Me and Emilie took the plane from Stockholm on Tuesday evening because I had scheduled some interviews before the event which would start on Wednesday. The trip started off really well when the plane we flew with was struck by a lightning. The pilot said that it's probably the first and last time you're in a plane that's been struck by a lightning, and it's probably the first and last time you'll get out of a plane alive that's been struck by a lightning. Emilie's cousin picked us up at the airport and too us to his place. Room 57 We left London for Birmingham at 8 o'clock where we arrived around lunchtime. The hotel wasn't as close to the trainstation as we first thought, but eventually we found it. I knew that Rob Hubbard already had arrived, so I asked the receptionist to give him a call. His phone was busy so we went up. And there he was. In room 57. We talked about everything for two hours and after that I asked him about doing an interview. He wasn't too keen on it, since he's been asked just about every question there is. But I persuaded him to do it. After the interview was done, I found out that there was something wrong with the DV camera and that it didn't want to record the sound properly. I thought twice about asking him to do the interview all over again, but I had no choice. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! I went up and had another go, and actually, Rob thought the questions were interesting (which was a relief for me). The scheduled interviews with Dave Whittaker, Fred Gray and Martin Galway were cancelled because they were a bit late. After hanging out at the hotel for a while, we went down to the event. Arriving at the DNA club We got our VIP passes at the entrance when we arrived at the DNA Club and went up to the lounge right away and found the place already filled with people, and of course the stars. Since I had been mailing with the guys, it was a lot easier to approach them. First I met Gray and he told me why he got hold up and that we could do the interview whenever I wanted. I saw Whittaker talking to Galway and I went up to them and Dave recognized me right away. The interviews I interviewed Galway first. It was a really fun interview to do, because there I was, talking with the man who made Parallax, Rambo, Times of Lore etc, all by myself. There were some nice pictures taken, and I'm especially thinking of "Galway - the oceanman" (check out the pictures). Martin was nagging on me because Emilie was a bit cold. "Aren't you taking care of your girl"-kind of nagging. She had a coat in the closet all the time, but didn't want to get it, so Martin lent his Digital Anvil shirt to her. We went up to mingle a little, and my bud Che was really amazed because Em had Galway's shirt on. He had to try it on, and so he did - while Galway was looking another way! Hilarious! I approached Whittaker about an interview, but he said that, where ever you are on monday, I'll give you a call and we'll do it then. I told him that I didn't have any equipment to do this and it was not gonna take long, so he finally agreed. Pictures were taken and inlays were signed. He didn't remember that he did the music for Milk Race and War Cars Construction Set. Fred Gray was next. Everything went on so smoothly: interview, photos, autographs - bam! Done in 20 minutes! People were dancing to C64 remixes all night. Jeff Minters lightshow was something very special, and the C64 games projected on the walls were cool to look at. People were starting to get really loaded, and everyone seemed to have a ball. Later on, Daglish introduced me to Crowther and we agreed on doing an interview with them together. It was the reunion of We M.U.S.I.C. folks! They were both in a really good mood and you know, Ben is like the guy who talks all the time and entertains everyone. As a huge fan of this duo, it was fantastic to interview them. It was a fun and relaxing interview, and I also had Ben sign a few inlays and Tony signed Zig Zag. More interviews We had not been eating since breakfast, so after a lot of work, we sat down for some nuggets and fries. After chatting to people from all over Europe, we decided to go up to the VIP lounge again. We found the stars gathered together for a photo shoot - and we almost missed it! I tried to find Mark Cooksey, but without success. I got hold of Minter and Richard Joseph for a quick interview though. I tell you, Richard looked *really* weird when I asked him if he had a message for all the fans out there. And he was really amazed with the cover of The Sacred Armour of Antiriad that I brought for him to sign. Jeff was great! This event was like a culture shock for him, but he seemed to like the situation. He showed me Flossie and it was the first time that I *really* understood that he's really passionate about her, the prettiest sheep in the world. Bombay Vindaloo The event was almost over, so we decided to pick up on the offer Galway had given us earlier, which was to leave the event and grab a bite. The time was around 2 o'clock and we said goodbye to Whittaker who could hardly speak no more. At the door we met Daglish and Crowther and said goodbye, and we all witnessed Whittaker being carried out (cheers Dave!). We went to an Indian restaurant. I won't bother writing what we talked about, it was pretty much non-C64 talk. But one thing I did ask him was if he felt weird about having fans and writing autographs. He told me that he had imagined the situation and had mentally prepared for things that could happen at the event. Martin was off early Thursday morning, so around 3:15, we said goodbye and it was pretty cool when he said "keep in touch". He later told me he missed the flight and had to wait another day! Breakfast with the stars We ate breakfast at 9 o'clock and met Abbott, Hubbard, Joseph and Gray. Gray stayed for a bit to talk to us. He was so kind! Things were too good at times, but maybe the composers felt that it was a bit less weird to talk to me because I had my girl with me, which shows that I'm sane and that I have a life. Heheh... When we checked out, Ben came and checked out as well. He was a little worried about Dave and how he was doing. The receptionist called Dave's room, but there was no answer. She told us that she would check up on him, so we could leave. We walked to the trainstation together with Mat Allen (a guy we just met and went back to London with - cheers!) and Ben told us that he and Jeff had been catching up on old times in his room 'till 4.30. And we all know what that means! :) Later that day we were back in Sweden and realised how much fun we had. I'M REALLY HAPPY I WENT!! » Go back to the articles

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