Tour Diary - By Joe Elliott

Wednesday June 5 - Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines.

Dad's improving. He had a reasonable night's sleep and mum's been to see him so I feel a bit more at ease. I'm happy, too, that she's got my aunt and uncle staying with her to keep her company and help her get around a bit as she can't drive. I don't know if anybody reading this can understand the frustration of being many thousands of miles away from your loved ones when something like this happens, but I'll tell you straight that it sucks the big one, really.

Even trying to justify putting it to the back of your mind makes you feel guilty but it has to be done. Today is a travel day and a long one it turns out to be. Hotel to hotel takes 10 hours. All I wanted to do was get on the phone, but with flights and time zones it's impossible. We finally arrive at 7pm and I finally get to make that call. We all go for Chinese with the local record company chaps but I hurriedly make my excuses and we all leave. I want to get back to my room and rest up my throat but I know I've got a few phone calls to make. It's very catch 22 at the moment but I really need to talk to my girlfriend Bobbie too, so maybe tomorrow's gig will suffer. Right now, I couldn't give a toss.

Thursday June 6 - Manila, Philippines.

Slept like a baby. Woke up with Tom Waits's throat. We've got a live TV to do at about 1pm, so off we trundle onto the coach and plough our way through the flooded streets of Manila. A spectacular rain storm started off the day and doubled up as a pretty cool alarm clock.

This TV show was a real eye-opener. We're used to the TOTP-type thing with numerous practice run-throughs, make up, dress rehearsal, etc. This, however, is how it should be done. We sit around in the "dressing room" until we get a shout. Everybody ambles onto the stage and it's like LIVE, like RIGHT NOW!! I can't tell my arse from my elbow - no mic, no stand and the song's started! I finally catch sight of my stand, grab it, and it gets stuck in the scenery! I just manage to get out alive, looking all cool and like I planned it as the vocal comes in. As we pose our way through Work It Out, the cameras get as much wrong and as much right as every other TV show we've ever been on, and we're out of there in 30 minutes flat. Funny as hell and total comic relief in what for me has been a bad couple of days.

We go straight to the venue and everybody does their own thing for a little while. Viv tries to sleep (he looks like shit) which is not easy with me and Phil working out and grunting in his ear. He finally goes next door, sensible chap. Sav looks like he's writing lyrics - good man, we'll definitely need them some day - and Rick is rapidly becoming the David Bailey of the Leps with his new found camera hobby.

After a quick grip 'n' grin session (meeting competition winners, local reps, etc), we warm up and go out and do it. One new song added tonight. Miss You In A Heartbeat was a hit down here and we don't like to disappoint; Phil handles the lead vocals very comfortably indeed. Maybe too good actually. And that's as far as the comfort level went tonight. It was just too damn hot. Great for the diet, but breathing in was like sticking your head in an oven, which is not my idea of a good time. Tonight was the least fun so far but this afternoon more than made up for it. Tomorrow is, yes, another day, and thankfully, a day off to boot. Goodnight.

By Joe Elliott in Q Magazine 1996.