Gossip's Night Club London - Friday 21st June 2002

( BiT = Back in Time )

After England's 2-1 defeat against Brazil in the World Cup, I really needed cheering up ! This might sound rather strange from someone that doesn't really like Football that much, but hey ! Everyone felt for them and I especially, wanted them to win ! There was an added bonus to this Friday though, as it was BiT Live time again and I had been looking forward to it since the last BiT event !

I caught a Coach to London from Oxford at 2pm and reached London W3 just after 3pm, where there was a series of Road Works and a Road Traffic Accident. So my journey was somewhat delayed and I eventually reached Marble Arch after 4pm. I hailed a Taxi Cab and arrived at the Euston Travel Inn after 4:30pm. Darren Izzard was waiting for me in the Reception area, where he directed me to our Room. Paul Chapman was also sharing the same Room. We decided to stay at the Hotel until it was time to leave and chatted about general things, including the C64 scene. During part of our conversation I mentioned about having BT Broadband Internet installed and tried best to describe the Alcatel ASDL Modem that I had ordered for use with it. I even chose to sketch it, but I think my efforts were too much for Darren and Paul, as they began to laugh uncontrollably. So, does this Modem look like a ...

Manta Ray, Squashed Frog or something even more bizarre ? You decide !

Time soon passed and we decided to depart for Gossips, so a Taxi Cab was ordered. I think we got there in time, as it was near to 7:30pm. Whilst walking towards the Club, we bumped into Jan Lun Thomsen and continued to walk with him until we reached Dean Street. There was a queue already forming and it started to Rain, but this didn't dampen our spirits. After a few more minutes we entered the Club, paid our entrance fee to Steve Barrett who was manning the Till, then to join the rest of the eager BiT'ers ! There were many familiar faces, as from previous BiT events ! As more people entered the Club, the temperature started to rise and many people were showing signs of the heat, sweating buckets in other words ! :o) It was pretty good to have the Monitors linked from the main stage where Press Play on Tape performed fantastically, as it was practically impossible to see through the already high spirited fans ! There was also a rather cool video ( parody style ) of Press Play on Tape ( I think ) starring as a C64 Boy band, a bit like Backstreet Boys and Westlife. It included scenes with a Joystick in Bed and also where one of the Band members kissed / licked his C64 in Bed ! Very amusing ! I have no doubt that this will be available soon for all to see ! :o) There was also a live set with Ben Daglish on Penny Whistle, which was out of this world ! I do recall another live act, but I couldn't make out who they were from the Monitors, so my apologies for not knowing your names ! :oO I did make an effort to buy some goodies from the BiT Shop, below is a Photo of what I got :

I spoke briefly to Richard Joseph and Jason Page ( sorry if I conversation was broken ) on the night. Lando, Kenz and the Chortles Crew, Frank Abbott and Chris Abbot, Steve Barrett, Chris Abbott, Mort ( Zzap! 64 Scan Man ), LaLa, Marcel Donne and a few other people. I think that heat ( mentioned it again ) was getting too much for some, as Lando was feeling the need for some fresh air ! I have to admit that the air conditioning either wasn't enough or the fact that the Club was pretty active and all of the BiT'ers hotted the place up a bit ! :o) I did notice that there wasn't a High Score Competition, but I think it may have been cancelled due to the amount of people in the Club. Myself, Darren and Paul managed to hold out until a bit after 1am Saturday morning, when we decided to depart and head back to the Hotel. We did try and order a Taxi Cab, but as per-usual most companies were busy and that left those dodgy unlicensed Cabs. So we headed for Oxford Street with the view to hailing a Cab, but no such luck. We bumped into Richard Joseph and sort of tagged along with him and caught a Number 73 Bus back the Euston Station, where our Hotel was. Richard was lucky in Hailing a Cab as we got of the Bus, but some other bloke beat him to it ! Very frustrating ! So, I hope Richard managed to get back to where he was staying ok !

I think Myself, Darren and Paul managed to get a few hours sleep, but I was still on a high from the great night that had passed us by earlier. Eventually, some sleep was got and we awoke around 7-8am if I recall correctly. We departed the Hotel before 9am and headed towards Euston Train Station where I treated us all to a Burger King Breakfast, everything was fine apart from the rather nasty Tea, which reminded me of the quality stuff at Oxford Train Station. You just have to add copious amounts of Sugar to give it a realistic flavour kick ! :o) After our Breakfast, we headed for the Taxi rank and queued so to catch one and reach our favoured Train and Bus Station destinations. Paul had to wait around until 2pm to catch his National Express Coach back home. We then said our farewells, knowing soon that we'd meet up again for another Back in Time Live ! :o) 

I personally think that this years BiT was better than the last, especially with the live bands ! :o) The BiT Shop had a load more things on offer to buy, including all the Guildhall Leisure Games and Blitz Basic stuff ! I am very much looking forward to the next BiT Live experience ! :o)

Below, you will find some Photos that I took during the evening. There aren't so many as last year, but at least there as some ! :o)

A small selection of Photos from the great Back in Time Live 2002 London event !

Jason Page and Julian 'Jools' Smyth.

Jan Lund Thomsen, Paul Chapman and Darren Izzard.

Steve Barrett ( Posing with Zzap! 64 Issue 107 )