Birmingham and beyond

Ethyl don't have much to say........ Feed My FrankenAlice.................... It's Party Time!

Wicked Young (ish) Man
So, amidst crappy weather, fellow last-year-comp-winner-and-VIP Carol and I set off for Brum. Bit later than my usual, but I would never've made her wait outside in the rain all day................and anyway, there wasn't really all that many people there, (apart from some lovely people who I am getting to know - they are always there at the front of the queue!) so we were only about 5 rows back. Trouble with that of course, is the four rows of taller people in front of us - oh to be 5 ft 10". We had to sit, well, stand through the New York Dolls, a motley ensemble of elderly rockers with pot bellies, they weren't bad, but my feet were beginning to hurt by this time......Once Alice comes on, I do tend to forget about that kind of thing...

At last, we heard Vincent Price raving about his favourite arachnid and Alice launched into Black Widow from the top of his tower. The next hour and a half passed by in a flash - except for some dickheads who insisted on jumping up and down and in the process landing on us, well mainly Carol, before elbowing their way to the front where, I'm pleased to say, my new friends were having none of it and refused to let them in. Defo seats for us next time, Carol!
















































My camera wasn't working either, so no pics tonight.....all of these gorgeous photos were taken by the lovely Bill Crowe, who has possibly the best collection of Alice pics ANYWHERE, and has kindly allowed me to use his. Click on his name to visit and marvel.

B$B - I got one!!.......................................................................................... Dali gets to hug Alice............................... He's (still) Eighteen :)


















And then, suddenly it was Friday. No concert
tonight, but Alice was giving a talk about his favourite horror movies at the British Film Institute on the South Bank, and I managed to get a ticket for a bargain £13. I decided to stay over, as I would be going to AllyPally on Sat, so I stayed at a small hotel that was local to where I grew up in Eastcote....oh the memories! I couldn't resist driving past my old house , I was hoping to catch a glimpse of my ex bedroom.....it was so covered in Alice pics while I was there, I used to put the light on at night and leave the curtains open, just so that nobody was in any doubt where my loyalties lay! Boring old grey curtains now though, I bet it's a junk room, after all it was about the size of a shoebox.

The room at the BFI was really a cinema, but there was a little platform in front of the curtain, where Alice chatted to....er, some film guy, and introduced clips from some of his favourite movies - including Whatever Happened To Baby Jane with Bette Davis, whose make up (along with Anita Pallenberg's in Barbarella) inspired him. Apparently, when he and the band lived in Greenwich Village, she lived next door and was far scarier than they ever were.......


Alice as Freddy Kreugers Dad




Oh, the luxury of not having to queue for 10 hours! And a comfy seat!! We even got given free packs of Alice Face Paint! If only I had remembered to bring the posh camera, with proper lens, t'would've been perfect.

It was really nice to hear Alice chatting away - he can talk for England when he gets going, and I heard a few new stories - as well as some of the oft repeated ones.....He talked about Mae West coming on to him (as well as everybody else)on the film set of Sextette - apart from the fact she was 86, he wasn't sure she was a woman.....

He may have mentioned something about trick or treating with his kids, and when they'd got their sweets, he'd just stand still and stare at the person handing them out, until they were really uncomfortable - then he'd whip off his mask and go 'Surprise!'

Or I may have just read that somewhere. Wish he would come to my door.

Afterwards I went back to Waterloo Station to catch my train, and it was so busy, I just sat and soaked up the atmosphere for a while. It was great, but after about 20 mins I felt enough was enough and got on the tube. I would hate to live here again - apart from being incredibly noisy, you can't see any stars................ so glad I moved out to t'country. Although I still miss the pizza delivery.

Next stop Ally Pally