Ole, John and i were sharing a room in Dublin, Ole arrived earlier than us in the morning, had checked in and was waiting for us at the hotel. Philippe and Bluenose were due in later that evening too. “The Brazilians” were all flying over but i wasn't sure what time.
Ole and i took a cab from Dublin airport to our hotel. I had been telling John for a while just how friendly the Irish people are and how funny they are! the cab driver did not disappoint on the ride in to the hotel, telling us how “feckin” crazy we were for following the shows and telling me i cant have been born in Birmingham for reasons i cant repeat on here! I’m not sure what was funnier the cab driver telling the jokes or watching Johns face when he tried to understand the Irish accent!
Thirty (Tirty, as the Irish would say) minutes later and 20 Euros shorter we were at the Wynns hotel in the centre of Dublin. The weather wasn't great at all, pissing down with rain but that didn't stop Ole, John and i heading out to the temple Bar area of Dublin for something to eat and drink.
We had a drink in a couple of bars and then had a meal in the temple bar area and were back a the hotel for well before midnight.
Day 2.
Bluenose and Philippe arrived around 10am, the five of us headed out for an Irish breakfast, John and i went back to our room to chill out for the morning. John and i were sharing a room in Paris and i still hadn't booked us a hotel, we only had tonight here and then it was off to Paris tomorrow so i spent a couple of hours online researching hotels. Ole, Philippe and Bluenose went off for a look around Dublin, 5 minutes later there's a picture on Facebook of Bluenose drinking a pint of Guinness! guess they didn't get far until nature called!
I was really struggling to find a decent hotel in Paris at a decent price, there's no shortage of hotels in Paris but its like they have all clubbed together and said “ right, we are not going to charge any less than X amount, lets all agree and amount and stick to it” and unfortunately that X amount is not cheap!
The guys had decided to go meet Roger and the band outside the hotel when they left for the venue. The band were leaving at 3ish but Roger sometimes leaves earlier or later so they headed out there at 2ish and sat in a bar for a couple of hours. i went for a wander around Dublin and had a break from hotel searching.
Girls, arse, drink! Must have in Dublin A Norwegian leprechaun! Right colour but he doesn't drink!
After spending another hour online John and i had a hotel room in Paris, the guys had just messaged to say they were on their way back to the hotel in a cab. they had all managed to get their albums, CD’s etc signed by Roger and the band and were all happy faces! Ole got his Animals Vinyl album cover signed to go along with his signed wall album that he has.
Id arranged a pre show meet up at a bar near the venue, we took a taxi to the bar, wasn't far, maybe 10 minutes, but once again the cab driver was a comedian and had us all in fits of laugher all the way to the there.
Maria Helen Greve was at the bar along with her sister and mum and dad whom I’d met before at a few shows, i had a chat with them an then headed in the pub. Bluenose is a die hard Everton supporter and wont even entertain wearing anything red at all! Ole really stitched him up though by secretly pinning a Liverpool Football club pin/dagne on his jacket without him knowing in the bar and all credit to him, he didn't take it off and I'm not sure he has still removed it to this day!
None of us had eaten and most of us had tickets to pick up so we didn't have long at all in the bar.It was a seated venue tonight and everyone was spread around in different places but we were all around the first 5 rows.
The venue looked HUGE from the outside and as i walked in i entered in the rear right at the back on the first level seating area. It looked equally as big from the inside as it did from the outside. it was a strange roof and had like a wave shape all the way around.
View from the back
View from the front
We met a wonderful couple (Dominic and his wife) from New Jersey who had flow in from Mexico for the show! They had just got married in Mexico an this was their honeymoon! They couldn't believe that there were people like Ole, myself, Bluenose etc that followed Roger around the world. Dominic was a big fan and had always said if he had the money and the time he would love to follow Roger around the world, so when he met us guys he really admired what we do.
The weather was just right tonight, there was a slight chill in the air but the rain had stayed away and it did drop dark pretty quick due to it being overcast and cloudy. The crowd were already sounding great before the show had started! you could really feel the atmosphere here tonight and the build up and suspense was really present. I was sat front row slightly to the left, John was sat over to the right, the couple from New Jersey were front row left and Bluenose was 2nd row right behind me. I didn't take many pictures at the show as i really wanted to enjoy the last couple of gigs and not have many distractions, however the pictures that i did take came out really well.
The show itself was another great show, the crowd were fantastic, very vocal and the opening to In The Flesh was probably one of the best I've ever seen, the plane was dead time on the pyros were amazing and just seemed to go on and on and on!
One thing I'd noticed at several of the outdoor shows last year and this was a graphic that comes on each end of the wall during Waiting For The Worms, its only appeared at certain venues and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it at all and the images are only on for no more than a second at the most. There's been some shows where its appeared and id forgotten about it and others where I've waited with my camera and it hasn't appeared at all!! With only two shows left of the tour i waited in anticipation with my camera focused on the left had end of the wall, knowing the exact moment it appears i was ready and waiting for it 30 seconds before hand and sure enough tonight was my lucky night and i clicked immediately as i saw it appear.
The image below is what's show on the left side of the wall, its a huge TRUST US with what looks like some hand writing across the bottom of it.
Not being able to get a picture of the right side at the same time, my friend Martin has kindly sent me the image below.
And both of the images togther
After a little investigation and some help from Martin, the image below is what's on the right side of the wall:
Watch the video below at 1 minute 3 seconds for the projected image from the Paris show
Here's what Martin had to say “I know the poster for this Jane Russell movie is tame by today's standards, but at the time, the focus on her ample bosom got people in a tizzy. The real story behind this controversy is that the film's director, Howard Hughes, was having a bitch of a time getting the movie released, so he stirred up controversy with this poster in order to incite audience interest. But what's the connection with 'The Wall'?” Martin also said “as far as I know, it appeared in Rome, Padova, Sofia, Zürich, London and Paris..”
Anyone any ideas the relationship between it and the wall ? I’d be interested to see what the hand writing on the left said says too if anyone has a good picture of it.
I couldn't help but think that this was the next to last show and in 3 days time the whole tour would come to an end! if tonight's show had been the last one i would have been more than happy, it was a great show and certainly one I'll never forget
Best picture of the Dublin trip goes to this one! John who doesn't drink!
Full album of pictures from Dublin:
