which came to an end us staring at the prominent milky way and watching shooting stars and satellites pass over in the jet black sky of the French countryside. Simply wonderful.

Thursday 4th August 2011 - "A Rock Band with your Dinner, Monsieur?"

A nice easy start to the day, a lovely breakfast from Mr and Mrs Long including fresh figs! We loaded up the van, thanked our hosts and headed off on a relatively short hop to the first gig.

Verteuil is a lovely historic French town, the venue a fantastic little bar and smart restaurant in the town centre situated in the shadow of a beautiful chateau. We unloaded the van only to find the diner’s tables and the stage were remarkably close together, hmm that could lead to some unhappy diners, and possibly some unhappy neighbours, as it was an open air gig!

A misunderstanding over accommodation meant some wasted time, but it was finally resolved by 19:30... So we had somewhere to stay, just in time. Now, how best to describe the accommodation, let’s stick with ‘quirky’, but it’s not like we were going to spend a lot of time awake in there.

Sound check complete and the tables set for the diners thoughts turned to food. Here the owner did us proud, food of the gods; the finest steak, chips and peppercorn sauce available to humanity. Fed and watered a slightly apprehensive band took to the stage. Neither the band nor the audience knew quite what to expect.... The opening chords of ‘Who Are You’ would have blown the roof of the venue had there been one. The moment was one of pure magic, the months of preparation had finally come to fruition and the band were playing in beautiful venue in idyllic settings on a balmy summers evening.

The startled diners warmed to the fact a rock band was playing next to their tables within a few minutes. Their initial shock was short lived and they were soon enjoying the spectacle, not one person moved inside or complained about the noise. Result!

The gig was a universal success, people living across the street thought the next door neighbours TV was playing a live concert a bit too loud. When they realised it was emanating from the Dixieland cafe they came over, not to complain like they would do in the UK, but to join in the fun! Priceless!

"Hi, just wanted to say how much we enjoyed your gig last night at Verteuil- we're still buzzing. It's so great that groups like you give us the opportunity to hear great music played so well. A bravery medal should be awarded to your keyboard player for carrying on whilst being harassed by hornets!! Thanks again and we hope to catch up with you again." - Pat & Tony Ackland

Friday 5th August 2011 - "Eric Morecambe Avec Les Chapeaux"

Two of us made breakfast; Tom and Jon were still in the land of ‘Deep Coma’. A walk back to the centre of town in the rain got us back to the van and then a short trip back to the ‘quirky’ accommodation to see if Tom and Jon had regained consciousness. They had.

Another relatively short drive in the rain to ‘Route 66’; unfortunately not that Route 66. How best to describe the venue? I can’t use the word ‘quirky’ as I’ve used that already, It could be best described as being like ‘Bulmer’s of York, Second Hand Emporium’. One memorable quote sums it up “Where did they steal all this sh*t?” A grubby, biker venue on the edge of town run by an eccentric English man decorated with anything they had to hand by the look of it (the venue, not the English man) and clearly it was the cleaner’s year off. The men’s toilets were indeed a pissoir, handily crafted from a farmhouse sink and tap, nice touch, not that you’d want to touch it, or use it or breathe the air anywhere near it. Accommodation for the cost conscious ‘lads’ was a pitch in the field out the back, for which we were charged 10 Euro each! That must have been the charge for the novelty of sharing your pitch with a herd of goats. Pikey achieved the impossible and fitted a double air mattress into an impossibly small £12 Tesco tent; “It’s like Stringfellow’s palace in here!”

Gear set up, sound check done out for some food. Now, the French in the land of the gastronome have some strange ideas on food. Once they’ve enjoyed their two hour lunch break everywhere appears to stop serving until 7pm. So trying to get some food at ‘tea time’ seems to be impossible. The lads resorted to a trip to a supermarket for the obligatory bread, cheese and red wine, the rest of the band thought they’d struck gold as a fish and chip wagon, of all things, pulled up in front of them. The proprietor when through his pre-flight checks; chips – check, fish – check, batter, batter? – D’oh! Disappointment was expressed.

