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Post by Vadiation_Ribe on Jun 15, 2024 19:36:20 GMT
I was in Scotland for a few weeks and in the Highlands caught:
Budapest Cafe Orchestra - mostly covers of Balkan and Russian folk music. A couple of highlights that were slower songs - I expected more charisma on the upbeat tunes.
Glasgow:
Girls Aloud - I was disappointed there was no support band or live band for Girls Aloud. And even more disappointed that I'd turned down a standing ticket when I saw the standing area was a small cordoned off area that was actually part of the stage! The stageshow was better than Elton John's on his farewell tour, so I feel I really missed out on being close. Despite all those disappointments, I enjoyed the gig and it flew by. "Call the Shots" was my highlight.
Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer - 1hr15 for a support act was brilliant and seeing Weezer made it worthwhile given I got a bit bored of Smashing Pumpkins after a couple of highlights mid-set.
I was very impressed with the Hydro as arenas go. Good views given the bowl shape of it, good sound for all bands I saw, and a quick exit both nights. If it was a nearby arena, I'd go to a lot more arena gigs.
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Post by ChesterStokie on Jun 15, 2024 22:06:29 GMT
Girls Aloud - I was disappointed there was no support band or live band So you think Girls Aloud were singing over a pre-recorded backing track? A music concert with no musicians?
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Post by Vadiation_Ribe on Jun 16, 2024 6:59:06 GMT
Girls Aloud - I was disappointed there was no support band or live band So you think Girls Aloud were singing over a pre-recorded backing track? A music concert with no musicians? They sang live, just to backing tracks. I only went because I'd seen they'd had a live band on previous tours, but I suppose I enjoyed it in the end. With no support band, it seemed like cost-cutting, but the stage show was lavish enough.
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Post by LL Cool Dave on Jun 16, 2024 7:09:45 GMT
So you think Girls Aloud were singing over a pre-recorded backing track? A music concert with no musicians? They sang live, just to backing tracks. I only went because I'd seen they'd had a live band on previous tours, but I suppose I enjoyed it in the end. With no support band, it seemed like cost-cutting, but the stage show was lavish enough. I could be mistaken but I'm sure they played to a live band in Manchester, but they were hidden away.
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Post by cdf on Jun 16, 2024 7:55:25 GMT
Foo Fighters in Manchester last night. They were awesome per usual and with a 3 hour set.
Currently on an England supporters coach somewhere between Eindhoven & Gelsenkirchen
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Post by Vadiation_Ribe on Jun 16, 2024 11:09:46 GMT
They sang live, just to backing tracks. I only went because I'd seen they'd had a live band on previous tours, but I suppose I enjoyed it in the end. With no support band, it seemed like cost-cutting, but the stage show was lavish enough. I could be mistaken but I'm sure they played to a live band in Manchester, but they were hidden away. I googled for a review and found this written about Manchester: "But the other issue is seemingly more glaringly avoidable. It’s never 100% clear as the big screens always hide the backstage area, but as the show goes on it becomes more and more apparent that there doesn’t appear to be any live band as opposed to them entirely using backing tracks. I could be wrong on this – frequently pop acts do tend to have supporting musicians behind the scenes but they always tend to give them at least a moment in the spotlight and a shout-out towards the end. Nothing of the sort happens and as such, it does raise suspicions. Their previous arena shows pre-2013 very pointedly involved a full live band and not only did it make it more authentic, it significantly added to the quality of the overall spectacle and performance..." louderthanwar.com/girls-aloud-ao-arena-manchester-live-review/This Glasgow review says "Missing, however, was a live band, unlike previous tours, with a backing tape having to do and that meant the sounded lacked a little energy at times..." theartsdesk.com/new-music/girls-aloud-ovo-hydro-glasgow-review-pop-queens-return-poignant-hit-paradeSo who knows - I'd assume it'd be the same for the whole tour. It sounded too crisp for there to be a live band to me - I think Love Machine would've sounded a lot more edgy for example and despite being one of my favourites was a bit of a disappointment on the night.
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Post by ChesterStokie on Jun 16, 2024 13:50:04 GMT
Mmm. Not for me but I guess 95% or more of the audience at Girls Aloud didn’t give a moment’s thought to there not being a live band.
I went to Abba Voyage a few months back and ironically one of things I loved about it was that there was most definitely a live band and the fact that they were playing slightly different arrangements to the records elevated the whole experience and really highlighted the magnificence of many of the songs.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jun 17, 2024 7:57:44 GMT
Pink on saturday at Spurs stadium.
