Carnival of Thieves “Welcome to the Carnival.

The other night sitting out in the yard, BBQ fired up, (Once I had been on a magical mystery tour to replaced the propane)  roasting a nice Cajun BBQ Whole Chicken I needed something special to play on the musical rock. It was getting late and still as hot and sticky as it can get, I  call out to # 1 Daughter, still up as school has finished “Give me 2 numbers” (This game corresponds to shelf and CD  allowing me to access truly random music). What The Hell ! out pops Carnival of Thieves “Welcome To The Carnival”

So how did a signed copy of this most excellent and obscure (to the uninitiated) album get into my music library? Well sometime around my  Birthday Oct 1995 visiting my home town of Sheffield my best buddy Mark  drove us over to Chesterfield  dragged us up some stairs into a bar to see Mr Nick Harrison & Carnival of Thieves Mark IV play , sort of they were doing a three man show can’t remember why. Now you may think this is when I got hold of the signed copy of this  and you would be wrong.

This is how the next morning I ended up in Carlsboro Sounds buying a Westone Thunder 1a Bass as a birthday present to myself. (The first consequence of my Birthday promise to myself to turn over a new leaf, from now on any foolishness uttered while drinking had to be followed up by dedicated action the next day a sort of credibility check, you have no idea how much trouble this has caused and how hard it is to stick by, but mostly believe it or not I have.)

Twelve months later sitting in “The Lossie Inn” (a bar at the time that had its fair share off bikers) on the front at Lossiemouth in the wilds of Northern Scotland its  October 1996 I was busy enjoying an Indian Summer and the cold beers that go with it. Discussing how great the summer has been and how as always the three day Folk Festival at the “Beach Bar” had been excellent and wouldn’t it be great if we could have a Rock Festival as well. (Sounds like a sensible beer drink topic while sitting in a Biker Bar feeling very Rock & Roll in my vintage Ernie Ball round wound T- shirt and a subscription to Bassist & Bass Technique).

Jammed in between the pile of Photogs is  a leather jacketed RAF Regiment Biker type all enthusiastic recently returned from  the 10th Anniversary Bulldog Bash (August 1996) where he had seen this amazing band, Carnival of Thieves. This is the point where trouble starts, great Idea I say I am sure that Nick and the guys would love to play a Mini Rock Festival on the beech at the end of next summer. ( Obviously this sounds a bit far fetched to biker  buddy and he calls bullshit, So understanding that this statement really does sound like beer driven bullshit I promise to call and ask My good friend Mark to get a copy of “Welcome to the Carnival” and get it signed by Nick and the band to support the no bullshit call.)

Well a few months later I head home  and Mark has a shiny signed copy for me. ( I can’t remember if I owe someone money for this or not.) Fortunately when I get back to Scotland Regiment buddy has been posted and I have a signed copy all of my own. Carnival broke up in 1998 but I am happy to say they are working on a CD and a one time show that I have just missed as it was to be in June 21013. ( Carnival 2013 )

 

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