I do work in London on a regular basis (as in spending the week behind a desk in corp headquarters instead of Hamburg). As such i was thrilled to realize that i was to be in London the week the Rich Kids & The Professionals would play a show at Shepherds Bush Empire. The internet being my friend i was quick to book a ticket (and then two more for Christian & Luca).
Happy as a fuck i forgot about it until a message came through from The Professionals on FB that the show was off (due to unfinished construction work at the 113 years old venue) and moved both in location and date.
Fuck. That. Bad for me, but more bad for others who organised themselves trips from far. A couple of complaints later a message came through from Tom Spence, the new guitar player, that they would like to give those that have travelled something back. And lo and behold – a couple of days later an email came through that gave directions.
Not far from the Empire, tucked away under the railway station hides Bush Studios, also hosting rehearsal and production spaces. As per local custom I met Christian & Luca in a pub called White Horse, also Frank and Yvonne from Hamburg where there and where eager to see The Professionals.
A couple of pints later we moved over only to find the email with the location to be a bit wrong on a subtle detail – that actually did cost us and some others the first part of the set the Professionals would throw at their fans from far (us from Hamburg, some Swedes from the band Zooparty – and i think i heard some finish and some swizz-french, but not sure) and from near.
Wow. Or in long – (speachless)! That was a once in a lifetime experience – Messrs Cook, Myers, McVeigh and Spencer where super-duper relaxed, smart and took their time to play, joke and not only supply fun but have some. And once the show was over it was time for pics, signatures, chit-chat, some drinks and then some more. The ~30 Fans all smiled and where more than happy!
The Professionals (Bush Studios, London, 19.05.2016) - pics by DOS, Frank & Yvonne (c) gehkacken.de)
And mu-sick-ally? If I can make it to the revised date in London I will be there, if the Professionals make it in this setting to Germany and Hamburg, I will be there. And me and the others will tell you “ … you gonna miss a great show with loads of hits my friend if you do not join the Professionals!“.
Fun moment of the evening: Talking about Hamburg with Tom Spence he said he is a QPR fan but also likes St. Pauli (that one put Christian off for sure, but not Frank, Yvonne and my humble self as we have season tickets) and has St. Pauli gear from his time with the Lurkers in the 90s. He went on to say he has a T-Shirt from when St. Pauli where first in the top flight of the Bundesliga after the first game of the season.
OK, that did ring a bell with me – back then me and Michi Maas gave Arturo and the boys some T-Shirts i made to commemorate the St. Paul 4:2 vs. 1860 Munich on 12.08.1995 (it had a cut from Kicker on the back incl. league table and the top 11 of the day, which included some St. Pauli players). So my reply to Tom was “Mate, that shirt you got from me actually” and we both realised how small the world is!
And with that my promise to Tom stays: Should The Professionals come to Hamburg and play on a day where there is a St. Pauli home game I will get him a ticket and make him enjoy the new Millerntor. And all of you lot will need to be there after the game to the see The Professionals – they are not only worth it by a lot but they also do care about their fans!
Thanks Professionals – you made our life a wee bit more … exiting!
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