It's was a xmas present for my lady. I only went to have a look at the magnificent stadium, and magnificent it was as well, apart from the endless flights of stairs to get to level 5 in the side stand. You'd think for a billion quid there would be an escalator or two unless I missed it. The concourses were exceptional and the view was epic, but it would have been nice to have a rail for safety as the stand was particularly steep in the top tier.
By the end I have to admit Pink put on an amazing show even though I only knew 5 songs and one of those was a cover of 4 non blondes.
Her skills at singing while flying thru the air on wires and other equipment was amazing.
At least I'm in good books for this month now 😊😊
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Post by LL Cool Dave on Jun 17, 2024 10:20:54 GMT
Gary Numan last night at O2 institute Birmingham. Played his first 2 albums , replicas and pleaure principle. Definitely for the hardened fan base. A mix of synth stuff with some heavy guitar stuff which was very good. Sounded epic though, but the venue, which i had never been to before, was absolutely wank. Standing to the right of the stage meant you couldnt see anything as for some of the set he was towards the rear of the stage playing keyboard. Think my biggest concern was that the place was uncomfortably full, to the point fire exits were opened to let some welcome air in. Definitely felt like a venue where people exceed capacity. Im sure we have better derelict buildings in stoke than that. Anyway to sum up, music excellent, venue abysmal, beers decent. Next up Pink at Spurs Stadium (my ladies xmas present), wish me luck. Me and my lad went too, a must go for the Numan fans especially if you are familiar with his first couple of albums, agree about the venue, I suppose that they were allowing pay on the door didn't help, I wasn't too impressed with him not having any support acts either and only the one encore consisting of 2 songs. He did sound good though. "The The" is next gig I have planned although I might nip over to Cannock Chase to watch Johnny Marr on the 28th June. Gouranga. Cheap(ish) tickets here... www.travelzoo.com/uk/entertainment/midlands/-25-The-Charlatans-Johnny-Marr-live-in-Cannock-Chase-3098884/
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Post by AlbertTatlock on Jun 17, 2024 21:29:46 GMT
Me and my lad went too, a must go for the Numan fans especially if you are familiar with his first couple of albums, agree about the venue, I suppose that they were allowing pay on the door didn't help, I wasn't too impressed with him not having any support acts either and only the one encore consisting of 2 songs. He did sound good though. "The The" is next gig I have planned although I might nip over to Cannock Chase to watch Johnny Marr on the 28th June. Gouranga. Cheap(ish) tickets here... www.travelzoo.com/uk/entertainment/midlands/-25-The-Charlatans-Johnny-Marr-live-in-Cannock-Chase-3098884/Cheers, I've got 2 now Gouranga.
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domjon
Academy Starlet
Posts: 145
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Post by domjon on Jun 19, 2024 13:07:25 GMT
The Reds, Pinks and Purples @ night and day last night. An hour of glorious jangly fog pop from San Francisco's finest. Grinning from ear to ear for the entire duration. So good I might pop up the brudenell for the last gig of the tour tomorrow.
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Post by tommycarlsberg on Jun 19, 2024 14:02:00 GMT
Saw Faithless last Friday at Camden Roundhouse. I think it’s one of the best venues in the country.
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Post by elystokie on Jun 19, 2024 15:16:15 GMT
Saw Faithless last Friday at Camden Roundhouse. I think it’s one of the best venues in the country. Some great pubs around Camden too 👍 My only beef is with the rail companies, last train to Stafford (never mind Stoke!) is 22:00 which doesn't give you time to confidently stay until the end of most gigs, trains from Manchester are much the same 😡 The train to Kings Lynn from London at 23:07 was pretty packed, doesn't take that much longer to get to Stafford. Do love Camden tho 🙂
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Jun 19, 2024 15:28:17 GMT
The Reds, Pinks and Purples @ night and day last night. An hour of glorious jangly fog pop from San Francisco's finest. Grinning from ear to ear for the entire duration. So good I might pop up the brudenell for the last gig of the tour tomorrow. Bollocks, completely forgot! They played Bristol recently and I was going to go!!!! Just checked they're playing Bristol Friday and then Totnes Saturday!!!!! BTW, are you doing EOTR this year?
