Matthew Seligman's tour diary from underwatermoonlight.com
Before the gig
Conceptual problem. The tour diary has run its course. A developing teenage girl's soap opera would not be good. But.
It isn't allowed to stop now.

SOLUTION 1: Make it short, as in "today we went to Cambridge", full stop
SOLUTION 2: Make it weird as in "welcome to the wormhole, my friends – now let me introduce you to dimension No. 5 ..... ", no, not really, Robyn maybe, me no ......
SOLUTION 3: So, just make it .....

Well, it was nearly dead baby soft boy today. Fell asleep at the wheel as I was driving me and my amp up to Cambridge and woke up as I drifted over the rumble strip, heading for the grass. Stopped. Had a rest, opened all the windows, got to soundcheck but late .....

The gig
Seems good, maybe not great, but we're happy - Underwater Moonlight is crazy nowadays, and train coming round the bend always seems to work. New set-list has an early sudden town, but we need to find a new song to start with. Maybe Stones? Audience are bubbly, and afterwards loads of friends want to come backstage, but not to say they liked it. Weird. Well, they probably didn't, god knows why. Frank & Co who came to the Irving Plaza are there so they might be able to shed light on this .......

After the gig
Well, quite a long time afterwards in fact, we get this nice review from adam sweeting ... meanwhile tracy is nearly ready with the subscription area and laura has put up Irving Plaza pictures. Me I'm still coming down from the US tour – the effect of being back in the UK is a gradual re-entry into 'normal' life – Morris has VAT returns to do for his garage and I've got to read the MARCHIONESS report (I represented one of the parties in that case which was a terrible accident on the River Thames in August, 1989 when 52 people, in their 20's mostly, drowned) ... it's all pretty seriously 'other' compared to touring the US with the softs but that's the way it has to be for the time being at least ....

— Matthew



It was quite a special show, because being from Cambridge they could relate a lot of stories to the audience about where certain songs were written, and about whom.

Old Pervert: Robyn said that this was written about a particular character that used to wander around Midsomer Common in Cambridge. He also said that if they hadn't moved away from Cambridge, this song may well have ended up being autobiographical, as he joked that he could have pictured himself following the same path when he got older if he hadn't!

Kingdom Of Love: Robyn said this was written about another Cambridge character called Harold, who used to wander around the streets in a cloak that he had made himself out of old curtains. He asked the audience whether any of the older ones remembered him and some shouted out that they did. When he asked if he was still around, someone said that he'd died a couple of years ago.

The Face Of Death: About another Cambridge character called Arthur who used to walk down the streets near where they lived and practised. Also commented that both Arthur
and Harold would be seen at times wandering the same streets, but never really acknowledging each other's existence.

Human Music: Robyn said this was written on a Sunday in January in 1978.

I Wanna Destroy You: Robyn commented that this was written around the time Reagan was being sworn in as president, and ironically it's being played again just as Bush has become US president.

Astronomy Domine: When they returned to the stage, Robyn asked the audience whether anybody had seen Roger (ie. Syd - another Cambridge boy) Barret. After they finished
the song, he said that they hadn't seen him either.

Rock 'N' Roll Toilet: This was written in the Portland Arms, in Cambridge. This is a local pub where they still put on gigs for new bands to play.

Train Round The Bend (VU cover from Loaded album): Robyn said that over the 1979 New Year they spent a few weeks near Mount Snowdon in North Wales, and so they missed their usual New Year Celebrations in Cambridge. During this spell they would practise in a small scout hut, and he recalls they used to play this Velvet Underground song quite a lot.