Wednesday 10th June 2009, 18:04
The Race to Roxette
Meant to add this to the end of the blog about honeymooning, but a key difference from most honeymoons and ours was that the plane ride back didn't signify the end of the excitement. For we had tickets to the first and only UK date in 15 years of one-half of Roxette... Oh yes, Per Gessle chose the one London date on his tour to be the same day that two of the biggest Roxette fans came back from holiday. Flight due to land at 5:30pm at Gatwick, show due to start at 7pm in Islington. A tricky commute.
We landed a little late (5:45pm) - due to be later still, but I had a quick word with the captain while we were both queuing for the toilet on the plane (you'd have thought the captain doesn't have to queue, but he does. Then again, you'd have thought he'd have a plastic bottle or tube or something to save having to get up...) - and he offered to fly it a bit faster just so we could get to the concert. Very good of him.
Met at the airport by my parents, who took our luggage and pointed us in the direction of the Gatwick Express to Victoria. Raced onto the first train, annoying holidaymakers on busy escalators in the process. Phoned best man for his final wedding duties - using the internet to confirm where the venue actually was. Phew, there's a support band, we discover. Mr Roxette due on stage at 8ish. Buys us some time. Taxi from Victoria, raced into the venue at 8:20pm... And there we were, for the first time in our lives, in a room with fellow Roxette fans. Felt a bit Alcoholics Anonymousish, only with a better backing track (debatable - but we like it).
And so yes, brilliant show he put on. Lots of Roxette songs and not the indulgence of recent solo stuff that acts often do if they've had albums since their heyday. Turns out we missed 5 songs, and were still there to catch 2 more hours, including all the biggies - It Must Have Been Love, Listen To Your Heart, Joyride, etc etc etc, ending on the lovely Queen of Rain. He even ended with the line "Dream about the sun", which is exactly what we were doing about the honeymoon. Aw. And then the exit music was The Hills Are Alive from The Sound of Music - especially appropriate if you saw the spoof video we put together and posted here a while ago. So it went full circle.
Now that's how to end a honeymoon...