Some of the hard core Supermodel fans had made it over from the UK to holiday and we welcomed Sue, Dave, Paul and Carol to Route 66. The gig underway, Jon in full swing, the audience loving the show when all of a sudden Jon is wearing a motorbike helmet and goggles. I believe this hat wearing was instigated by a Dutch biker and it went down a storm. Hats started to appear from nowhere (remember this place is like Bulmer’s), Jon obliged and combined with his remarkably good Eric Morecambe impressions had us all in stitches!

The band went down a storm, another great show. Tom’s hands were taking a beating, ouch! Tom’s cymbals were not faring much better; one cracked during the gig so Tom donated it to the decor of Route 66 after the band had signed it. Nice touch Tom.

Saturday 6th August 2011 - "Il y a du Monde au Balcon"

Up with the goats in time for a cooked breakfast. Guests of the Route 66 B&B accommodation recounted the tales of their ‘interesting’ night: naked Irishmen, floorboards not nailed down, doors without locks, toilets with far too good a view of the outside world and flea ridden cats. Packed the tent up in the rain, loaded the gear in the rain set off for Angouleme in the rain.

A cross country drive in the rain during which Pikey observed that no matter what he does the van always plays in the key of ‘A’. Early afternoon saw us arrive at the hastily booked hotel. Found somewhere that looked safe enough to park the loaded van, Tom used his finest school boy French to overcome the language barriers at reception and we were sorted. The lads headed off into town so Tom could find a music shop to buy a replacement drum head as he’d seen off one of those as well while the hotel room is draped with drying tents.

Thank goodness for Sat Nav as the venue is tucked away down a little street somewhere near the top of the town. The venue is the most un-Irish Irish bar I’ve seen, but it’s a nice place and we are made to most welcome by the owner Maria and ‘her two friends’. Maria doesn’t speak much English but she’s hugely enthusiastic and can communicate with her arm waving and facial expressions alone.

The gear’s unloaded and set up, Kevin’s still AWOL; it turns out there’s two hotels with the same name in Angouleme, guess who’s at the ‘other’ one! Sound check complete time to think about food. Dave recounts his earlier experience at France’s slowest fast food restaurant that just leaves him bewildered. Of course by now it’s now UK tea time so there’s nowhere open. Maria comes to the rescue with a buffet fit for kings, lovely.

So on to the gig, the place is filling up, the band hit the ground running opening with ‘Who Are You?’. Reaction from the audience... nothing. Next song, virtually the same, barely a reaction, just some polite applause. This is the first almost exclusive French audience the band had played too... and that’s sort of how the French are and I thought the English were reserved! Few more tracks in, Mick’s introducing the songs in his finest French and the audience is warming up, result.

After the break the audience get into the swing of things. The band, as always, gave it 110%. Tom’s taped up blistered fingers held it together until the bitter end as did the now rather tired band members. Kevin had to stop his wild guitar antics and perched himself on his amp and took it easy in a way only Kevin can.

At the end of the gig Maria and ‘her two friends’ are more than happy with the night. I’ve no idea what she was saying, but with lots of passionate arm waving, kisses and free beers to everyone I guess she enjoyed herself!

Sunday 7th August 2011 - "The Wrong Type of Jam Session"

Well we’re up and out and on the LONG slow drive home, but not until Pikey had ensured his trainers were in pristine condition by cleaning them in a sink with toothbrush.... Insert your own jokes/observations here as it’s beyond me!

Very little to report on the journey, a long, but pleasant drive, across country aiming to clear Paris before stopping. Well that was the plan... but an insane 2 ½ hour traffic jam around Paris didn’t help. We eventually got to somewhere to stay at 20:55, 5 minutes before reception closed!

Now here’s another funny thing about France; not only can you not find anywhere to eat at ‘tea time’, there’s also virtually nowhere to eat late on a Sunday evening! The only open restaurant (a Pizzeria) in town was located and food fit for kings (pizza, chips and red wine) served.

