Rod Stewart Tribute by Bob Wyper

ASCOT....   A return to the fabulous Club One in Ascot where a lively crowd was joined by a hen party for another great night.  The hospitality was brilliant as usual as were the customary dance sounds from the disco before and after the show.  Great to be back.

 KILMARNOCK...  the tiniest club around with the friendliest bunch of women ever to invade a dance-floor...  just 75 people in here with tickets sold out at a sensible price and a waiting list for months... they made a profit putting on a show like this when other clubs don't make the effort and lose money putting in cheaper shows... the full house and the decent bar profits, even with the cheaper drink prices, made everyone happy, and the girls all joined in to make it a real fun evening...  see you all next time... special thanks to Jacqui and Sheena for all the effort... and nice to meet the girls visiting from Kay Park again... it's been a long time....

It's been great re-visiting the venues at Inn on the Loch in LANARK and the Auld Carluke Bowling Club with it's low ceilings and friendly faces...  all Rangers fans giving me a hard time because of Rod's soft spot for Celtic... at least it was a friendly rivalry, which is how it should be, unlike a certain club who refused to book the show because their committee is bigoted beyond common decency... never mind... there are plenty of decent folks in Carluke to make up for that.

Up north once again, this time to visit the wild ladies at KINTORE who organised a charity fund-raiser with a great turnout from everyone... tickets sold out in record time of 2hours 30mins... sensational stuff from Joyce, Pat, Elaine and Elizabeth who spearheaded the work of this energetic committee.  Good luck with all the efforts, girls.

Joined up with TINA TURNER performed by SHELLY for a full house at The Glynhill in RENFREW... this pocket dynamo with the huge voice also appeared with Jack Danson's Rod Stewart tribute at the Normandy Hotel in Renfrew, another big venue with great crowds... The Glynhill had lots of enthusiastic dancers and singers in the audience, making it a great night for everyone...  notes taken about sound projection after problems in part of the room caused by the sheer size of the place and slightly awkward pillars at the stage soaking up some of the sound...  we know how to beat that next time though, and hopefully make it an even better night... special thanks to DJ Dave at www.thekilteddj.com who came with us from Kilmarnock and set up the lights for this show, as well as taking some of the photos for our gallery page... sensational lights, sure to be used again in future shows...space permitting of course.

The Hunters Meet, restaurant to the rich and famous down in Hatfield Heath, was host to the great Rod Stewart Party night out on Wednesday as part of the usual tour down south.   Steve the chef broke with years of tradition and made chips for me and Maggie to enjoy... funny thing is, they tasted just like his sauteed potatoes... brilliant.   The food is great and the company is as warm as the hospitality from Brendon and the staff.  If you don't know this restaurant, you should certainly find it... it WILL be a bit of a search, but if you take the Chelmsford Road from Bishops Stortford, it sits right on the main road... enjoy.

Potters Bar of course is the Thursday home of the mini-tours down here... the friendly Meze Taverna Greek Restaurant on the High Street being a second home to Yve and her friends from the Rod Stewart Fan Club and RSC (see links page to Rod Stewart Chronicle and SMILER).   A quiet night with a smaller, though enthusiastic crowd... that's to be expected coming so soon after the Big Weekend organised by Ian Roberts at RSC... it costs a bit to attend these full weekend functions but Ian and the team raise lots of money and awareness for various charities... last week was for Hystiocytosis Research and we wish them all well for coming ventures...  look out also for RSC's brand new website being built over at http://www.rodstewartchronicle.com/ and join in with the fun if you like.  The guys at SMILER will also welcome new fans at http://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/ the other main site for info, news and fun related to Rod.

First ever visit to STENHOUSEMUIR in the heart of Scotland... in fact the first time the show has been in Falkirk area at all, and what a wonderful night from the ultra-friendly folks at a sold-out Burnhead Bowling Club... tiny place with loads of fun and a real treat to bring the show here...  our friend ROY VALENTINE was helping out with lifting the equipment and he also sung a few songs as well... brilliant night and worth every ounce of effort put into the show for this great wee audience... cheers to Margaret on the committee and to Bud (thanks for the chips) and the helpful fireman who gave us a lift back out with all the gear at the end.... sorry I forgot his name... tired out by then.