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domjon
Academy Starlet
Posts: 145
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Post by domjon on Jun 19, 2024 16:59:02 GMT
The Reds, Pinks and Purples @ night and day last night. An hour of glorious jangly fog pop from San Francisco's finest. Grinning from ear to ear for the entire duration. So good I might pop up the brudenell for the last gig of the tour tomorrow. Bollocks, completely forgot! They played Bristol recently and I was going to go!!!! Just checked they're playing Bristol Friday and then Totnes Saturday!!!!! BTW, are you doing EOTR this year? Definitely worth catching them if you can! Yeah we're off to EOTR again... haven't done much in depth research yet there's at least 20 established names on my must see list this year, cracking line up even before doing the usual digging. Actually interested in all the headliners (bar idles) for once. Was really hoping Amen Dunes and Reds, Pinks and Purples would show up but can't really grumble, best line up for years for me.
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Jun 19, 2024 21:21:08 GMT
Bollocks, completely forgot! They played Bristol recently and I was going to go!!!! Just checked they're playing Bristol Friday and then Totnes Saturday!!!!! BTW, are you doing EOTR this year? Definitely worth catching them if you can! Yeah we're off to EOTR again... haven't done much in depth research yet there's at least 20 established names on my must see list this year, cracking line up even before doing the usual digging. Actually interested in all the headliners (bar idles) for once. Was really hoping Amen Dunes and Reds, Pinks and Purples would show up but can't really grumble, best line up for years for me. Not massively loving the line up and like you won’t be seeing Idles. But there’s good stuff to keep me and mine occupied. We may even be stood next to each other watching The Lemon Twigs without even knowing it 😉
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Post by mtrstudent on Jun 21, 2024 4:16:33 GMT
We're going to Tuska festival, but I think I fucked up when planning. If England finish first then the match clashes with Opeth, if second then Bring me the Horizon. The BMTH lads must have assumed we'd smash the group when they were negotiating times.
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Post by cdf on Jun 21, 2024 4:41:37 GMT
Just on a ferry back from Calais after being at the England match last night but when I land back I will be going to see Ocean Colour Scene on the Waterfront in Liverpool tonight with support from Cast, Embrace, The View and Republica
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Jun 21, 2024 5:57:19 GMT
Just on a ferry back from Calais after being at the England match last night but when I land back I will be going to see Ocean Colour Scene on the Waterfront in Liverpool tonight with support from Cast, Embrace, The View and Republica Do you ever go to sleep and are you rich?🤣
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Post by cdf on Jun 21, 2024 6:53:51 GMT
Just on a ferry back from Calais after being at the England match last night but when I land back I will be going to see Ocean Colour Scene on the Waterfront in Liverpool tonight with support from Cast, Embrace, The View and Republica Do you ever go to sleep and are you rich?🤣 To be honest, I am knackered and hopefully I can get through later. I’m also in the very privileged position that I get guest listed for any gigs I go too
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Jun 21, 2024 7:08:40 GMT
Do you ever go to sleep and are you rich?🤣 To be honest, I am knackered and hopefully I can get through later. I’m also in the very privileged position that I get guest listed for any gigs I go too Are you a socialite?😉
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Post by telfordstoke on Jun 22, 2024 12:01:20 GMT
Outstanding day at Wembley on Friday for first night of Taylor Swifts London shows. Downpours and lower temps that had plagued the Scottish and Liverpool shows were long gone so a frankly bloody warm day. Took my 2 girls and a friend and we decided to make a day of it as were in General Admission on pitch and wanted to be there in good time so in London for 1130, had some lunch and to Wembley for 1245. Amusingly there was a coach load of Ascot ladies prancing round Oxford services and we rocked up with enough sequins and bling you could see us from space and walked through to the loos and girls had that many comments on looking amazing and the horsey girls just got ignored😅Made me laugh anyway.
The bells and whistles of a Swiftie crowd were really nice, talked to loads of people in queue ,a great atmosphere, not an arsehole in sight really, and the girls having made hundreds of the mythical friendship bracelets ,spent time swapping with other fans and thoroughly enjoyed. Merch was £40 a t-shirt which wasn't awful for a show of this magnitude and they physically turned a car park there into a merchandise village , which meant queues flowed well . Big criticism of Wembley was stewarding outside esp of the General Admission queue was utter shite, probably a mile plus of people sat on filthy pavements backing up onto local businesses,considering the concourse area capacity IMO they could have done way better managing that than they did.
Got in about 430 and a decent spot on pitch, two supports, Mette who wasn't my cuppa but kids knew,, just her and dancers and perfectly fine if you like modern pop.. Then Paramore who I've been ambivalent about in past but we're absolutely superb, Hayley can hold a crowd and a good mix of rockier material and pop stuff. A great band too so I'll be watching them again hopefully.