Monday 8th August 2011 - "I'm a Classically Trained Singer, Don't you Know"

Day two of the LONG journey home was all too soon underway. The back of the journey was now broken, but with an early and unmissable ferry crossing booked we still had to keep on our toes.

We still had time to load up the little remaining space in the van with cheap (but high quality) booze from a neat little Belgian cash and carry style place we the satnav found for us when we pressed the ‘cheap booze near here button’. Loaded up we made for the ferry port and made it onto the ferry without incident.

After dumping our gear into the tiny cabin, Pikey opened his can of ‘Maximator’, we checked out the bar.... Disappointment was expressed. It was a British boat as the bars were stocked with nasty British brewed versions of European beers, a pale imitation of the beers on the outward leg.

After another ‘value for money’ session in the buffet restaurant we hit the bar once again to check out the ‘turns’ on for the evening. Well the disco at the end was good... We all enjoyed a good sing along. Funny how alcohol makes good singers sound bad and bad singers think they are the best singers in the universe.

Tuesday 9th August 2011 - "A Curious Mix of Deodorant and Guff"

The crossing was a tad on the rough side, at one point I awoke to find myself not connected to the mattress anymore, but gravity soon restored Newton’s normality with a crash!

Come morning, we were back in Hull, groan! The air in the cabin was a tad ‘thick’, or "A curious mix of deodorant and guff" as described by the eloquent Tom.

Well we jump in van, remembered to drive on the left and take the short hop back to York. The gear unloaded we said our goodbyes and there ended The Supermodels first European tour. All in all a lot of hard work but an awful lot of fun. A great big thanks to all the people that worked so hard to make it possible.

News – June 26th 2011 Mothership 2011

The 2nd annual music-fest at Acomb Cricket Club ... MOTHERSHIP 2011 ... turned out to be a roaring success as summer finally burst out over York. We can’t remember seeing so many familiar faces at a gig, friends old and new all in one place ...... which made it a very special day for the band.

The heat was on all day from the construction of the Ziggurat Rostrum at 0830 (well I think it sounds better than Pyramid Stage .. ?) - to the ceremonial blathering of Gary’s tummy blisters 12 hours later, courtesy of his marathon 7 hour stint flipping burgers at the BBQ! ... Too many people to mention gave their time towards the cause for free, young and old, to put together a day showing Acomb with a smile on its face. We thank you all for your contribution ‘cos it made our bit easy!! See Neil’s photo diary of the day and thank him next time for making memories.

Around 800 people came through the gates on a beautiful summer’s day to see performances from ‘The Peacock Suits’, ‘The Rizzos’, ‘Dark Flowers’ and ourselves and I think it’s fair to say that it was a quality line-up that delivered!

First up were ‘The Peacock Suits’ , an acoustic guitar duo who played a confident and eclectic set that included one of my all-time favourites of all-time, “Happy Hour” alongside stuff by Paul Weller (hence their name I guess).

Miss Nicola Fowler, fronting her very own band these days, who go by the name of ‘The Rizzos’ were next up ... woz that ‘Pikey ‘ moonlighting ???? .. I think he must be trying to tell Dave something ... can’t think of any reason he might need more money ... (!) Pikey is, as everyone knows of course, the next ‘Beyoncé’!... ;o)) We loved the version of “Mercy” by Duffy!

3rd up were ‘Dark Flowers’, playing one of only their first handful of gigs. Their experience from previous York bands showed however as they cruised through a set of well-chosen covers, Jan Atkinson sounding as good as ever. Thought “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones was great .... see what I mean about ‘well-chosen’?

And so to our set, which again just flew by ....thankfully Tom wasn’t put off by our depraved selling out to “The Man” in the form of our new “Richer Sounds” sponsored backdrop quipping “the anarcho-capitalist Big Society poses a development in State form but not a change in the relevance of structuralism” before adding “ooh look, a squirrel!”.

It was without doubt tremendous fun, which I guess is the point. Thanks for your attendance, response, stage-diving and kind comments,...... bring on “Mothership 2012”!!

News –March 5th 2011 MAGNA-IFICENT!

