Concert Review: Guernsey, UK - February 8, 2002
Diane Perry:
I got back home to Cornwall just over an hour ago and can hardly wait to tell everyone about my Guernsey Chris de Burgh experience!!!!!!!!!! It's quite hard to write because I still feel as though I'm on the ferry, everything's swaying (or maybe it's because I'm high on emotion!!)
I don't quite know where to start so I'll begin a few days before 8th February, with my husband Andrew (he was accompanying me to Guernsey) and I anxiously watching the weather forecast in case the ferries to Guernsey were cancelled. We'd had gale force winds and rough seas for days before and we were praying they would die down before we were due to sail.
It was arranged that we would sail from Weymouth in Dorset on the fast ferry which only takes two and a quarter hours so we decided to travel to Weymouth the day before and stay in a Guest House for the night as we had to check in at 7am on the morning of the 8th. We arrived in Weymouth and were walking over to the ferry reception to see if a decision on whether to sail or not had been made when I saw a street sign reading 'Astrid Way'! This HAD to be a good sign!!!!!!! Though Andrew was mystified as to the meaning of this!!! Sure enough the ferry WOULD be sailing in the morning!!!!!!!!!
I'm sure I woke up every hour in the night and looked at the clock, I can only describe the feeling as being similar to a child's on Christmas Eve, HUGE excitement!! Eventually morning came and we made our way to the ferry terminal, I was almost floating on air! The ferry seemed to be almost flying and I went to sleep (I had taken travel sickness tablets and they had made me very drowsy) unfortunately poor Andrew was really ill, I woke up to see him looking a very funny shade of green and he disappeared to the Gents for most of the journey. I was fine!!!!!!
We soon arrived in Guernsey and I was a little worried to see that the island was shrouded in fog, now I had something else to panic about - would Chris be able to fly in????!!!! I was surprised to see so much traffic, apparently there is a vehicle for every person on Guernsey!
I walked up the steps to the hotel feeling like Royalty, the foyer was very elegant with a marble floor and marble pillars, leafy palms in pots and chairs sumptiously upholstered in a tapestry fabric and tassels, they looked more like thrones!!
A very friendly receptionist showed us to our room which was huge! It had two large windows which had a sea view (we found this out after the fog had lifted) and looked out to the neighbouring islands of Herm, Jethou and Sark.
By late afternoon we had a 'phone call from CdeB's management, the good news was that Chris had landed on the island (phew!!!) but the bad news was that our ferry home had been cancelled and we would have to take the slower ferry home (13 hours) I wasn't too worried as it meant longer on Guernsey but poor Andrew did not relish the thought of all those hours at sea!
I got ready for the concert feeling on top of the world! We were due to go to the stage door of the concert venue at 7pm so we ordered a taxi for 6.30 just to be on the safe side. Chris Andrews (CdeB's Personal Assistant) was informed of our arrival and we were told that the two Chris's were back at the hotel and could we please make our way to the right side of the stage at 7.30.
We got chatting to several people who were attending the concert too and told them of our lucky win, they were all really pleased and excited for us.
At 7.30 we made our way to the curtain as instructed, my knees had started to knock slightly by now. Still CdeB had not arrived so we waited patiently, suddenly the door swung open and there was Chris de Burgh!! I thought my heart was going to jump out it was beating so fast!!!!
Chris had a little chat with the 'behind the scenes' workers and then he came and shook our hands and ushered us into his room. It was very hard not to imagine we were dreaming!!!!!
We talked about the new album and he told us that the concerts in the Channel Islands were a welcome diversion as he'd been in the recording studio for that week and the week before. Chris said he was going to Russia the following month and how cold it would be there, he asked if we had any requests, Andrew said 'Borderline' as that is his favourite and I said 'Broken Wings' which is mine, he said he wasn't sure if he could remember the words to 'Broken Wings' but I hoped he would!!!! Chris kindly signed a photograph that I had taken of him at Ragley Hall last year, posed for photos and it was time to take our seats.
There was great excitement in the hall and there was a huge cheer as CdeB was introduced!!!!! Our seats were in the third row just to the left of the stage so we had a good view. Chris opened with Carry On, closely followed by Here Is Your Paradise, I had a notebook and pen with me so that I could let you all know and I was frantically writing it all down. Andrew was quite impressed because I knew which song was next after hearing just a few notes of the introduction, but I know everyone on the list could have done the same!!!
Sailing Away followed, then A Woman's Heart, The Head and the Heart, Natasha Dance, Let it Be, In a Country Churchyard. Chris was of course chatting and joking in between singing, he mentioned that there were three couples who had travelled all the way from America especially for the show.
I thought he became very emotional at the end of The Same Sun but he soon composed himself and sang A Spaceman Came Travelling, I thought he was joking when he said he had forgotten the words but he wasn't! Luckily the audience helped him out and he laughed about it. Borderline followed and Andrew was in his element (I do believe he is becoming a fan after all!) then came The Lady In Red and Goodbye To It All.
There was then a very special moment as Chris told us he had finished a new song just the day before and he would like to sing it for us, it's a very sad song called Snow is Falling, very beautiful indeed.
Chris then asked for requests and someone asked for Patricia The Stripper but he said he'd had a religious conviction and couldn't sing it any more, Carry Me Like A Fire In Your Heart followed, I hadn't heard this sung live before and it was really lovely, he sang Tender Hands at someone's request and then came the best bit for me!!!!!!!
A man's voice shouted out "Broken Wings" and Chris said "Is that the lovely Diane's husband?" Andrew said "No, we're over here!" We hadn't shouted out my request because Chris already knew what it was and after the Spaceman I really didn't want to risk embarrassing him in case he had genuinely forgotten the words, but it was WONDERFUL!!!!!! My heart felt as though it had swelled to about twice it's size and I was quite emotional. It certainly made my Guernsey experience absolutely perfect!!!!!!!
American Pie came next and Chris joked that he didn't think the person who had recorded it recently would go far! Then came Without You which Chris said was in his own top three personal favourite songs, When I Think Of You, The Snows Of New York, Missing You, Don't Pay The Ferryman, Patricia was the first song in the encore which pleased everybody, then it was Where Peaceful Waters Flow and of course he finished with Hey Jude.
We made our way back to the hotel feeling like the luckiest two people on earth!! It's just as well I didn't have any CdeB fans 'phone numbers with me as one or two of you would have had a late night call, I was just bursting to share the experience!!!!!! The memory of that night will live in my heart for the rest of my life!
Astrid deserves a very special thank you as without her this competition would not have happened. So THANK YOU Astrid!!!!! Thank you too, to all the lovely people on this List who wrote and congratulated me on my good fortune, your good wishes have meant a great deal to me.