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March 31The Who demolish Adalaide. See more... 
March 30Been a nice weekend (even yesterday when I didn't quite think I was here). I did a shoot with a new singer on Sunday and halfway through felt so vague I thought I was going to be sick. Kept nodding out - I thought I could control jet lag, you kind of can, but yesterday caught up with me... I forgot, on Saturday saw the Legendary Rob Flynn who tried to make me drink with him halfway through the show, in between shouting Motherfucker, and he told me Machine Head is spelt with two words. Very kind. Been reading Mojo, which has a good feature on Mott The Hoople. The only thing wrong with it is all the punk bores going on about them being punk before punk happened. What a load of old shit, Mott were a good band and the reason "the kids" liked them is they were down to earth and friendly and you could relate to them, plus Ian Hunter had a certain swagger and arrogance, a presence that stood out on stage. I saw this on a sunny September 1971 when they played with The Who at the Oval Cricket ground and Hunter got all the crowd on their feet. I kind of went off them when they became Glam but in their day a great band. Found a dusty box in my garage full of old Who slides which I must sort out and put up - Pete with his variously numbered Les Pauls. March 29I spent the early hours of this morning with Xavier Russell talking about Starz, the New York kind of Kiss wannabes from 1977. Even James Hetfield knew all the songs. I left Biff with Metallica talking about Heavy Metal Thunder then spent another two hours getting home at 1am. Got home at 3.30 as England has now gone into summer time. Woke up at 9am to a bright summers day - it'll be nice if it lasts. I'm going to play some Sunday morning Saxon. March 28I landed at 7am to a cold London. The last flight was long, nearly fourteen hours, after the first flight of eight, and I read about the Mars mission flying in a box for three months. I must watch a film on a plane instead of the route map. Three months in a room to get to Mars, then you have to come back... The journey from Australia was nothing compared to the drive to see Metallica at the 02. It took three hours - felt like three years. London transport had closed down the tube so most people had the journey from hell. I got there late, which kind of throws me. I was surprisingly awake shooting the show (I expected to be falling asleep). It was good as they played different songs so the lights were different. Got good stuff of Lars spitting long trails of whatever it is he spits. After the show Biff Byford was there - he'd driven from France that morning singing Heavy Metal Thunder all the way. March 27I was thinking of staying for The Who in Sydney tomorrow, then realised it's near Newcastle and that's a ninety minute drive in no traffic and I wouldn't be able to get a flight home until the end of next week. So flew at 6am back to Sydney thinking I'll have a day by the pool then sleep on the plane. It was overcast then raining. As I got on my first flight the women next to me asked what book I was reading. 'The Devil's Paintbrush by the homosexual writer Jake Arnott.' 'Fair dinkum, what's it about?' 'The Great Beast, Aleister Crowley.' 'Never heard of him.' Got to give it to Australians, they get right to the point. Another word I heard here (that I'd never heard before) was Shit House used to describe any form of displeasure like a bad meal, hotel, road, shop, nearly anything wrong or bad is shit house. And the word for any form of pleasure is Beauty or Beautie. A fan called The Who 'Fucking beauty' which succinctly summed up his night out. I liked Australia on this trip even with the bad food (or the bad tucker). An Australian female (and I'm not making this up) said the reason why so many Australians like Clapham Common in London is because there are so many pubs and when you're drunk you can fall over on the grass. Off home for Metallica tomorrow then New York and on to Cleveland next week. I got a phone message about possibly shooting The Mars Volta in Mexico which if it happens will be fun. Flew out late afternoon across an overcast New South Wales heading for Singapore. More of the Mighty Priest. See more... 
March 26Flew to Adelaide late afternoon to see The Who. I had to go - it would be strange being in Australia with The Who playing and not going to see them. I'm getting on the plane when I'm stopped at the gate. 'That bag has to go in the hold,' says the Qantas person pointing to my soft camera bag. 'It fits in the luggage bin under the seat,' I say. 'Well, Qantas have new rules and you can't take it on, no airline will let you.' I say 'How did I get it down here - by boat?'.. The gate is closing so I get 'I'll let you off this time but in future you can't bring in on the plane.' I'm thinking wanker but don't say it. She follows me on the plane. I glare at her as I put the bag in the luggage bin 'See, a perfect fit.'. 'You won't be allowed on the way back,' she snorts. The only time I was in Adelaide was for Soundgarden many moons ago. The Who were at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, a bit like the NEC in Birmingham, more square than long. It was not bad to shoot, got some nice photos of Roger and Pete. The lights are always just white follow spots so it never really changes. During Love Reign On Me Roger stopped the song halfway through and they re-did it, and after some moron in the front row shouting 'Play a Gibson' over and over Pete told him to 'Fuck off and see ACDC.' Another unwashed looking local kept screaming Pictures Of Lily in my ear. I turned to him finally and said 'Do you think the're going to stop the show and play it for you?' They played Substitute for the encore, of course I loved it. Shot mainly black and white film for a change, different to digital. I had to think a different way while shooting plus the lights being just white lent itself to it. The Mighty Priest. See more... 
March 25More Vintage Metallica. See more... 
March 24Went out to the Blue Mountains which were far more spectacular than I was expecting them to be. The sky was topped by huge clouds. It was exceptional, all the photos I've seen do not do it justice. It wasn't crowded at all, a few Germans plus some homosexual lovers - it was relatively tourist free. I'd gone to Neil Perry's (Australia's famous chef) restaurant, Spice Temple. Asian fusion as it's called, it was bad and expensive. I've never had a good meal, the waiters tell you a long exciting story of how the food's cooked and it's always just okay, with a huge bill coming to round off the meal. Plus the wine is excessively marked up. Spice Temple's menus have photos of alluring Asian women, with lips parted, promising great wonders of the east. I wouldn't mind if they gave you one to take back to your hotel as a thank you for spending so much, 'Thank you for spending so much on over-priced Sydney fusion here's a little something to take back to your room and enjoy mate.' Heston Blumenthal was at Spice Temple (probably in hiding until his cafe, The Fat Duck, reopens) tucking into the pan-Asian tucker. I bet he got a Spice girl to take home... Pan-Asian what a stupid name - it was dire. Spice Temple was a truly awful experience. I'm not eating this Australian new age rubbish again. I'll stick to meat pies, at least the British brought some good tucker down under... Spoke to Paul Stanley on email who tells me Kiss are well on the way recording their new record. He says 'It sounds unmistakeable and very much like the early classics, though sonically miles beyond.' I'm looking forward to it. Paul's off with the Gods Of Thunder to South America. March 22Went to the Sunday market on the Rocks. You could buy reproduction Ned Kelly armour (just what you need to take back to England) and paintings of Australia. They have the travel photos which are so perfect they don't look real, the type that look fantastic on a shop wall then you take it home and think why did I buy that? I might buy Ned Kelly's armour though... Tried to do some photos of the Kings Of Leon under the harbour bridge but was getting harassed by fans who would not go away. So I gave up and we then drove to Newcastle, two hours from Sydney. I drove with Ivan Kushlick (KOL tour manager) who I've known since the Def Leppard Hysteria tour (he was the new enthusiastic production manager and the crew, because he was keen, made his life a misery). Ivan offered me the job as Bros's tour photographer starting in Sydney many years ago. I had to go for an interview with Tom Watkins, the Bros brothers obese gay manager, who asked why I wanted to shoot Bros. I told him I was in love with Luke Goss - I never got the job. We arrived at 6pm. The Newcastle Entertainment Centre was like the old cattle sheds you'd find in El Paso or San Antonio. Shot the band hanging out with the Stills from Canada, drinking as only they can. The show was good to shoot as the roof was lower and the show was more compressed. Afterwards we all drove straight back to Sydney. The Kings are off to New Zealand tomorrow, I'm staying to shoot (or try to shoot) some travel. Here's a nice email from Brian
March 21Took a water taxi to the Acer Arena with the Kings Of Leon. Shot soundcheck then did a long studio shoot with them backstage. It went well, they took direction and paid attention. Shot the show and the encores from the stage then straight out of the venue and back to the city. Finished the evening in the bar, surprisingly. The Kings took over the hotel restaurant - they do have a good time. Even Kylie showed up with her young Spanish toy boy, looking like she'd had some work done (I never get why women play with their faces). Now, I expected her to be a bit full of herself. I couldn't have been more wrong, she was extremely down to earth and she didn't say "Good on yer" or "No worries". As my girlfriend says, 'She's a national treasure.' They sat together and spoke Australian while tucking into the local tucker. Disappointingly Kylie, even with a couple of pints of wine down her, didn't break into I Should Be So Lucky or The Locomotion, she didn't even go to her room to change dresses a few times. Also in the hotel was the great Australian film director Baz Luhrmann, the man who brought the world the triumphant work of art house cinema, Australia. 'Good on yer, you beauty,' he said to the girl serving at the bar. There's nothing better than finishing off Saturday night with the Kings Of Leon... March 20Spent the early hours of this morning with various Kings Of Leon and crew as they took over the hotel bar. I figured if I stay up have a few drinks I'll sleep. Got to bed in the very early hours, woke up a couple of hours later now feeling like someone's been jumping on my head all night. Drinking does not cure jetlag... Spent the day doing nothing, kind of recovering. Walked under the harbour bridge at 6pm as huge rain clouds came in and ruined the sunset for a wedding party on the wharf. The clouds matched the dark water quite spectacularly, the sort of thing you only get this side of the world. Went out to have a sensible night with my mate Dan Woolley. Dan took me to Toko in Surrey Hills for dinner, which was better than Nobu. After a couple of bottles of wine and whiskey we ventured to Kings Cross to meet Dan's woman, Sheena. It was like New Years Eve had never finished, people staggering around, falling down, crawling across the road, holding on to lamp posts then falling into the street. 'Welcome to the land of the lost,' said Dan. 'It's like this five nights a week.' It was like being transported into the drinking man's Dante's Inferno. It was seriously fucked up, and so were the locals. I watched two girls vomit on the curb, wipe their mouths, and stagger back into the pub. It was like a night out in Newcastle and I don't mean New South Wales. I headed back to the sanity of my hotel and sat in the bar with Andy (Kings Of Leon's manager) plus Caleb, drinking vintage port and whiskey - far more civilised. I just need to go home to recover... Here's part of an email from Doug - very funny, he should replace Russell Brand...
March 19Went to bed at 2am, thought 'That's it, I'll "Sleep", the god of dreams awaits me' - I was wide awake at 5am. Got up then went for a walk around the harbour and shot the dawn light. I mainly took pictures of the water as it looked dark, malevolent and uninviting. Plus you know it's full of sharks and they have every intention of eating you. Pete Townshend gave me a dvd of In The Attic which has my photos in the packaging. I was pleasantly surprised, I have the two main photos and they are credited. Went to Mojo Music in York Street and got a Tommy Bolin dvd which has him with the James Gang. Well filmed but the singer is ludicrous, prancing around like a clown. Found a good Joe Walsh In Concert from '72-'75 with footage I've never seen. Bought the Chris Cornell cd, Scream, which I played. Can't decide if it's deficient or great, I'll have to play it some more. Like Suicide it isn't - or maybe it is. When I bought it the girl in the shop pulled a face... Back to the Entertainment Centre for more Kings Of Leon. Got into the show more as I wasn't so spaced. I wandered around the venue shooting from all over. Kept being stopped every five minutes by the venue security. 'You can't take photos,' so show them my pass. It says Tour Staff All Access 'It doesn't say you can take photos.' It's the same wherever you are, security can't think for themselves. Jimmy Page. See more... 
March 18Some vintage Metallica. See more... 
 Got to Singapore yesterday, which I still find exotic and exciting. I like the vibe of the place. Funny that Phil Alexander, whose dad is from there, finds it deathly boring. It's kind of like the Bond Street of the far east. Flew on to Sydney, watched the dawn come up over Queensland, which I also like doing at 39,000 feet... Arrived into Sydney to be asked by customs if I have any golfing shoes to declare! Really, I'm serious. 'I hate golf and anyone playing it should be put to death slowly.' 'Couldn't agree more mate,' said the customs officer. 'Off you go - welcome to Australia.' And it's a nice warm sunny day. Russell Brand was outside my hotel in full costume (big hair, make up, wife beater t-shirt etc) being mobbed by fans and at least twenty paparazzi, he seemed to be loving it. Noticed Sydney isn't as mobbed as it was over Christmas. Go up to look at the pool and run into a tanned Pete Townshend. We sit and discuss which way round coming here (via Los Angeles or Asia) is best to beat jetlag. I think the anwser is to fly first class, only problem is getting someone to pay for it. Tried to sleep by the pool but couldn't as I was paranoid about getting burnt bright red (which I managed to do at Christmas), so slept for the afternoon which I know is a mistake. I'm going to be up all night. Met up with the Kings Of Leon who I'm shooting this week. Shot the show at the Sydney Entertainment Centre - hard to shoot, very floor lit and I was several time zones away. The place was packed full of people singing along to all the songs and the band are extremely pleasant to be around. Also met The Stills from Canada, who knew who I was as they started playing because of Metallica. If you look on www.judaspriest.com there are a lot of my pictures of the Mighty Priest destroying Wembley... March 17Hanan, shot in Berlin last week. See more... 
March 16At 1am my flight to Australia has been declared "Gone Technical" which means they can't fix it. Singapore Airlines wants to send everyone together in a bus to the Edwardian Hotel and call us at 6am to tell us when we can leave. Four of the passangers (me included) tell them we are going home. This causes great consternation as we're not doing what they want. One American standing next to me starts shouting that he has a meeting in Sydney etc. I say to him 'What do you think is going to happen, here's a 747 just for you?' If it was Lars Ulrich he'd probably get one. He carries on as if it's the fault of the staff at the check in desk - a complete knob. I finally go home without my bags, which are checked in. So I get home then get up again at 5am. Driving to the airport Singapore rings me to tell me they can't fix the plane but they can put me on another flight in economy (only twenty six hours in the air, not including all the stopover and extra travel time). I'm flying business, 'Upgrade me to first,' I suggest. 'We don't do upgrades,' says the rep. 'I fly all the time and you do upgrade people.' 'This is a suite service and it's a double upgrade so I can't do that.' It isn't, Singapore on the A380 jumbo has a bigger First Class so they call it Suite Service which is a load of bollocks to charge more money. They finally can get me out tonight with a long layover in Singapore - I suppose I can go to Orchard Road for a bit of Vietnamese. Off home for the day - at least it's sunny... I call at 11.30 to check the flight's still on. 'Can you be here in five minutes, the flight's leaving in an hour.' 'No...' We then get into a convoluted argument about the service and the fact that I'm now not on tonight's flight. Finally they agree but say there's no seats left, you'll have to see what's availble tonight. Travelling can be such joy... The cover of the new issue of Metal Hammer - thought whoever designed it did a good job. Shot by me in 
March 15A beautiful day, warm, sunny almost summer. Pete Makowski liked Goldon Earring, plus Dave Ling who went through twenty phone calls and the same amount of emails to do an interview for a magazine. Neil Jefferies even sent me the set list - Candy's going Bad and Just Like Vince Taylor, my two favourite songs, opened the show. I sort of wish I'd gone. I saw them at The Rainbow in '74 (with my ex-wife, I was going out with her best friend, Big Jackie), they were brilliant. Shot them opening for Rush on the Cut Tour in Houston (I think) and in Holland in the '90s. Off to Sydney tonight via Singapore. Well, I think I am. I'm at Heathrow and my plane, the new jumbo A380, has a hydraulic problem which they've been working on for a few hours. The new Chickenfoot cover of Guitar World which I like but I hear management doesn't like 'cos they spelt the name Chicken Foot and not Chickenfoot - jeeeeez, you can't please anyone. Still, I think it looks great
March 14I was going to shoot Golden Earring who I've always liked. Pete Makowski had told me to call the tour manager, 'His names Grant Povey, he has some rules you need to talk about.' The phone call went something like this, 'Hello, is that Grant? This is Ross Halfin, I'm calling you about shooting the show.' Sounding annoyed, 'It's Glenn, NOT Grant!' he then told me it's three songs only, no flash. I said I'd like to shoot more as I never shoot three songs, A. I don't work for a agency and don't need a quick news photo, B. I'ts always crap doing it and so I never do. Glenn then lectures me as if I'm a child telling me how I'd get in people's way who've paid good money for a ticket etc. I say 'Yes, but I'm being doing this for thirty years and I'm fully aware of getting in people's way.' We get cut off so I call back and think he says I can do six songs, so I think why not, I like Golden Earring - he then says in a raised voice 'THREE SONGS NO FLASH!' as if he giving some grand statement, and then hangs up. Rules? Who does Glenn think he works, for Pearl Jam? I mean, why be so arrogant? Glenn Povey's not working for Madonna and Madonna's tour manager is much nicer. Perhaps Golden Earring are so successful they don't need press. Amazing how small-time tour managers like Glenn feel empowered... March 12I watched the Reader (which I wanted to try to like as I can't stand Kate Porklet). It was neither here nor there, she's a camp guard who helps murder jews then finds redemption through reading or being read to. She doesn't save herself from twenty years in jail because she's embarrassed by the fact she can't read or write - and she won an Oscar for this? I'll stick to Asian arthouse, Hollywood is terrible. Saw the new Anvil book, The Story Of Anvil, in all the shops. Pete Makowski read a bit in a bookshop and told me he and I aren't in it which is funny considering I told David Krebs how good they were and to sign them and put them on shows with Aerosmith, plus the feature Pete and I did for Sounds in '82 (could have been '81) got everyone interested in them. Oh the fickle world of music, how quickly they forget. Still, the book cover looks good, shot by yours truly. I looked through an old copy of the NME from 1976 (when it covered something called rock music), it had a review of Ted Nugent and Dirty Tricks at the Hammersmith Odeon. A show I shot and had my first picture published in Sounds. I felt quite nostalgic. Hard to think of the Motor City Madman being huge now, but around '76-'77 Ted was and the critics loved him. Ted Nugent was fun to shoot in the day. Got this interesting email from Randy
Weeell, you see there was a little thing called World War II and the Germans killed a lot of people that were, ummm, Jewish, and that is their memorial in Berlin. Or, if you're American (which I suspect you are), watch Saving Private Ryan, it tells you how America saved us all in that very same war. Hope this helps... March 11Metallica destroy Sheffield. See more... 
 
  
March 10Got up at 5am to a cold overcast Berlin to shoot Hanan around Potsdammer Platz. We started at what's left of the Berlin Wall. It still had a vibe - the building at the end of it was full of bullet holes. It was so cold his nose went red, accentuating his white face. He was starting to look like he'd been punched on the nose. As rush hour started I gave up and we headed to Dunkin Doughnuts for coffee. It's across the street from the Holocaust Memorial, next door to a fish and chip shop. You can come and feel awful then get over it in time for a fast food lunch. Spent the rest of the morning shooting Hanan - finished as the sun finally came. 