Hello all .... can’t let last night’s gig go by unmentioned, it’s not very often we get to play to 3000+ people in the same room! We were booked to play the ‘Yorkshire Real Ale Festival’ via the online booking form on our website (see? ..... it does work!!) and we all imagined a couple of hundred beard-strokers in a tent. It was quite a surprise to see the real thing ..in its 19th year and for the first time, held at MAGNA Science Park. ‘Downbeat’ was at 8.45 and the room was packed ... over 3000 of the estimated 8000+ at the event on Friday alone! Headlining the main stage was a privilege and the near 2 hour show was over all too soon ...the guys agreed it was an absolutely great night. Thanks to those of you who sat on a bus from York to support us, and to those who served us beer from a bus (the guys at Bombardier) .... really appreciated. Thanks too to Richie for doing the sound, ..... again, much appreciated. Hopefully some pictures of the event will be uploaded from mobile phones and from Sharon’s posh digital camera!.. cheers Shar! To get some idea of scale, you can just make out the Bombardier double decker bus at the back left hand side of the room in some pics!

In other news, the band had an equally enjoyable afternoon in the presence of ‘Les’ at the ‘Boot & Shoe’ in Ackworth ..and some very appreciative music-lovers. A long standing rock venue, it attracts some big names to little Ackworth and we can safely say you won’t be disappointed if you pay them a visit. We’re next there on May 22nd ... can’t wait!

Next up for us is a return to The Ainsty in York (Friday 25th) where Dave and Wendi always make us feel very welcome. Tickets are going fast (£5 from the venue), it would be great to see you there, where we’ll be using our new digital mixing desk and recording the show. All together now .... oooooooooo!!!!!!

The Supermodels

News –Christmas 2010

Another year slips by ... and another eventful one for the band! Highlights included the open air gigs at the (chilly!) Black Bull and the (tropical!) Acomb Sports .... Thanks to the lovely “Waggo” for fronting the band at the latter..... which leads nicely on to the low point of the year – Jon’s throat problems which meant a 3 month layoff ;o((

Thankfully, he’s back on top form as lots of you saw at the ‘Vaults’ on Dec 27th .. thanks to you all for packing the place to the rafters and for sharing what we thought was one of our best performances of the year. New songs introduced (Band on the Run, Up the Junction, Make me Smile (Come up and see me), Somewhere in my Heart, Rocky Mountain Way and R.O.C.K in the USA) along with some rotation of old favourites (The Chain, Go your own way etc.) continue to keep the setlist fresh ... send us a message via the website to let us know what you think! Thanks again to Jem for doing the sound.

Looking forward, the diary for 2011 is taking shape nicely with one or two new venues inserted .. and maybe even a European ‘tour’ !! The ‘Boot and Shoe’ at Ackworth is a longstanding rock venue (Feb 13th ) as is the ‘Sun Inn’ at Norwood (Apr 30th), both of which we are looking forward to. Plans are under way for 2 or 3 gigs in France/Switzerland to take place in August .. watch this space!!

We thank you for your continued support throughout 2010 and take pride in the wide ranging appeal of the band .... youth has no age. We are especially grateful to the many of you who regularly show up and we look forward to seeing you somewhere in 2011 !!

The Supermodels

News –June 2010 “From Acomb to the world !! ...... we’re on YouTube”

First things first... check out the ‘LIVE’ video on ‘YouTube’ of the band performing ‘Who Are You’ at the Askham Bryan College gig on 28/5/10.

After half a dozen gigs or so in May, the band have most of June ‘off’ – largely due to holidays etc.. BUT..... they will be headlining the first (of many?) outdoor live music festival and family fun day at the Acomb Sports Club on Sunday 18th July, from 2 pm. Tickets are just a fiver from the venue with U-14’s FREE .... support from the excellent Nicola Fowler and Sonic Tractor.

Highlights since last ‘News,’ page ...... cracking night at ‘The Sun Inn’ Beverley at the end of April, thanks to those of you in the ‘far east’ for coming along to support us ... the place was packed! Maybe someone could tell us where there are other good ‘gigs’ in the Hull area ...? We all enjoyed the ‘Bright Steels’ in Malton again and then on the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, we headlined the ‘Help for Heroes’ weekend at the Bishopthorpe Social Club. A full house enjoyed support from ‘Sassy’ and a near 2 hour set from the lads ...... with around £1500 going to a really worthy cause. Excellent music from the one and only ‘DJ Marvellous’ before and after .... and thanks to John O’Brien for all of his efforts!

Mike and Maggie welcomed us back at the ‘Vaults’ on the 9th May and then some new tunes were intoduced for the Askham Bryan gig on 28th, which was filmed!! It was a really nice change to play on a big stage and we thoroughly enjoyed it !! On Sunday 30th we rounded off at ‘BullFest’ at the Black Bull on Hull Road. In spite of traditional bank holiday weather, it was another great gig – thanks to the about 150 of you for braving arctic winds and to Jem and the lads from JSS ...the whole gig was recorded ‘LIVE’ and we hope to post some of this on the website shortly. In the meantime, check out Neil’s photo diary, there’s lots of smiling ...... that’ll do for us !!!

Hope to see you at Acomb Sports, it promises to be a belter ...whatever the weather does !! .... And tickets should be on sale at The Ainsty for the upcoming gig on Friday 20th August.

The Supermodels

“It’s JUST LIKE being in Genesis .... !”

March already .. what’s afoot? Mike’s last gig with the sticks went well at the Sun Inn in Beverley (5th Feb) – thanks to those of you who made the trip in wintry conditions ... glad you all got back safe through the snow !! .. and thanks again to Mike for the past 12 months.

Tom returned to hitting the drums at the Bishopthorpe Social Club on 7th Feb and he had obviously not left his ‘mojo’ in Oz .... a packed house enjoying the return of some old favourites (Hold the Line, Turn it on Again, In a Room, Baba O’Riley) along with new tune ‘China Grove’ by the Doobie Brothers. Check out Neil’s photo diary to see if you can see you .....

5 of the band went skiing (get us !!)... and miraculously the only thing broke at the end of the week was ‘Pikey’!.. Straight back off the ferry and Sunday 21st Feb saw the band back at the ‘Vaults’. “Rolf” Stewart soon had the audience “thinking on” and “getting involved !” .. who knows what instrument he pulls out next, after harmonica and acoustic guitar.. maybe a ‘wobble’ board ?.. or a stylophone ??!!... thanks to Mike and Maggie for another cracking afternoon and to all of you who braved still more snow to be there.

Next Friday (12th March) sees the band back at ‘The Terrace’ in the centre of York (Stonebow), entrance is FREE and you can probably get home on the ‘beer scooter’ .. it would be great to see you there!

The following Friday should be a belter !.... at the Acomb WMC. This is a fundraising event for Bishopthorpe Junior Football, tickets are £6, and so you can enjoy good music, cheap beer and support a worthy cause all at once. And play bingo..... I don’t think Jon will be ‘calling the game’....

Talking of worthy causes .... the band are playing a ‘Help for Heroes’ benefit gig on the Sunday of the May Day bank holiday weekend ( ..Monday off work!!...time to recover !!). ‘Sassy’ provide support along with the inimitable ‘DJ Marvellous’ ... what more could you want for a fiver? Well how about ALL PROFITS from the weekend going to ‘Help for Heroes’ ... John O’Brien who’s organising the whole thing is hoping to hand over a cheque for something like £2000, ... wouldn’t that be great?

The quote at the top of the page??.... Pikey (who else?) after we rehearsed ‘Turn it on Again’ for the first time when Tom came back ..... priceless eh? ... well you know how excited he gets..!.. ;o))

The Supermodels

So That Was 2009...

So that was 2009, and the ‘noughties’ are over ! ..... hard to imagine. ‘The Supermodels’ have been gigging for 5 years .... the first gig was at Acomb Sports Club on April 5th 2005 and the next one, which was the first public performance was at ‘Henry J Bean’s’ in York ...... were you there, we wonder? It’s fair to say not many people were!!, but Pike’s ‘Uncle Pete’ definitely was ... tell us if you saw us in those early ‘pre Jon Stewart’ days .....

