\n2011!<\/span><\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny but these days around – about this time – I can\u2019t help but reflect on the past when we had to
\nload the touring van ourselves. Sometimes in the ice and snow, being afraid that we would get frostbites
\non our fingers and not be able to play the gig!<\/p>\n
I remember one winter we had a gig at Hull City Hall in England. We were driving in heavy snow when we
\nhit black ice and the car hit the motorway barriers so hard that it was never able to be driven again.
\nHowever, it was fortunate that a passing farmer saved the day by letting us pile into his old Land Rover and
\nwas kind enough to drive us to the gig!<\/p>\n
It seems just like yesterday, as they say, that we were on tour with our good friends Budgie, Accept,
\nWarlock, AC\/DC, Saxon, Pantera… to name just a few. Very good memories indeed!<\/p>\n
Actually, I have just received a copy of Accept’s new album \u201cBlood of the Nations\u201d. And was really
\nhappy that Wolf and the boys are still creating great classic metal. I think it was back in ’81 that Priest
\nand Accept hit the road together for the first time and what a great tour that was! I really hope that we
\ncan meet up with the guys next year, at least on some of the festival dates and have a good laugh
\nwhen talking about the old times.<\/p>\n
It was our great fortune, as time passed, to go on and tour with almost every band that you can
\nthink of. Some tours included very cool line-ups that many people may not even be aware of: e.g.
\nPriest, Whitesnake & Iron Maiden \/ Priest, Scorpions & Def Leppard \/ Priest & UFO… and the
\nlist goes on.<\/p>\n
People often ask me what it\u2019s like to be on a tour and I always say the same things about it: simply
\nit\u2019s the hardest thing that you will ever do, but you wouldn\u2019t change it for the world. The travelling
\nbecomes such a major part of your life that you actually feel like a piece of luggage yourself! But
\nI must confess when you get to go to places that you have never been before like Korea, Turkey,
\nRomania, Columbia etc. it\u2019s no surprise that you feel like the luckiest man alive. I guess mainly
\nbecause for me – growing up as a kid – thinking of going to any of these places would have been
\npure fantasy.<\/p>\n
I would like to end this blog by taking this opportunity to congratulate Jukka and Teija who are to be
\nmarried this weekend in Finland. Jukka and Teija first met at Jari\u2019s 40th birthday party. Jukka, guitarist
\nfor Priest tribute band \u201c Priestone \u201c, was also at the party to play some Priest songs with the guys.
\nIt\u2019s so amazing that the happy couple who live 250 miles apart would most likely never have met if
\nthe ‘Priest Connection’ had not been in place… so I guess you could say that the Priest well and truly
\nworked it’s magic!<\/p>\n
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