 Took the 1pm BA flight home, one of the best flights ever. It was empty, about twenty people on it. Had a good view of London flying in but was too tired to shoot it. Came home to photo hell, I've now spent five hours looking at Hanan, Metallica, Jimmy Page and Def Leppard. I had to stop in the end as I wasn't focussing on any of it. March 9Flew to Berlin, at dawn as usual - why are all my flights at dawn? The fast track at terminal five was the slowest I've ever been through, it took an hour then I had to run for the flight at the furthest fucking gate. Swearing is bad, but why does the gate ALWAYS have to be the last one...? Arrived to a cold but sunny Berlin to shoot Hanan, a new solo artist. Went out to shoot around Berlin, it was so cold my hands went blue. Shot at the Lustgarten, which has a giant old church and a museum, called the Old Museum. Also took some photos around the Holocaust Memorial which is a maze of concrete grey blocks, quite impressive in a strange way. I must say Hanan is multi-talented, playing guitar (he was taught by George Benson) and drums plus piano and he sings. Finished off shooting him in the studio. Staying in a good hotel in Berlin called The Mandala - big room, big bathroom, big changing room - I could live here, sort of... I highly recommend it. Good service as well. Had dinner with my friend Ulf Zick, his partner Bonna, and Hanan, plus smelly Kazuyo (smoking and eating) in a Japanese restaurant, cooked by Vietmanese in a slightly German way. It was very nice. March 8The Sunday Times has a cover story on The Greatest Rock And Roll photos ever and it's the usual predictable Beatles, Stones, Johnny Cash (giving the finger, one of Jim Marshall's poorest photos), Elton John(admittedly a nice Terry O'Neill photo), Bowie, Blondie, Iggy (I mean, who cares?) and a token rapper. There's a stupid and sad photo of Keith Moon in the nude (everybody forgets what a good drummer he was, he should be repersented that way) and Ozzy on the toilet by, I think, Chris Walter, although The Sunday Times don't know and couldn't be bothered to find out - they emailed to ask me. I told them them to check with Chris so they used it and didn't credit anyone. How nice of them... I was in London this sunny Sunday morning and went to see the unveiling of a blue plaque for Keith Moon above the old Marquee Club. I got there just as it started and couldn't get near to Roger Daltrey as the street was packed, mostly with mods on scooters who booed the Mayor of Westminster, Louise Hyams, when she said something about motorbikes. Some of the mods were older than The Who and looked odd in this day and age. Saw Zak and took a photo with Keith Moon's plaque in the background while Irish Jack was annoying and kept trying to be in the photo, as if anyone cares. Spoke to Alan Rogan (Pete's tech) who was very funny, and even saw Luke "Lucifer" Morley for a second. There was a luncheon after which I didn't attend as Noriega, my Man Friday, was heading to the far east. Noriega gave me a surprise going away present, a Japanese Quick One Who box set in dayglo orange - A bit of a Who Sunday... 
More Metallica. See more...
March 6
A very young Peter Makowski. March 5Spent a long day in the studio shooting Jimmy Page again. I started off slowly as I'd flown back from Amsterdam with the Prodigy ringing in my ears and I'd only had four hours sleep. I ended up shooting until 8pm and got a lot done for a variety of different projects he has ongoing. Now, I'm not putting anything up as I'm sick of people pulling photos off my site and mailing them around to Led Zeppelin websites thinking they are some news authority... We went to dinner at Nobu off Berkeley Square. As we walked up the doorman with the velvet rope stopped us looked me up and down and said in an Eastern European accent, 'Do you have a booking?' 'Yes.' He looked me up and down again. 'What name?' I looked at him. 'No idea. NOW move the rope!' He looked at the other doorman 'What do you think?', then moved the rope. This to get into a restaurant. Fuck him and fuck Nobu - I won't go back there.
