One Era Comes To An End

As you drive south down the M11 and after the M25 junction, the skyline of the City and Canary Wharf suddenly appears and you know London is not far now. Then it’s the confusion of roads and roadworks and navigating towards the destination. North London was home for Ray for some twenty four years. Back then there were more lorries which are now banned but there is still a lot of traffic.

The Barbican is a brilliant concert hall with excellent sound and good viewing for both the audience and for the band who could see and feel the warmth of the audience in the vast stalls, circle and upper circle. However, it’s not easy to find your way in to unload, especially when the lift is broken, and more than a little confusing to find your way around once inside. There are some 800 staff working shifts and one I spoke to, who has worked there for nine years, confessed to still finding him self in the wrong place at times.

With a capacity 1,943, the Barbican show was sold out some time ago. It was the biggest and in many ways the best show on the tour. Old friends came together to see the band and to meet each other again. It was an emotional evening.

Next it was on to Canterbury, where the Oysterband began, as the Whitstable Oyster Company Ceilidh Band, many years ago. This show was in the Great Hall of Kent College and predictably was sold out. The music flowed with one of the best live performances of Love Will Tear Us Apart that I have seen. And then Put Out The Lights ended the tour but not Oysterband in Canterbury as Ian announced that they will be back for a one-off show at the Gulbenkian in May 2025.

So, this was the final appearance of Chopper with Oysterband and now, after saying Au Revoir to everyone, we head to Forest Folk outside Portsmouth for the first of six solo gigs for Ray over seven days.