Jon joined at Christmas ‘05 (Roman Bath) and we became a ‘proper’ band .... where does the time go?

We continue to be very grateful to Mike for hitting the drums for us throughout 2009 in the absence of Tom ‘Spiderman’ Sollitt, who returns to these shores on the first day of 2010 ..... watch this space for developments. A big ‘thanks’ to Neil who maintains the website and takes all those funky pics of the gigs too ..!

Thanks to everyone who has bought tickets to come and see us over the Xmas period and for continuing to support us, it really does mean a lot to us especially when we see the venues ‘packed to the rafters’. We are convinced that there are thousands of fans of good quality live music and York always seems to be well-blessed in spite of often less than ideal venues – not a criticism by the way, we take our hats off to the landlords and ladies who support the local music scene and always make us feel welcome!

We look forward to seeing you again in the ‘teenies’ or whatever they will be called, please spread the word and let us know what you think after the gigs via the ‘Contact’ page on the website ... and remember to check out the ‘Gallery’ page to see if you can see yourself !

Happy New Year

The Supermodels

Monday 31st August 2009 - The Black Bull, Hull Road

A date for your diaries!!

The Supermodels are headlining an outdoor charity festival at the Black Bull , Hull Rd York on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August.

The festival runs from 1-9pm, with a total of six acts appearing including Nicola Fowler, Marc Atkinson, and DSQ. The Supermodels will be on stage at 7pm. Entry is free, yes FREE, and all are welcome including children. Food is available all day, and there will be fund raising activities on the day with all proceeds going to Woodlands MS respite.

Let's see you all there! You never know it might be sunny!


The Supermodels

Sunday 7th June 2009 - The Golden Lion

However, landlady Denise gave the lads a warm welcome, and so "PROJECT: LET'S DO SOME GIGS OUT OF TOWN" began. Things started to improve further when the sound check of 'Won't Get Fooled' was particularly well received by some,.. ahem!... 'older' gentlemen at the end of the bar who had witnessed the real thing back in '64!! 

And so the show began at something just after 7 to a now well-filled room – a mix of locals (some doing their best to put Dave off!) and '‘Models supporters who had made the 16 mile trip (we thank you!) It’s fair to say that the stage area was 'compact', but on the 'plus' side, this did mean that Kev had no need to strain his ears to hear the rest of the band, which obviously made him very very happy. Check out Neil’s photo diary of the gig to see just how happy.... ;-) Highlight of the revamped 1st set was old favourite "In a Room" ... and a fairly small one at that! 

In the 2nd set, 3 new tunes were rolled out (Use Somebody - Kings of Leon, One Day Like This – Elbow and Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac) ... the latter proving especially popular as the locals warmed to the band. Jon was on absolute top form in 'Fix You' and in no time 'Won’t Get Fooled' put the lid on a really enjoyable evening ... and it was still only half nine !!

Thanks again to Denise and The Golden Lion – we're going back for another look in September, when Kev's ears have stopped ringing!

The Supermodels

Monday 4th May 2009 - Kerrraaaannnnggggg!

So where did the Bank Holiday weekend go? .... and where did 3 hours of live music and 'entertainment' at the Bishopthorpe Social club go??... and where did Dave's beloved Fender Stratocaster go in 15 seconds of madness??? ...... thankfully the latter was merely a bluff ('twas only a cheap copy, if any of you hadn't worked that out yet..!) and probably came 2nd to a more convincing bluff ..... was it only me that thought Lee Titchener really was going to stage-dive again ?? ..... not judging by the faces of the 3 front rows as they backed away nervously !!

A packed room was treated to what can only be described as a sparkling performance from support Nicola Fowler. She went through a mix of songs ranging from Cilla Black to Allanah Miles and we think it's fair to say, she had the audience eating out of her hand ... one lively former resident of Monkton Road nearly having to be restrained, such was his enthusiastic response ..... nice one Jon!! Hard to imagine that this was only Nicola's 3rd gig EVER!!... thank you Nicola .. and take another bow!