FRASERBURGH hosted a small but lively audience of Rod Stewart fans who helped us make it into a real party atmosphere... we just need to work at getting more people in to really raise the roof next time.... and special thanks go to the two barmaids who danced all night and kept everyone topped up at the same time... BRILLIANT ... and then on to ELGIN where a large gathering welcomed the first show to the town... enjoyed by everyone... after they got used to all the tables being moved... we re-arranged the place a bit to make it more like Las Vegas but there's a limit to what we can do in half an hour...  great fun in a friendly place.  Then there's Inverurie for a really friendly welcome... it's like being home at all the shows up here... and real Rod Stewart fans who just love the music and join in with all the fun.

Good friends Steve Bishop and Christy Mac who perform the Time of Your Life Show appeared at Ayr Racecourse for a Cancer Research Charity Fundraiser and had a great night in front of a very charitable bunch of partygoers... the bonus was that I was asked to perform a guest spot and enjoyed a half-hour of everyone's applause... very kind, and loads of money raised by Erin and her team for a very worthwhile cause.

On to Townholm Bowling Club in Kilmarnock for a great Easter Sunday event... first time back for a few years and still the same warm welcome that I remember.         A full house with an enthusiastic bunch of Rod Stewart fans in one of my favourite venues.  Once again, special thanks go to Dave 'The Kilted DJ' who went out of his way to supply some nice lights and decoration for the occasion... and even stayed around to take a few photos.   CHEERS Dave, and thanks passed on from the committee for the effort, especially when you were busy enough with your own show later that night.

The Lossiemouth homecoming was sensational, with a raucous crowd at Silver Sands as usual hitting the party mood early on... just as the power safety switch turned off the whole system in the middle of Maggie May... oh well... sorted the connection problem and carried on regardless, thanks to the audience finishing the song for me.  As always, a great night out with everyone enjoying Rod's greatest hits... and a few extra songs for good measure.

 Then it was off to BANFF where I was joined by our good buddy The Kilted DJ... what a difference Dave makes to the presentation of a stage... I bet The Macdonald Brothers and Sandi Thom never had all these lights when they played here...  well done again Dave for making the effort to come up from Kilmarnock for a one-off show.  The audience certainly appreciated it, with everyone joining in the singing from the first number and then dancing all night as well, no matter what the song.  This really was a great night and we all made loads of new friends. Special thanks go to Isla and her friends who worked tirelessly to promote the show... thanks ladies.

The first ever appearance in the City of Aberdeen was another brilliant party night, with the staff and the audience all contributing to a massive party in a sumptuous room at the Thistle Airport Hotel... well done especially to all the guys and girls who served the meals and looked after everyone's drinks.

More shows are planned for the Moray coast and North-east later in the year, and the festive season will include shows in Lossiemouth on Hogmanay, Fraserburgh on New Years Day and Banff on Saturday 2nd January 2010...  I can tell you now that I can't wait... just hoping to avoid last year's 17 degrees below zero, but hey... that's part of the fun.

The STIRLING GARDEN PARTY was a unique occasion when I dropped in to say hello to Jillian... she's getting married to Jason, so the girls got together at a big house out in the country to have a party...  it's amazing how much fun you can have perched on a window ledge...  best wishes to you both and thanks to all the girls for the hospitality.  See more pics on the photos page.

The show at KIRKSHAWS in Coatbridge was another brilliant party night, with the hospitality from the committee second to none and the welcome from the crowd absolutely electric.  Support from Bill Martin and Susan Kerr was much appreciated as Bill warmed up the crowd with old favourites from Elvis, Neil Diamond and Roy Orbison, before Susan rocked the stage with some modern classics from Duffy and Amy Winehouse amongst others.  A great night out for all concerned thanks to a brilliant audience.