The new cover of Guitare Extreme
March 4In Amsterdam today for the Prodigy at the Milky Way, a large club with a very high stage. They're there to celebrate the release of the new album. It was so packed with flashing strobe lights it was nearly impossible to shoot. I shot the whole show and still only got about six usable photos, it was a photographer's nightmare. The band were great, I hadn't seen them for a couple of years and they were super friendly. I got some backstage photos before they went on, the band looked good - Keith Flint looks amazing thin and toned. A pleasure to see them. March 3
Didn't get home until 2am with the traffic out of the 02. Woke up tired - couldn't wake up all day plus I had a huge photo shoot with Jimmy Page and I turned up late. He was not happy, being the most punctual person I know. It got going in the end though, and came out well, with a different look to how you normally see him.
Kazuyo, my filthy assistant, was happy to see a huge photo of her photographing James Hetfield at the O2 in today's Evening Standard. I'll put up some pictures of your Heavy Metal Heroes later this week. Metallica at the O2 
 
Noriega, showing me how it's done.
March 2Off to the O2 tonight for an evening with Metallica. The O2 is without a doubt a pain to get to if you're driving. I had to get there for 5.30 to shoot Kirk which meant driving through rush hour - the drive of the damned. It was quite mellow backstage in a heavy metal way. The only sound was the chanting of "Motherfucker" from Machine Head's dressing room. I met Ben Marshall who writes for Uncut and looks like a thug in his photo. In the flesh Benjamin looks about five and is charming (well, he would be, he's from Norwood,in the south London 'hood). Shot a bit of reportage as Metallica went on. They played Too Late Too Late as an encore which no one in the crowd knew. It was odd, nobody singing along. Dedicated to Lemmy who was going to play with them then never turned up due to being 'flu-ridden. Still, it was a heavy metal party, apart from Turn The Page by Bob Seeger which had Noriega and Peter Makowski singing and crying along. Peter explained it reminds him of losing his bargirl and having to move on. As I left the building at 12.30am a rotund figure with a bright red face staggered along the hallway bouncing off the walls. It was Paul Brannigan, looking for Machine Head's dressing room. 'There's a grand party in there, motherfucker,' he slurred, while beaming. 'What do you shoot with Metallica?' he asked, with one eye open. 'Everything your photographers can't Danny...' More of Chris Cornell from the Scala. See more... 
 March 1Sunset over Cheam 
My pictures from the latest issue of This Is Rock. 
   Spent the weekend with Metallica, and most of last week working on a project with Jimmy Page (of which I'm saying nothing). Flew up to Sheffield with Metallica. We landed at Doncaster at Robin Hood Airport (it really does exist and even had green neon lettering saying Robin Hood Airport). Imagine flying into Los Angeles and as you land it says "The Los Angeles 'Hood". 
The Sheffield Arena was packed more than I've ever seen, all the way to the rafters. Metallica were having a meeting so I went to see the "Legendary" Robb Flynn and his merry men in Machine Head, who were singing or chanting "Motherfucker", all in a circle. I did some art photos of them looking like umm, Machine Head, then went out to shoot them live. The last time I'd shot them onstage was at the Whisky A Go Go, many Motherfuckers ago. The crowd chanted Machine Fucking Head in between every song, which showed how uneducated they are in the North to use such poor English. The crowd seemed to love them, screaming along lots to "Uuuuuugh" and "Aaaaaagh". Compared to most bands I thought Machinehead were highly entertaining. Robb did say he liked my website and Robb if you're reading this do feel free to write something for it... Machinehead 
 
 
Metallica's set now had Nightmare added to it. After the show waiting by the dressing rooms were Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson from Barnsley's very own Heavy Metal Legends, Saxon. Lars tried to get me to sing some Saxon songs but I was far too shy. Graham gave Lars (and promised to send me) a cd of the Saxon set from the first Donington. He told us that the Pride And Glory video was filmed by Ridley Scott - strangely Ridley leaves it out of his cv... Come on Ridley - Blade Runner, Blackhawk Down, Gladiator - lets see a director's cut of Pride And Glory. Rumour has it Ridley's working on a new epic based on the Saxon album, Crusader...
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