TOUR DIARY: June 14 | June 15 | June 18

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Friday 14th June

On a jet to London....Sheryl and the band performed at the German equivalent to the Oscars last night in Berlin. Steve McQueen. It went well apart from the fact that the revolving stage which spun the whole band around to face the audience, failed to stop moving. As they played, the stage would casually slide a few feet to the left and then a few feet to the right. They played on regardless Sheryl was only worried she'd fall off her 4 inch heels if it jerked too hard.

Retired back to hotel for tea and cocktails and crashed...most of us got to sleep around 2:30am and kept one eye open for the 5:30am wake up call.

Saturday 15th June

530am alarm calls were greeted with distaste. Left hotel at 6:10am and caught a flight.

We hit three different cities in three different countries today...so the wake-up call is at stupid o'clock. By 8:23am we are already in London having flown an hour from Berlin. We're straight into vans to the TV studio. A swift journey punctuated by a stop at Starbucks. Yes, they are in every city we go.

Performance is of Steve McQueen. Chris Sharrock continues to amaze me (and us) with his flamboyant style. By 1pm we are done and the band rush off to Mike's studio at the other side of town to rehearse with Chris. We have an 8 song set list for Milan and we want to give him a chance to learn the stuff.

Sheryl stays at the studio for she is slated to appear with the Counting Crows. She sings back up on their new single 'American Girls'.

That finished we drive over to Virgin radio for an interview. The streets are dead. England plays against Denmark in the World Cup as we cruise to through the streets. Sheryl picks 10 favorite songs for DJ Stuart Maconie.

Included are songs by White Stripes, Neil Finn, Counting Crows, Stones & Weezer.

All done at 3pm, so we head to the airport via Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Urban Outfitter.

The football game is over and it's easy to tell England won due to the large number of happy inebriated fans running carelessly through the streets. One such idiot, for reasons best known to himself, chose to run across Regent Street while not actually looking where he was going. He seemed to be unaware that his legs were propelling himself at speed across the street. He was looking behind him and running forward. The end result was that he smacked straight into the side of our moving van and spun off the back like a skittle. He landed on his back in the middle of the street arms and legs pointing to the sky. We slowed and looked back fearing the worst, but he got up instantly. He brushed himself off and exclaimed "SHIT!" and then carried on running, this time in another direction. He didn't even know what happened. He'll certainly wonder what happened when he wakes up the next day.

We all meet at the airport, check in and get on the plane, where we sit for 3 hours until we are ejected out at Lisbon. Bags collected we head for the hotel.

We check in drop our bags and head out into the old town for a beer. We watch a band playing in the middle of a street- a local Portugese act Gomo, not unlike Radiohead, visit a little bar...play some foosball and then head back to the hotel to hit the hay.

Tuesday 18th June

As I write, travelling with KLM to Zurich this morning. We checked in 14 bags and a Miss S O'Sullivan (check in agent) gave me 13 bag tags. No amount of arguing with them will help them believe that I am right and they are wrong and that we have one bag (most likely Tim's) wondering lonely as a cloud amongst the baggage belts of Amsterdam airport. We've been out long enough on this trip to know how many check-ins we have- it's like telling me that I only had 13 kids not 14. 'Ive been doing this for 3 years Mr. Hudson.' I declined to compete and made my way to the gate wondering why this stuff always happens to Tim and I also wonder if we'll ever see his bag again.

But that was this morning. What happened yesterday?

This:

11:00AM PRESS INTERVIEW WITH TELEGRAAF
11.30AM PRESS INTERVIEW WITH NIEUWE REVU
12PM PRESS INTERVIEW WITH ALGEMEEN DAGBLAD
12.30PM PRESS INTERVIEW WITH ALOHA
1:00-2:30PM LUNCH
2:30PM SC LEAVE HOTEL
3:00PM BAND AND RICK LEAVE HOTEL FOR RADIO.
3:00-3:45PM SC MTV INVIEW. HER OWN SHOW SC INTRODUCING HER 10 FAVORITE VIDEO CLIPS
3:45-5:15PM SC TRAVEL TO RADIO STATION. DO VARIOUS IN¹VIEWS
5:15-5:45PM SOUNDCHECK AT RADIO STATION
5:45-6:50PM SHERYL RADIO IVIEWS AT STATION
6:50-7:20PM BREAK FOR DINNER
7:20PM SC TV I/VIEW AT RADIO STATION
7:30-8:30PM PRE-TAPED ACOUSTIC RADIO- 6 SONGS....SAME ONES...STEVE, SOAK, WINDING, HAPPY, CMON.
8:30PM BACK TO HOTEL

We visit MTV at one point and Sheryl chooses her 10 videos that she really digs. From what I can remember they were:

Stones: Satisfaction
AC/DC Highway to Hell
Beck New Pollution
No Doubt: Hey Baby
Herself: Steve McQueen
Counting Crows: American Girls
Beastie Boys: Sabotage
Robbie Wilson: Supreme

As you can see it was a jam packed day. The press is the hardest part, particularly in Europe. Each journo seems intent to ask the most radical and original question in a vain attempt, I suppose, to be remembered. Well, we remember the question but not the guy. E.g. 'So, you have had a lot of bad reviews for this record...but not by me...which is, I guess, is the reason why I am allowed to interview you and the others are not'. We are not aware of 1) that there are bad reviews for the record or C) that there is a selective process such as the one he suggests. Nevertheless, it's a hard question to answer and Sheryl admittedly exasperated fumbles for a minute but then answers some along the lines of- 'Hey I just do what I do'.

Put yourself in her shoes. Some stranger asks you questions like...So Mr X, we, the world, have noticed that you are bringing up your second child not as good as the first one. So why are you now so crap?

Some interviewers are smart and know all about her and go beyond the Michael Jackson questions, or why-did-it-take-you-so-long-make-this-record questions and they are fun....others are tedious.

But there are idiots within too...allegedly on our side. A certain idiot is, some kind of big cheese in the Dutch branch of the record company. We're at the radio station having dinner just before the acoustic show and he imposes on us at the table. I announce to everyone that Scooter had called me to say that Soak had entered the Top 40 Pop playlist at No.19 with a bullet. This is a big thing, because, when that happens, then MTV starts playing the video more and Sheryl might have a big hit, and that, after all, is why we are all here promoting the record. Supposed Big Cheese commented..'Ah yes....but that does not necessarily translate to airplay.'

Dickhead. Then why, I ask, are you here at a radio station with one of your artists, playing a live concert which will, we hope, gain us more airplay? I mean, that's why we are here isn't it. Go home dude.

Anyway the show is....really good actually. We play in a recording studio outside of Amsterdam, the very place Black and Blue (Stones) was recorded and after all the interviews and TV stuff Sheryl finds it fun to play. To be honest- we all can't wait to get on tour and play

Wednesday 19th June

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Words and Pics by Chris Hudson