David Singleton's Diary

Alfresco diarising

‘They seek him here, They seek him there, in Regent Street and Leicester Square’. Or in my case, Vienna, Prague, Pershore, Cambridge and Berlin (which will never rhyme however hard I try), as I flit backwards and forwards between two or three alternative lives. There was no Royal Package in Budapest, so I flew back to the UK to see my lovely wife (wonderful) and spend an intensive day running through DGM and tour accounts with Nicky while double-dating in the next room with Alex as we previewed items for the forthcoming DGM releases. Add a quick dash of a college dinner in Cambridge (a unique event as I was able to attend with my father, my best man and his father), and then land back in planet Crimson for our three shows in Berlin.

I have crept away for a little Alfresco diarising – on the bridge over the river Spree with the Berlin Cathedral in the background (geographical information courtesy of my wife who just analysed the photo from 655 miles away – a perfect snapshot of our strangely connected/disconnected existence).

The college dinners run on a seven-year cycle, so there is a temptation to use them (if you tend to unhealthy self-criticism and introspection) as a “self-review” period. “God! How did they manage to get all that done!? Do these people never sleep!? Am I doing everything I wish?!”  Most of all it’s just a privilege to be in such wonderful surroundings. Totally wasted on all these 18 year old students, who are quite happy with sex, drugs and rock n roll (plus the odd lecture) without the astonishing architecture. 

Not that Prague looks too shabby:

Or the venue :

And then, as Midge Ure says "Oh Vienna!" Although he probably didn't have this photo in mind. A witty art director at the Belvedere used this statue to fill the medieval rooms with smoke to protect the murals - emerging in great wafts from you-know-where, and appealing to puerile diairists.

For the grownups, there are also photos of the concerts: