Tuesday 6th September, 1983. So I’m waiting in the wings of the stage at the Blossom Music Center somewhere in the middle of Ohio, to go onstage at the beginning of the intermission in Neil’s set whilst he’s changing into his Shocking Pink mode. I’m supposed to be interviewed by Dan Clear (real name Newell Alexander) a genial, friendly TV anchorman-type of person. I’d had a chat with Dan earlier in the day. I’d been in dreamland, chatting with Neil’s entire crew about this that and naff all. That’s what ALL AREA ACCESS means!!
Wanderin’ around, I got to see Joel Bernstein tuning Neil’s guitars, Larry Cragg doing things with the synclavier and various guitar pedals whilst explaining all the intricacies to me. Various Redwood Boys including Anthony Crawford and “The Honies” aka The Pinkettes, a trio of 60s-type backing singers/hangers-on – Pegi in her ‘Honey’ guise, came over and chatted – intrigued by my English accent and why I’d come all the way over from England. We’d met briefly backstage in Neil’s dressing room at Meadowlands on the 1st September. She was all sassy – pink lipstick, ra-ra skirt, low cut blouse, and chewing gum frenetically, And bloody noisy with it!! A very dodgy character in a loud suit, louder shirt and shoes, was also shuffling around in the background – a parody of a Manager of the period. Sometime during the afternoon Joel came up and asked would I mind being interviewed by Dan Clear, the MC, during the intermission. Would I mind? It was the least I could do, having spent the afternoon discretely taping the sound check! Neil was having problems nailing his whistling part in I Got A Problem. a work/song still in progress. Eventually satisfied, he then ran through the Shocking Pink set with the Redwood Boys.
Come the evening, come the show – a great collection of loosely country-ish and acoustic favourites interspersed with rockier numbers like Ohio, Powderfinger, Mr. Soul, Hey Hey, My My. All too soon the intermission comes and Joel gives me a nudge onto the stage as Dan starts his spiel: “Hello Cleveland Ohio, ROCK AND ROLL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.” Large cheer from the audience. “You know in this great country of ours, we get fans traveling great distances to see Neil shows. But tonight, we have a very special fan all the way from England. Yes, England United Kingdom! Welcome Mr. Bryan Carter.” “Hello Dan.” “So whereabouts in the UK are you from Bryan?” “Middlesbrough in the north east, in CLEVELAND County.” “Wow”, says Dan. We exchange pleasantries and as I’m leaving Dan says, “Just a minute, I’ve a special gift for you from Neil,” and pulls out a soft top Hohner harmonica case. Obviously with a harmonica in it. Stuck for words I ask, “What key is it?” Dan looks and says, “It’s a G.”
I exit the stage and enjoy the Shocking Pinks set on the lawn together with Jerry n Di Baker, aka Zuma, who’d given me a lift to the venue – just as well as it’s in the middle of nowhere. The show ends with Neil and the Shocking Pinks riding off into the distance in a pink Cadillac, waving frantically while Dan exhorts the crowd, “Bring them back Cleveland, bring them back for more.”
So how did this unlikely tale occur? (It’s all true because it’s on tape and I’m listening to it as I write this!) The previous summer I’d started to get to know Joel n Larry via shows from the Trans tour. I took in ten shows in all and became more than just a face in the crowd. So September 1st comes and I get into Meadowlands without a ticket by mingling with the early morning workforce going in. I hide in the toilets for a while in the huge subterranean cavern that is Meadowlands, and eventually I’m drawn to the stage area by the echoey sound of the sound check. I see Joel, reintroduce myself, blag a guest list ticket and I’m in with a backstage pass! After the show I get to meet Neil n Pegi, as you do in a dressing room. Somehow I then get a lift to the next show at Tanglewood Music Center, in reality just a shed with a marquee in Lenox, Massachusetts. After that, Greyhound buses first to Atlantic city – Springsteen country – where I slept rough under the boardwalk, and eventually another bus to Cuyahoga Falls, closeish to the Blossom Music Center venue, for what was to be a very memorable evening. It was a springboard/blueprint for future years/tours, where I got further involved with Neil and the crew. But those are great stories for another day….