While Rod was strutting his stuff down at Home Park in Plymouth, I was preparing for a sell-out show in CROSSHOUSE...  back amongst friends and living it up with a great singalong audience... best we've heard for a while, girls.  The stage just fitted in nicely and the two hour show went really well despite a few reservations at the beginning.  I think the full length concert works well like this when the committee moves things around a little to accommodate what is essentially a very different show for a bowling club.  Special thanks to Alan and Ian for making it all happen, and to George and the girls for keeping the drink flowing so smoothly on such a busy night.   The photo shows that Maggie still has a lot of work to do at this point (over 4 hours before the performance)... lucky I had allowed her extra time to get on with all that hard work, otherwise she would probably need me to help her... perish the thought... then she has to take it all back down again.

Two SELL-OUT shows to happy audiences at DAILLY and CONDORRAT with a show on the luxurious Thomson Cruise Liner CELEBRATION sandwiched in between, saw a busy and tiring week ending with a full day recovering... nice to unwind afterwards.   It was great to meet so many Scots on the ship who made a lot of noise in support of the Rod Stewart songs, and a full theatre of English, Welsh, Irish and many Europeans all enjoying life on the ocean wave showed us all how to have fun together. 

A great party.... just like the two nights on land as the Dailly Christmas fundraising project held their Christmas In July concert with lots of local support. Thanks to all who supported the cause and to Ronnie and all the team who made it possible...

Condorrat too was a brilliant full house party with special guest songstress Stacey Stewart entertaining everyone before the show.  Thanks go to Matt for the effort made in getting the show booked for the first time in the club.

SPECIAL THANKS go to JOSHUA GOW, the Photo Manager on board the M.V.Celebration for his effort in capturing a few photos... see them on the PHOTOS page... thanks also to Kane and Jayne the cruise director and assistant for their hospitality and expertise, to Jon-Marc and Glen for invaluable help on the live sound and lighting, to Robbie who looked after my jacket and had it pressed after it got tangled on the flight over, and to all the crew I met who are the happiest bunch of people ever to work together... if we could all get a bit of that spirit we could solve the country's problems in one go.... maybe even the whole world.  The crew even perform their own show on board and then the resident cast put on lots of really big productions... the Buddy Holly musical was slick and professional... REAL talent at work.     A pleasure to meet you all, guys, and I look forward to coming back for more.

Great to meet showbiz star BERNIE FLINT on board performing his music and comedy show... Bernie is famous for winning Opportunity Knocks 12 weeks in a row, and a really nice guy as well as talented.   Just missed out on seeing KATY SETTERFIELD who won the BBC 'One and Only' show as Dusty Springfield last year.

Back home for a trip to FRASERBURGH which was a treat.... despite all the stairs... and yet another full house of enthusiastic party people. Incredible to find such nights out in all the corners of Scotland we are currently exploring... and nice folks in every venue make the effort well worthwhile... it really is like a second home on the Moray Firth, although this particular corner might be classed as slightly more North Sea judging by the breezes.

A brilliant sold out show at Taylors in KILWINNING...  first time here and what a welcome from staff, friends and visitors alike.   Great to see the girls from the Lauriston enjoying themselves and with a mini-bus from Edinburgh, it was a real mixed crowd... great fun and good to see Helen and Amanda from the Rod Stewart Chronicles out partying... even a message from Yve, out in Los Angeles for Rod Stewart's concert, to say she was thinking of us.   Taylors is a really nice, well-managed venue that gives me a lot of hope for the future as too many places give up and don't make any effort to put on bigger shows.  The staff here deserve great praise for a positive-thinking establishment that makes it a pleasure to go out again... AND THE FOOD IS GREAT... what a bonus.  Well done Sandra and Kenny and all the staff behind the scenes.... great banner on the front of the building as well.  No photos to show you at the moment but hopefully some of the girls seen taking lots of pictures will send them in to the e-mail at the bottom of the page.

Great to meet the girls at GOLSPIE for the annual night out... nice that the guys give them a whole night off to enjoy themselves... and they really do.  Hospitality was also wonderful and thanks to Geordie for the night's lodgings in a beautiful part of the world with great people... I recommend it to anyone looking to unwind...  it's BLAR MHOR B+B on 01408 633609 for anyone interested.  Then on to ABERDEEN for two shows where once again the folks really enjoyed themselves.  We just seem to be meeting more and more people who are Rod Stewart fans all over the country.

