I was hoping to do a daily On Tour With The Rutles update, but in between manic drives to distant Travel Inns, late soundchecks, bad signposting and our need to worship The Rutles from from my tacky merchandising stall, there just wasn't time. When I got home I was intent on writing a day to day account with photos and everything but the need to finish my album took over so it just hasn't happened.
I met Andrew Weatherall on the second night at the 100 Club. I was absolutely thrilled to bits to meet him and quite nervous about it. I love the Two Lone Swordsmen records, Tiny Reminders and Further Reminders, and of course the stuff he's done with Primal Scream. It turns out he's a fan - he like the Almost A Jubilee album - he told me they've been playing it every day before they start work and said it was a real honour to meet me. It's a real honour to meet him too. Every home should have Andrew Weatherall records in it. Karen took a quick photo of us together - I'm the one on the left looking like a complete halfwit:

I don't know who's come off the worst....

The rest of the Rutles tour went by in a whirl - my best moment might have been when Barry Wom asked me if his hair looked all right before they went onstage in Newcastle. There were other golden moments of course: the woman serving tea and coffee at the Moto services wearing a safety vest, the Glee Club in Birmingham with its ridiculously regimented arrangement of chairs and tables - the audience sat in lines and before the show they were requested to keep as still as possible during the performances. It was extremely un-gleeful. But then again, as soon as words like glee and humourous come in to play the fun usually drops out of things. I think the Glee Club specialises in comedy - and that's another word that's more or less guarantees a desperately unfunny time. But the Birmingham people enjoyed it and so did I, and apparently I'd be amazed how many times bands have made jokes about them looking like they're sitting an exam. I've got a photo of after the event with the chairs, tables, stage extension and audience cleared away:

Straight after the tour I got back to the album - it took a bit of time to get into it but by dropping everything else, apart from washing, eating, sleeping and a gig in Winchester, I got into it and made considerable headway. So much so that I'm ringing cutting rooms and pressing plants. I've just got one track to remix and some artwork to organise. It's almost there.
And not before time too - I'm celebrating my bicentenary (a twattish way of saying I'll be fifty) on Tuesday. I'll be officially middle-aged, fifteen years away from a bus pass, irritating, pedantic, with spectacles like a conservatory built onto the front of the face, given to sensible clothing, regular bowel motions and the use of words like buttocks, which is one of those words that only exists for the middle-aged. I don't know if I can hack it but I've going to give it a bloody good try. I'm thinking of buying a fleece.
For a while I thought I might be obliged to have a party but I didn't want to inconvenience everybody so I'm hiking Karen off to a hideaway on the Yorkshire coast. And when I come back we may even have the album artwork.
And also - I'm going to reply to all the emails that have been stacking up. I haven't answered an email since the Rutles tour. Sorry about that.