The Supermodels hit the stage at around 5.15 and played a 90 minute set that soon had the audience out of their seats. Opening with 'new' song "Another Brick in the Wall", the lads settled into their stride - drummer Mike hitting them hard enough for Tom to hear them in Australia and Young Pike becoming increasingly animated behind the keys. Two other 'newcomers' were well received ("Don't Stop Believing" by Journey and "American Girl" by Tom Petty) ... the former dedicated to his Mum by singer Jon who sang it brilliantly .. don't you agree? Other 'new' tunes that featured were "Roxanne" - The Police and "Living on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi (do we only play songs from films????) the latter featuring Dave's latest 'toy', a 'talk box' that makes his guitar (and his fillings) go all funny .. and in a blink of an eye, that was it. Oh I nearly forgot, apart from Dave's demolition of his guitar at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" (is that ironical? ... ) .. check out the 'Gallery' page for Neil's photo diary of the day.

Thanks to 'Team Longhawn' (aka Pike's brothers) for a 'blinding' light show .. we got a 'buzz' off that lads .... and not forgetting the maestro on the decks, "DJ Marvelous", whose choice of pre and post-gig tunes was once again impeccable. Thanks too to John O'Brien and the Bishopthorpe Social Club for their hospitality.

Hope to see you at The Ainsty on Friday 3rd July

The Supermodels

Friday 1st May 2009 - We're Back...

Not long to the 1st gig of 2009 at the Bish Social Club Sunday, the 3rd May. Everyone is looking forward as the ‘downbeat’ gets closer. The setlist is being kept under wraps for this 1st gig back. We wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, now would we?? Big thanks to support act Nicola Fowler for agreeing to open for us.

So what else is new since the last gig (was it really 7 months ago that Tom went to Oz?). Young ‘Pike’ has been playing lots with just about anyone who leaves a bit of room on a stage; you may well have spotted him!! Dave has bought more new gear in his never ending quest for sonic perfection and will be happy to let you know what he thinks of it. Jon has also been performing regularly and will be hoping he stays clear of throat infections this week, given the let’s just say, ‘challenging ‘ nature of some of the ‘new’ songs. Kev has used the break to restore his beloved ‘kettle’ (that’s a classic motorbike if you didn’t know) and has spent lots of time scouring the internet for bits ... well that’s what he tells Sharon he’s looking for anyway ;-) Mick has done very little worthy of mention but was last spotted sporting a beard ... no one knows why ..

With a bit of luck, the new CD should be available at the gig. The 10 tracks were recorded just before Tom left for Australia and you can get your hands on one for only £6!

We should also be able to announce the next live shows very soon, with the band hoping to play outside the city more often than previously, it would be great to see some of you at those !! The next date within York will be announced on Sunday and remember that by signing up to our mailing list, you’ll be first to know when tickets go on sale.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the first show back, it means everything to us to know that you like what we do and it’s fair to say that we could have sold the gig 3 times over! We look forward to seeing you at a gig in the very near future ......

The Supermodels

Friday 1st May 2009 - CD To Be Released 3rd May

The long awaited CD entitled "2009" will be released on 3rd May! 10 Supermodels favourites, only £6!!!

The CD will be available from gigs or contact the band through the website.

Listen to three tracks from the new album here on the sounds page. Click on the artwork for a larger image.

Friday 14th March 2008 - One Night at Acomb WMC, York

You couldn't make up a story line like this if you tried. One Night at Acomb WMC involved skulduggery, special guests (x2), Bingo, equipment failure, trashed guitars, new songs, a snapped G String (ooh err!), a reworking of an anthem, top strength hair dye, a very English queuing system and, oh yes, a two hour non-stop set by The Supermodels. Fantastic!

It all began a long long time ago, well about five weeks ago to be precise, when it was announced that The Supermodels had sold out the huge venue at Acomb WMC! Such was the demand for tickets that there were even alleged forged tickets in circulation. There were no reports of tickets touts or people selling bootleg T-shirts in the car park, but this may just be a matter of time, eh, Pikey?