Back to MAUCHLINE at the famous supporters club where a disappointingly small audience still turned up the noise and had a bit of fun with Rod songs and some dancing to tunes by The Kilted DJ.   Just needed more people to come and join us to make it a better night out for everyone... the ones who were there certainly experienced a beautiful stage built once again by DJ DAVIE... ah well... maybe next time.

Off to LONDON HEATHROW and over to the SHERATON before being driven out for the show at the stunning Stoke Park Golf Club, the famous location for the James Bond film, GOLDFINGER.    Enjoyed the company of OPERA virtuoso Andy Morton and BILLY CONNOLLY tribute artiste Bob Lucas before performing an extended set of Rod Stewart classics for a wonderfully receptive audience... even the posher side of the room was able let their hair down singing Maggie May second time around...  great to meet you all at Raymond's big bash.... hope to see you all again soon.

The WINDSOR HOTEL in NAIRN hosted a great tribute night with a full house for the first visit to the town.  The local folks all enjoyed their night out.   Good food of course, and the staff were brilliant, playing their part in making this a really great launch party for the new venue in town.

On to LOSSIEMOUTH where staff at The Silver Sands have not had their troubles to seek recently...    A great night as usual for the Rod Stewart Tribute with a very healthy number of fans making the effort to support the evening despite the terrible weather in the area over the last day or two... yet another great party night.

BMC Club in EDINBURGH was a real diamond surprise...  probably for the audience as well as me... I decided to perform the full show, and so a 2 hour 30 minutes performance brought the full house to its feet.   We were all exhausted from singing and dancing to all the great Rod Stewart songs but when you consider the average age in the room was in the seventies or eighties, as well as most of the music coming from that era, I'm just surprised there were no casualties.   Instead, just loads of new friends who made Maggie and I feel welcome.  All the effort to build an extra stage with full backdrops and lighting... up a flight of stairs, I might add... well it all paid off as everyone appreciated and enjoyed the show. That's thanks enough for me.

Back to earth with a bump as a hastily arranged show at The Holiday Inn in WESTHILLS almost came a cropper.  Joining Shona McVey in her new Tina Turner tribute show to supply the Rod Stewart part of a double-header, the show got off to a bad start as the management at the hotel have different manners and different priorities to the professionals I normally deal with.  The end result was that all the extra staging, backdrops and lights which I usually put up were back in the van before the show started.  It went from bad to worse when one of my brand new speakers cut out with a burning smell coming from the cover, but the good old Bose system saved the day to let me finish the show to an enthusiastic and receptive audience.  

The Glynhill Hotel in RENFREW packed in a great audience and the free hand I am given by the management here meant that the stage and lighting were spectacular... I even had time to build everything properly as there were no afternoon conferences to clear out of the same room.  This great feeling carried on to the show to give me one of the most memorable evenings I have had as a Rod Stewart Tribute artiste, with a show of over 2 hours to one of the best audiences ever... the sound was also fantastic, thanks to a couple of borrowed speakers to add to mine.    This took the pressure off the reduced set-up after last night's breakdown, and produced such a high-quality sound that I now need to add LOGIC Sub-BASS to the list of equipment.

United Services Club in ABERDEEN has to be one of the low points of the year.  Some clubs still have bingo as the priority which is a bugbear for every modern act, but the extremes of this club make it even more difficult to perform with a smile...  anyway, let's put that behind us and move on.

A great night out at ABOYNE with an enthusiastic audience, some of them coming by mini-bus from Alford which is quite a trek.  The committee here are gentlemen, and they have a great venue which could flourish with a little more local support.   It was a pleasure to play here and hopefully can be included in the dates for next year.

Off to Hunters Meet in HATFIELD HEATH for the mini-tour.  As usual it was great to play to an enthusiastic audience in this 'Restaurant To The Rich And Famous' and despite Rod Stewart being seen locally in his Ferrari, he never turned up for a meal.  Nearest we got was seeing fellow tribute artist Garry Pease performing the night before.  He was booked for a private function and it was great to watch his show for the first time...  Garry really has the look with a typical Rod haircut of about 20 years ago... mine is more like Rod's haircut today.

