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Gothic inspiration - May 2014

It was great to bring the electric show to Poland again, and the crowd response was fantastic. Ray Wilson as guest, this time singing Firth of Fifth as well as Carpet Crawlers, went down a treat there too!

Then it was my first time playing in Prague, and fabulous to get such a terrific crowd reaction as well in an atmospheric ornate underground theatre. I walked around the labyrinthine old town, an intriguing combination of Gothic and Baroque... You could imagine vampires gliding through the archways at night. Standing on the Charles Bridge with its majestic statues I heard the strains of Smetana's Vltava. The whole place is an inspiration... a beautiful city of dreams.

A bus, plane and train ride later, we reached Stuttgart, a bit tired but happily inspired! Great to be back in Germany. The Stuttgart, Bochum and Munich gigs all had a tremendous vibe with brilliant crowds. It was good to see my son Oliver too in the midst of it all.

On the journey from Munich to Basel with friends Angéla and Maurizio, we visited the magical fantasy castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, located in a beautifully picturesque part of the Bavarian Alps. For many years I'd wanted to see this place because my Dad created wonderful paintings of it. Thinking of Dad, who died last year, it was a poignant experience.

Travelling through the forests which inspired the brothers Grimm and seeing all those wonderful Gothic style buildings from Prague through to the Alpine castle, the fairytale world kept on beckoning, whilst the audiences gave us so much joy at every show. We continue to look forward to all the shows to come as our travelling band rolls across Europe!

Many thanks as always to the agents and promotors...