This unofficial site features his current and recent events and tours
Denise's Review of 2006
| January | The year starts with a bang with Tony being rushed to hospital with appendicitis and then being rushed back into hospital with an infection. He hadn't been well since before Christmas. I see him at Shooting Star Lunch with the Stars - he doesn't sing but the more I hear him him talking the more I am convinced that he will do the Venezuela Trek. |
| February | Venezuela Trek and although it is touch and go, Tony makes it on the Trek and to the top of the mountain but suffers a drinking accident on his last day there and badly gashes his forehead. Wendy and Tina also go on the trek. On my way to another event in London on the same day, I call into Heathrow airport to greet them back to the UK. |
| March | Start of the 'By Request' Tour. I start with the second show of this in Aylesbury - not a good venue but I won't go into it here. I love the concept of the audience picking the songs. It means if someone says 'you going to the same show again' you can say 'no' as every show was different. I also go to the Robin 2, an excellent standing venue and Tony really rocks. |
| April | More Tour in Bolton and St Albans, then the excellent Lost World Ball at the Hilton in Park Lane - the start of a three day birthday celebration for me, followed by Aldershot where we spammed the 'By Request' box with more than our share of slips - to be rewarded with Tony singing 'Somebody To Love' for us. Burgess Hill was the third - a nice standing gig, so it didn't matter that we bought the tickets late, but just missed Tony in the pub. I got my request of 'Somebody Told Me' at this show but Tony doesn't realise it is mine. April ended with a show at The Stables, Milton Keynes. |
| May | Tour continues and I go to Worthing, Swindon, Fareham and Weymouth. Worthing is a good show, but a last minute decision to go, Tony leaves afterwards to watch Arsenal at the European Championships in Paris, but we have a long chat to Richie and get to know him better. Swindon takes me back to the first place I met Tony, but this time I have seats on the front row. I decide to bribe the request box with my choice wrapped around a box of malteesers and get my choice of 'Somebody Told Me' sung again, this time he realises it is my request. Fareham and Weymouth are two days running, Weymouth I get the best placed seats I have on the tour, but they are very strange and sloping backwards, luckily we get to stand for the whole of the second half. All in great tour and a great concept. |
| June | Time to wish Tony a happy birthday, but I don't see him for the whole of the month. |
| July | Outdoor gig season, so you would have thought time for good weather but the first show at Carlisle Racecourse was a complete washout and Tony only got 2/3rds of the way down the set list when the power and lights failed due to the heavy rain, they were unable to get it going again and the Tony and the band left. Richie told me later at another gig that they could have been electrocuted there was so much water. Two weeks later and the much cancelled welsh show takes place in Newport, poor Tony to have to go to a dive like this. A hot, sweaty, tired venue, but we had an excellent place right at the front and we got to see Chico and Journey South too!! End of July and a lovely sunny afternoon in South Shields - and a free gig to boot, got to speak to Tony and the band afterwards before being thrown out of the park. It is in July that we find out that Tony's girlfriend Alison is to have a baby. |
| August | After a spell of good weather, August is rainy, so when Clumber Park comes along I am not surprised that the forecast is for rain, my only surprise was how much of it there was. This is the only time that I will be glad that the train my friend was on was late, because had it been on time we would have been out of the car and witnessed first hand the hail, thunder and lightening. As it was we were still in the car on our approach to Sherwood Forest and the storm was passing. I heard later that it was touch and go as to whether they were going to cancel it. It was a pity that it was running late and Tony had to drop four songs. |
| September | Another lean month where I don't see Tony at all but looking forward to the Swinging True Tour. |
| October | Swinging True - Big Band Tour starts. It is only a 14 date tour, so my first is at my local! Basingstoke, I would have liked to have listened to the Passing Strangers CD before the show, but unfortunately it didn't arrive in time. This tour is a complete departure for Tony but is excellent. One of Tony's favourite venues is my next - The Stables, Milton Keynes |
| November | I travel north to Halifax for another Big Band date and follow on with High Wycombe - my favourite show on the tour, then Dartford at the end of the month - I watch this time from the Balcony and see Tony's mum enjoying the show |
| December | In December I go to the Isle of Man and finish the tour in Liverpool. It has been an excellent but different tour. The musicians, although not always the same were very proficient and the sound created was a great backdrop to Tony's voice. Paul Moran was a good musical director. |
Thanks Tony for making 2006 a memorable year, here's to 2007!