Then off to meet Yve and the gang from the Rod Stewart fanclubs at Meze Taverna in POTTERS BAR.  Another night of close-up and personal tunes with Sue, Liz, Nikki, Jayne, Jac, Mo, and countless others including our new friends at the LOUD table who make up the great atmosphere for Bob and Jimmy who run the restaurant.  Sorry Lynda-Louise was ill... see you next time and hope you are feeling better.

Heading up to DONCASTER where Allen and Ruth from the Rod Stewart fanclub were our guests of honour at Wheatley Golf Club.  Maggie and I built a full stage for this show and it was really worthwhile as the room looked amazing.  A fabulous crowd partied through all Rod's greatest hits and we all headed for home much happier from singing, dancing and meeting lots of new friends. 

Back up north to GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY where a small but very receptive audience made a great party go with a swing.   People had travelled from all over Scotland to stay over and enjoy the show and they certainly got in the mood, singing and dancing to everything from start to finish... special mention to the brilliant staff in this venue who really look after everyone with a smile... the way it should be.

Over the sea to DUNOON for a busy night at The Esplanade...  OK it was upstairs in the lift, then down a few steps and back up again with ALL the equipment... still WHAT A PARTY with folks from all over Scotland once again joining in the fun.  Great staff as well with everyone working to make guests enjoy their stay.  Brilliant.

At home with a local show in SYMINGTON at the bowling club...  A complete sell-out and a great night for this friendly wee club.  Some of the family even made it along and everyone agreed it was a party to remember...  seem to be having a few of these lately...  then headed off into the night to get a head start for tomorrow's show.

BENFLEET in Essex is where Billy decided to have his 40th birthday party, and the busy pub hosted all the locals as well as Billy and Claire's friends... another big party night and then the long trek home.  At least Billy got to support his local team next day... Spurs knocked in NINE goals for him to celebrate.  Nice one Billy.

The village hall in KEMNAY was another full house of Rod Stewart fans... and WHAT A PARTY.   A great night hosted by the local boys football team and everyone made us feel at home as we danced and sang all Rod's hits, old and new, in a full two hours and thirty minutes show.  Great to perform the new SOULBOOK numbers and see everyone up dancing to them.

The Club in BROXBURN, as I have said previously, is a great room to play in, and the full house loved the Rod Stewart part of the show.  A strange evening though, with the surprise of a 'support' act in the form of Meat Laaf, doing his own version of Meat Loaf songs which might suit some other audience in another venue... just maybe not this one... or the one the night before, apparently.

Royal British Legion Club in JEDBURGH turned out well after a nightmare of foggy roads and huge stairs to the top floor.  This is a great room to play and the audience are really friendly and like a good party.   It should be a full house next time the show appears here as the enthusiasm of the crowd is really great.  Thanks to all who helped lift the equipment up the stairs and make it a good night out.

Forbes of Kingennie near DUNDEE is a delight, with the possible exception of those few tricky stairs as you lift everything into this fabulous room.  Staff are brilliant as well, making everyone feel comfortable and serving up some great food.  The party atmosphere is great and the crowd is always bouncing here.  Wishing Brian all the best as he moves on... you are a gentleman and it has been a pleasure working with you.  Nice to meet Vicky too, and hope to meet up more often next year. Special thanks to Libby for the photos.

The visit to HUNTLY was exciting, with  heavy snow forecast and a booking the following night in the central belt.   What a warm welcome, though, from David and all the staff.  Another great room to play in and a good party night for a room full of Rod Stewart fans.  The SOULBOOK songs are really going down well at the party night.  

Next morning and setting off for WHITBURN in a blizzard.   Two hours later and we are just leaving Aberdeen, still with most of the journey to go.   Finally made it to the HILLCROFT where we had to set up an unusual speaker arrangement for a floor show as the DJ normally uses the full stage.   Worked out fine as it was a great sound in the room and a party night where everyone flooded on to the dancefloor... of course, that's where I was singing at the time, so I had to move around a lot.   Great party and the hospitality of the staff made the effort more than worthwhile.   Just hope we can put on the full stage show for some Rod Stewart fans here sometime, as this is another brilliant room to play in.