The Live Station holds a maximum capacity of about 800 people with a very nice atmosphere and a balcony but unfortunately there were only about 100 people there and they kept the lights on the whole time. It was a very good show in spite of some technical problems - Ollie walked offstage for a while because he couldn't hear anything in the monitors so he was fed up with the whole affair. There was more energy in Dortmund than at Bonn with people dancing in front of the stage. I thought the keyboard player was very good and impressive.... On the way to the toilet after the show I bumped into Ayers and had a brief chat - he came out of the women's toilet, he seems a very confused person still! Strange. Ollie came to the loo as well (right one) and had a few words with Kevin....

I took a day off work next day to go to Bonn. The show was a bit slower. The Jazz Galerie, as the name suggests, is mainly a jazz club, in the middle of town, more like a pub. There were tables with candles burning in front of the stage. I would guess the maximum capacity would be about two to three hundred. I couldn't believe it when I started counting and there were only 65 people there.

ROLF OSSENBERG

Ed. - Sounds like the Ayers promotional machine was as moribund in Germany as it was in the UK. One factor to bear in mind is that 'Still Life' has not been released in Germany where they've had to rely on French imports. Did the situation improve at any of the other European gigs? Please let us know. One friend travelled across half of Europe to catch the Strasbourg gig, only to find it had taken place three days BEFORE the advertised date! The Shaw Theatre gigs in London seemed to be covered by the Official Secrets Act. The place groaned with publicity for every type of entertainment under the sun but not a single word about Kevin Ayers. Comments please - maybe we could run a whole series about 'The Time I Nearly Saw Kevin Ayers'!