Here we are at the end of another adventure, a truly brilliant rollercoaster ride of fun and games with a brilliant bunch of people I will never forget. I’ve loved this tour, it’s been highlight after highlight, albeit with a knackered foot which has threatened to ruin my fun, but never actually succeeded. I anticipated doing a bit more of this blog as we went along, but I’ve just been so busy, and my computer only seems to work half of the time any more (on wifi, at least). I’ve been trying to concentrate on extracting every last bit of fun out of the gigs at every touch and turn, and have managed to succeed, i think.

Highlights this past few weeks?

A brilliant night at the re-opening of the Elysee Montmatre in Paris, where I played with The Sisters in 2011ish (it was the night two of the smoke machines exploded and covered the stage in smoke fluid, the viscosity of which effectively transformed it into an ice rink). Parisians are predictably and understandably gung-ho in their enjoyment of gigs at the moment, every show feels like a celebration, which is exactly the correct approach. A thousand mental rock fans in a room where the band is REALLY hitting its stride creates a truly excellent atmosphere.

A wonderful evening at the Proxima in Warsaw, where it transpires UKJ are one of the biggest bands in the entire world. The venue comfortably holds 800 people and it appears they’ve sold 2000 tickets, it’s rammed and there’s sweat running down the walls. It also helps that the entire front row is absolutely stunningly attractive. Some brilliant Russian fans present the band with a small trophy for being the best band ever, which is nice.

An INSANE Thai meal in Lucerne, which is as eye-wateringly delicious as it is eye-wateringly expensive. Fortunately Team UKJ pick up the bill, for which we are eternally grateful.

And of course Hard Rock Hell, the festival the tour was centred around, which we were all looking forward to, in spite of us all feeling pretty jaded at the end of a six-week run (and maybe all having to add a notch or two to our belts). Of course, the reception made us all feel like it was Show 3, rather than Show 33. Unbeknownst to the rest of us (or me, at least), Whit has hired dancing girls to dress as Donald Trump and pour milk all over themselves, which is equal amounts off-putting and hilarious, and some of my mates down the front are over the moon to tell me how uncomfortable I looked at that point in the set. Brilliant stuff though and a great, well-run festival.

Tonight is the last gig, and I’m sad to be leaving the guys behind, but very happy to be heading home to the girlfriend and the cat. It’s been a long time away, and although I’m straight back out again with The Sisters on Friday, that’s only a short run and then we can get stuck right into Christmas and New Year. I’ve got lots of plans for the New Year, all of which centre around staying at home a bit more and concentrating on my solo stuff, which I am DEAD excited about….

I’ve been filming bits for a new video around the world over the past few months for a single I want to release in December, or maybe New Year’s Day, for a song called ‘Same Old Sun’. The premise of which is that no matter where you go, no matter who you are, you wake up under the same sun, and you have the ability (and/or inability) to do with that whatever you wish. I’ve done bits in LA (Venice Beach), Santiago, on the Copacabana in Rio, at the Sacre Coeur in Paris, and some of course in Leeds, I just need to mash it all up to look like a video. I’ve been wearing the same clothes for it everywhere, except in Paris where I broke my white sunglasses by sitting on them with my newly fat arse. I’m real excited by it, it’s one of my favourites from my solo album so fingers crossed everyone is into it. It’s well Summery, so Dec/Jan is possibly the worst time to put it out… or maybe that means it’s the best time to put it out. Anyway, looking forward to seeing how that goes down.

Righto, time for dinner. A short stint with the Sisters next, then onto the serious business of Christmas.

Onwards and upwards!
Chris.