Taylor came on at 720 and I dont do specific spoilers so won't mention much by way of songs.. Super intro and staging and some real wow moments and utilising every part of stage and gantry to reach the enormous crowd. TS is a very engaging performer , sings plays instruments and dances amazingly and made it intimate considering the 88k.crowd, quite the art. She's quite the muso geek still, infectiously enthusiastic especially when doing the solo and very intimate surprise songs where she mashes up multiple tunes that she thinks work together , firstly on guitar then piano. Was brilliant if over my head as ones she chose were not overly familiar to me😄.
When she does 22,there's a relatively well publicised part where her team pick a kid (usually )from crowd and TS gives her a hug and the hat she's wearing and it's genuinely a lovely moment to watch, a very human interaction. Sadly (and I did ask my chances) but a 54 year old bloke wasn't going to be selected for the hug and the hat sadly. I now have a restraining order though,which is nice 😇
She was generous in praise for Mette and Paramore and fair play for doing so.
If I have a criticism it's a churlish one and one that nobody else there would endorse, I suspect. At 3 hours 20 minutes it's overlong and by that I clarify I felt the Eras pacing let it down slightly , as there's distinct themes with the staging and (amazing) outfits but to me she left an album til the end after the surprise show part and it kind of didn't have songs that I personally felt were the absolute bangers in her catalogue. And she'd used a lot of the massive pop tunes way earlier. So a bit of a damp squib ending for me. You won't hear this often but if she was more like The Cure live, they do monster length shows and Fat Bob throws a sprinkle of big pop tunes in early on as a taster, then there's a couple of hours of deep dark immersion in Cure back catalogue deep cuts,and the reward is a 10-song ish encore of utter bangers. That said, she plays a lot of shows, this was completely made personal and unique and there's not a hint of phoning it in even 100+ shows into the tour. I don't doubt tonight and Sunday will be made equally as personal and unique for those there. Mentioned before on here seeing Floyd on their 1994 residency at Earls Court and them being clearly bored as fuck after a long tour and in middle of multi-night run in same venue and the polar opposite was true of TS, made the show special and unique and kids have already declared it best day ever .
Considering my wide ranging tastes it right up there with some of most impressive and best shows I've ever seen. Sound was amazing ,staging impeccable and to counter the inevitable "torch on mobile" thing they issued everyone with a light up wristband programmed do flash in time and specific colours to songs .Low ish tech, I'm sure, but worked a treat and a free branded souvenir too. Without doing spoilers the visuals and moving sets were stunning , really clever and had a wow factor. Modular staging ,rising falling aspects to it and floating stage. And we saw her up close and personal as well got fairly close to stage although we by necessity had to split with the eldest and her friend as about 90mins in my 13 year old started showing heat exhaustion, temps were creeping up by increment and I thought move her back before we hit crisis point so we did and rehydrated and just stood a bit further back and danced. Another feather in TS cap, she was spotting signs of distress in crowd a few times and physically stopping songs to call for assistance (eg "someone needs help my corner of B stage") and fair play to her for that.
She has a hell of a band and apparently most been with her forever. When I said made it intimate , the folkier stuff was lovely as she'd tell stories and the band would kick in spontaneously and they're clearly a well oiled unit, plus they fill the costume change gaps with aplomb.Couple of killer guitarists tooz always a winner for me!The choreography was also second to none,one really clever almost slapstick routine between songs that was simply a joy to behold .
On way back the social media updates all lead with oh Prince William, Starmer, some currently popular woman from Bridgerton were there and I'm glad we didn't see that earlier as may have distracted girls from just enjoying an incredible evenings entertainment. Swiftie was phenomenal actually .
Usual shitshow getting back to Tube ,having been separated the eldest and mate were 70mins behind us but fortunately some deep fried chicken and chips sustained us before trying to stay awake up the godawful M40. Another conversation for another day but why is fried chicken always better in London, relic of my youth perhaps .
But for the virtually 12-month wait from buying tickets and attending, it was worth every £ spent and minute waiting as a consummate show and bar the length of set issue I mentioned, I'd gladly watch her again.
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Post by crowey on Jun 22, 2024 12:23:30 GMT
…. I will preface this with the less said about Taylor Swift the better.
Anyway, on to more pleasant things. The Terrys at The Tanks, Cairns. Excellent. Small crowd really. Good night.
Bumped into the Cooper brothers (drums and bass) on the way back to our hotel. Good chat about living in a small rural coastal town in Oz. Creates independent resilient people
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Post by ChesterStokie on Jun 22, 2024 17:10:29 GMT
Really excellent Taylor Swift review there telford, thanks for that.