Non-regulars were confused by the Concert Hall bar serving arrangements. None of this turn up, money in hand, lean on the bar and wait to be served. Oh no. It's the only bar South of Glasgow, that has it own permanent crowd barrier and official queuing system! The only thing it was missing was the young lady calling out "Checkout number 2 please" and you could have been in the local Post Office, if it was still open. If you dared to dive straight in and attempt to get served at the acres of apparently free bar got met with short shrift and sharp elbows by anyone who had already been inducted into the strange ways of the Concert Hall bar. There are indeed rumours that no rules, full hand to hand, combat bingo is played at the venue on Thursday afternoons....

The second surprise of the evening (I had just attempted to buy a pint at this point) was the superbly talented Andy Stones as support. Andy took a break from playing his own wonderful compositions to play some great covers in his own inimitable style. A broken string didn't phase him as Kevin's guitar worked well as a backup. Huge thanks to Andy for agreeing to play. A selection of Andy's own work can found on his MySpace website, take a listen, you will not be disappointed.

So on to the main attraction, and the third surprise of the evening... A two hour non-stop set by The Supermodels. Two hours, non-stop, they must all be mad! It was nearly a set too far, for the equipment anyway. Tom destroyed his brand new snare drum (that'll be going back to the shop then!), Dave's trusty Fender Strat exploded right at the end of the encore as his floating bridge made a bid for freedom and pinged itself free from its mountings. Dave was heard to mutter "Deary me, that appears to be broken" or something along those lines :-) Jon Stewart was on fine form, after an impromptu duet with Andy Stones he snook in two new songs (Jet Airliner-Steve Miller Band and Design for Life-The Manics) into the set. Dave Sykes immortalised Steve Earl's Copperhead Road as a new anthem "Chapel Fields Road". I can only say one word about that; "Priceless"! After a dummy run at The Terrace the other week, Scott made a special appearance with guest vocals on Dodgy's "In a Room". Things nearly took a turn for the worse when Jon mentioned the dreaded "B" word and started Bingo calling, half the audience had their eyes down and dobbers at the ready... Then Jon realised he wasn't at work any more and continued with the task in hand. The lesser spotted stage diver also made an appearance once again but this time there was a 100% success rate on landings; this is a marked improvement in the Crescent WMC gig.

A big thank you to Mick, Ash and Jem from JSS Audio for the PA Hire. The gig was being recorded live and the PA boys worked really hard setting up all the equipment; unfortunately a power glitch upset the new fangled digital recording wizardry and the recording is no more. A sad loss indeed :-(

Saturday 12th January 2008 - Charity Gig, The Crescent WMC, York

Wow, what a gig and huge (no pun intended Mick) success! A complete sell out with people being turned away from 8pm. The back room of the venue was completely rammed.

The event was a charity gig for the Make a Wish Foundation organised by Ray Lund. The band were on top form and delighted the crowd with a first rate performance. Jon was not quite as prepared as he could have been... he had to borrow a belt from a member of the audience to keep his trousers from falling around his ankles mid song! Thankfully the audience was saved from a chance to see his latest tattoo :-) Tom also made history, he went through both sets without breaking a drum stick! This is the man who should have shares in Pro Mark (That's 5A, Japanese Oak (not American Hickory), wooden tip)!

Jon rounded off the performance by diving into the crowd where he was caught by his appreciative fans below. Earlier in the evening Lea had tried to emulate a Rock god and made a big impression with his own stage dive. Unfortunately the impression was mainly in the floor of the venue! No harm was done, well no harm that a quick trip to B & Q couldn't fix. Rock 'n' Roll!

All in all a 100% success with over £1000 being raised for charity. Just remember, to avoid disappointment, buy your tickets for the next gig in good time, they do sell out! Log onto the website for details of forthcoming gigs.

"As Regional manager for the Charity - I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to you all for your wonderful support in helping raise money for the Charity - we really appreciate your support!!!

The money you and Ray raised will go towards granting more magical wishes - from the bottom of my heart
THANK YOU
Francesca Towson: Make a Wish Foundation"