Well, the cup final finally arrived. For
twenty six years I had been waiting for this moment. Sometimes you get a
feeling in advance that something big is about to happen and Friday
certainly proved to be a defining moment in Heep's rollercoaster
career.
A couple of months ago I remember e-mailing Dave White to tell him that
I had a certain conviction that something great was about to happen. All
the evidence pointed that way. The 400,000th visitor arrived at the
web-site , the fans were pulling together to make the Acoustic show a
reality, old fans were returning, the press were beginning to take
notice and the band's hard work over the last year was beginning to pay
dividends..but what a dividend.
Friday was like waking up from a bad
dream to find the world had finally regained it's senses. We were no
longer a minority preaching to an uncomprehending establishment. We were
on Yorkshire TV, Granada TV, BBC North, we were in the Sun, Posters
screamed Melinda and even the terminally trendy Time Out chose to print
a picture of the band in action. Finally, there was the packed hall -
2500 jammed into every available space, ready to see Heep and proclaim
the homecoming. As I stood there drinking in the atmosphere. The sight
of the crowd brought a real lump to my throat and transported me
straight back to Edinburgh Odeon 1975, the Return to Fantasy
tour.........and suddenly, there it was... coming through the PA , the
familiar strains of that beautiful gothic peice of theatre spun me back
to the days when Heep routinely sold out halls and the world was ours .
I half expected to open my eyes and find
myself in a tiny club in Norwich but no, this is 2001 and Heep are back.
Mick's Chesire cat grin said it all. Our team won the cup. Just wait
till you see what comes next.....
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