Danny Sings in Sweden - May 22nd in Upsalla

Twenty Something Years later than he expected to!!

After first taking a booking to play there in the '70s (with Shakin' Stevens) and not making it to the gig, Danny Wild (and the Black Katz) finally got to Sweden on May 22 nd for a Rockin' Good party in Upsalla.

Jointly organised by Marc Fenech (SR Music), with Uffe and Jenny in Sweden, the show was a collection of bands from several countries:

2 TONES (Holland)
T-CATS (Sweden)
ROADRACERS (Finland)
SLEEPY HOLLOW (Sweden)
JOHN LINDBERG ROCKABILLY TRIO (Sweden)

And, of course, Danny Wild and the Black Katz from England…

Dr. Bob
Danny Wild
Pete 'Panther'

Trip Diary

8:30 am doesn't seem too early when said quickly – But when it is a flight departure time from Stansted, and you live near Basingstoke it takes on a whole new dimension!

So – Early starts all round, which was good news for Panther 'cos it meant he could have two breakfasts…(I'm a growing lad!!)

Flying on a budget (as opposed to a Bud Jet) always has its challenges, the first being the uncertainty of whether the booking reference will work…We were lucky this time (Phew).

Then the dreaded Security gate – Bob's OK, Danny gets through without any problems (even though he is carrying his Guitar and looks like a fugitive from "The Untouchables")… And for the second time the Drummer is stopped for a suspicious item in his hand luggage – The Stick Bag fails the test yet again… Having identified it as safe (except when used on a defenceless drumkit by Pete), the Guard insisted on showing his mates what had caused the alarm…'Little things…' and all that.

But the big challenge was to make sure we got those 'special' seats by the wing emergency exits – The ones where you can actually stretch both legs at the same time without banging your knee on your jaw. This is important if you are six feet two and got up at 4 am to drive to the airport and want to catch some zzz's during the flight.

(Bob moved through that planes crowded aile like a lion stalking a stray gazelle and secured the seats in record time.)

An uneventful flight and 2 hours later we were landing at Stockholm

Jenny was there to meet us and we set off for the 2 hour drive to Upsalla, and the venue – But before we play… Some sleep at the Hotel. (…I hadn't the strength to trash the room or throw the TV out of the window - Also Bob was watching the Discovery Channel at the time… Doesn't that image of the Rock and Roll lifestyle seem a million miles away at this point).

No stretch limo to collect us, but who cares when there's a Caddy instead – Cool or what??

When we got in sight of the gig it was wall-to-wall American autos. (We were told that if the weather hadn't been so wet there would have been twice as many.)

The crowd were about 400 strong with one thing in common – They were there to have a good time.

Danny and the Black Katz went on at 11:30 and did an hour of originals and covers that went down well with the audience. Lots of dancing and whooping - I think I even heard some clapping, but it could have been one or two of the Caddies mis-firing in the car park.

Once again we ran into the Road racers from Finland – Thanks for your support guys, and a special thanks to Iikku Riepponen for the loan of his Double Bass – Rock on brother…

We had a great weekend and would like to say Hello and Big Thanks to Uffe, Jenny, Marc, Joseph, The Roadracers and 'Elvis' (He was given the title by a 'busty' young thing who thought he looked like the King – Or something to do with 'king anyway – I guess he knows who he is), and to the guy who gave us a lift back to the airport – Sorry I can't remember your name, but a big thanks for the lift. Hope the traffic wasn't too bad on your return journey.

If I've forgotten anyone I'm sorry – Cheers and Keep on Rockin'