ASBURYJUKES.NET – THREE WEEKS IN JUKESVILLE – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2002 – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30 – BILSTON

The next stop on this seemingly never-ending UK tour was Bilston, on the outskirts of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, the heart of England’s so-called Black Country, a reference to its industrial past. Bilston was once at the centre of the area’s iron and coal trade. Hard physical labour was required to keep the mines, furnaces and foundries at work. In turn, this produced enormous thirsts, which the local workforce inevitably quenched with large quantities of beer. To prove the point, in 1842, there were reportedly 82 taverns and 77 beer shops in the town.

A century later, dramatically illustrating the cycle of economic boom and bust, record unemployment and vast tracts of derelict land were all that remained. Modern-day Bilston is a regenerated commercial and residential area. The Jukes have spent a lot of time in the Black Country in the last two years. “We’ve stayed in Wolverhampton about eight or nine nights and we’ve pretty much seen all that it’s got to offer,” said Southside that night. The town’s central location was no doubt a factor in deciding where to book hotels, but the fact that tour manager Graham Swinnerton (a local native) lives nearby probably had a lot more to do with it. The Jukes were appearing at the Robin R&B Club 2, superior sister venue to the more basic Robin 1 in nearby Brierley Hill, which is due for closure later this year. Situated directly behind the club’s distinctive yellow frontage is a bar dedicated to Noddy Holder, lead singer of seventies hitmakers Slade, whose riotous good-time party music once echoed around the walls of every pub and club in the area.

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ASBURYJUKES.NET – THREE WEEKS IN JUKESVILLE – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2002 – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

FRIDAY OCTOBER 25 – GLASGOW

The Renfrew Ferry once transported passengers and vehicles across the River Clyde between the towns of Yoker and Renfrew. Although the history of the route dates back to the 17th Century, this particular ferry (the last of its kind) was commissioned in 1952 and plied its trade for a total of 32 years before the construction of the nearby Clyde Tunnel and the Kingston Bridge rendered it obsolete.

In 1989, it was moved to a new home at Windmillcroft Quay in the city centre. “Still on the banks of the Clyde,” notes the website, “but permanently moored and enhanced with the construction of a glass and steel atrium, it has been transformed into a multi-purpose entertainment venue. Much of the vessel is unchanged, retaining an historical reminder of the past. Alterations have created kitchens, toilets and bars. The upper passenger decks have been joined at either end, forming a mezzanine floor with an all-round overview of the lower deck. The ferry plays host to a variety of events. Its dual-level construction provides the perfect intimacy for large or small groups. By day, the glass construction filters natural light, creating a refreshing outdoor feel, yet protected from the elements. By night, the combination of subtle lighting and unusual views of the River Clyde create the magical atmosphere.”

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ASBURYJUKES.NET – THREE WEEKS IN JUKESVILLE – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2002 – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

THURSDAY OCTOBER 17 – SHREWSBURY

Built in 1835 and featuring a distinctive pillared frontage, the Buttermarket was originally used to sell dairy products from North Wales and Shropshire (one floor was used as a refrigerator, the other as an auction house), which were then transported to the West Midlands by canal. Following the decline of this early form of freight transport, the building was sold to the railway, became a warehouse and eventually fell into disrepair.

Eventually, following some extensive restoration and improvement work (including the addition of an upper viewing level), it re-opened in the mid-eighties as a combined nightclub and entertainment centre, which now hosts “anything from Salsa lessons to Hard House rave nights.” Gigs are held both in the main hall and downstairs in an amazing red-brick vaulted cellar (similar to Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club), where the BBC reportedly filmed parts of their TV adaptations of Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. Thursdays are reserved for Jazz and Roots Club events, which is where the Jukes and the likes of Big Bill Morganfield (Muddy Waters’ son), who performed the previous week, fit in.

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ASBURYJUKES.NET- THREE WEEKS IN JUKESVILLE – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2002 – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

INTRODUCTION

It hardly seems a year ago that I wrote my last UK tour report, that twelve long months have passed since I sat down at this very keyboard and attempted to transcribe a battered notebook full of fevered jottings, to translate the jumble of on-the-road flashbacks in my head and to somehow blend the results into a coherent, entertaining, chronological Asbury Jukes rock and roll travelogue.

Back then, it was a race against time to produce the finished article before Christmas, but after many late nights and a few long weekends, I came up with the goods.

The end result was premiered on the Southside Digest and then posted on this very site for your retrospective enjoyment. Now, as you all know, the band did it all over again three months ago and not content with equalling the length of last year’s UK tour, they added an extra week, just to make it interesting. So there I was once more, surrounded by a pile of tour memorabilia, rough notes, photos, website printouts, press cuttings and other related paraphernalia, trying to make some sense out of it all. Unfortunately, this time I didn’t make the deadline. Real life kept getting in the way. Santa Claus was coming to town. Chestnuts were roasting on open fires and Rudolph’s nose was growing redder by the minute. Time was short, but the report just kept growing and growing, with no end in sight. By the time New Year’s Eve rolled around, it had already taken longer to write in real time than the tour itself took to elapse…

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ASBURYJUKES.NET – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

OK folks, I left you hanging in mid-air last week after Part One of my Tour Report. Sorry it’s taken so long, but finally, here’s Part Two. So where were we? Glasgow, October 17, about midnight……. The Glasgow show was given a five-star rating in one local newspaper, which commented “even Southside’s pal and mentor Bruce Springsteen would have had trouble living with the best white soul singer in the world in a performance the Ferry is unlikely to have seen bettered.” It was hard to disagree.

Having dragged the band’s equipment back up the gangplank and onto the van, we headed for our hotel, an hour’s drive away from the city, near Gretna Green and the Scottish border. This was the end of the Druids’ daily cycle. By this time of the night, having unloaded, set up, broken down and re-loaded the Hammond organ, Leslie cabinet, drum kit, bass bins and assorted paraphernalia, we were kinda tired. As Paul drove through the darkness, it was all we could do to keep our eyes open. It was undoubtedly exhausting work, but we weren’t complaining for a second. It was all worth it for that sweet moment when we collapsed into fresh, clean sheets at the end of the night and slept like babies.

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ASBURYJUKES.NET – BY MIKE SAUNDERS

Once upon a time, in the famed Garden State, there lived eight merry minstrels called the Asberry Jooks, who decided to tour a distant land across the ocean, accompanied by their old friends Hood the legend, Graham the manager, Paul the driver, Mickey the sound and a couple of Druids. This is the story of their adventures…

Well, here it is at long last, my second UK Tour Report of the year. This is getting to be a habit. A good one! It was a long tour, so this is going to be a long report. In fact, it’s going to come in several parts. Exactly how many I can’t be sure. Maybe two, possibly three. We’ll see. So where was I? Oh yeah, Amsterdam. June 18, to be exact. Outside the Melkweg, watching the band’s tour bus drive off into the night, looking back over a great 10-day club tour and wondering when the next time might be. Back then, there had been talk of a swift return to capitalise on the success of the summer dates. Possibly even as early as September. However, knowing that such plans had an annoying habit of changing before they reached the confirmation stage, I made a mental note not to get too excited just yet. Shortly after that, Bill Durborow posted a message on the website, confirming the band’s intention to return to Europe in the autumn for a much more comprehensive jaunt! The first news of the new tour followed in early August. Expecting there to be less UK shows this time around to allow for more dates on the European mainland, we were amazed to discover that there were, in fact, more! Having been treated to seven UK shows in June, we now had ten others to look forward to. Numerous other dates in Germany and Holland had also been pencilled in, but due to various complications, only the UK dates survived.

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