I took my children to see her on each of her first 4 UK tours before they were old enough to go on their own (including one where we fluked last minute tickets in the VIP pit right by the stage at the O2). Pretty much every word of your review rings true with me.
I’ve been to many 100s of concerts over the years and although she is not really my thing musically her skills as a performer and ability to engage with an audience really are second to none.
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Post by telfordstoke on Jun 22, 2024 19:19:08 GMT
Really excellent Taylor Swift review there telford, thanks for that. I took my children to see her on each of her first 4 UK tours before they were old enough to go on their own (including one where we fluked last minute tickets in the VIP pit right by the stage at the O2). Pretty much every word of your review rings true with me. I’ve been to many 100s of concerts over the years and although she is not really my thing musically her skills as a performer and ability to engage with an audience really are second to none. Cheers Chester , for someone that likes so many different genres and bands I was both surprised and more than delighted with how satisfying her show was, a damn good night out ! Was going to Charlatans and Johnny Marr this Friday on Cannock Chase but haven't booked and now playing payback seeing as I went Swiftie and the Mrs didn't so I'm taxi driver for her on the 28th instead. Never seen Charlatans but would like to, Marr always exemplary
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Post by vamborools on Jun 22, 2024 20:19:37 GMT
We're going to Tuska festival, but I think I fucked up when planning. If England finish first then the match clashes with Opeth, if second then Bring me the Horizon. The BMTH lads must have assumed we'd smash the group when they were negotiating times. Just clicked on that link and can honestly say I've never heard of a fucking single one of them bands !! 🤭
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Post by LL Cool Dave on Jun 22, 2024 23:20:02 GMT
Grace Jones at Piece Hall, Halifax.
Outstanding to be doing all that she does on stage at 76 (including hula hooping for over 10 minutes) Really great gig, with a top drawer backing band. Highlight along with the bigguns (Slave to the Rythm, Pull up to the bumper etc) was Williams Blood, one of her later ones. Powerhouse of a performance.
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Post by RF10 on Jun 23, 2024 7:14:07 GMT
Just on a ferry back from Calais after being at the England match last night but when I land back I will be going to see Ocean Colour Scene on the Waterfront in Liverpool tonight with support from Cast, Embrace, The View and Republica Was a great Gig. Did you enjoy? I thought Embrace and Cast were excellent. OCS were a bit hit a miss at times but they were one my favourite bands so still loved it. £6 for can on San Miguel though!
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Post by cdf on Jun 23, 2024 10:14:10 GMT
Just on a ferry back from Calais after being at the England match last night but when I land back I will be going to see Ocean Colour Scene on the Waterfront in Liverpool tonight with support from Cast, Embrace, The View and Republica Was a great Gig. Did you enjoy? I thought Embrace and Cast were excellent. OCS were a bit hit a miss at times but they were one my favourite bands so still loved it. £6 for can on San Miguel though! I agree a 100% with you. I loved it all. Embrace are awesome and I think a shorter set suits them because it allows them to get all the hits out instead of being wishy washy. CAST were awesome. Did you see Skin having some kind of agro episode a couple of songs in? I have seen Ocean Colour Scene a number of times of the past few weeks, so, I kind of switch off when it comes to their set only to be awoken with the last couple of songs they do, 100 mile high city and the day we caught the train. I watched some of the sets from a balcony on the Liver bird building and the noise made for OCS was ridiculous. Great setting for a concert though with 6,000 people in attendance
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Post by crowey on Jun 23, 2024 11:48:20 GMT
Really excellent Taylor Swift review there telford, thanks for that. I took my children to see her on each of her first 4 UK tours before they were old enough to go on their own (including one where we fluked last minute tickets in the VIP pit right by the stage at the O2). Pretty much every word of your review rings true with me. I’ve been to many 100s of concerts over the years and although she is not really my thing musically her skills as a performer and ability to engage with an audience really are second to none. Cheers Chester , for someone that likes so many different genres and bands I was both surprised and more than delighted with how satisfying her show was, a damn good night out ! Was going to Charlatans and Johnny Marr this Friday on Cannock Chase but haven't booked and now playing payback seeing as I went Swiftie and the Mrs didn't so I'm taxi driver for her on the 28th instead. Never seen Charlatans but would like to, Marr always exemplary … saw The Charlatans at The Triffid in Brisbane a few years ago. Very nostalgic as I never managed to see them “back in the day” as I moved to Oz in late 1990
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