Bev Bevan Diaries - ELO Part 2 in Kansas and Ecuador
My diary this week goes back 13 years to the second week of September 1995, when I was on tour with ELO Part 2 in North and South America.
Thursday September 7th
Drove down to Gatwick in pouring rain. An hour in the Delta Airlines lounge before a business class flight to Atlanta. Couple of hours wait there before connecting flight to Kansas City (what a waste of your life it is sitting around in airports!) Checked into a Holiday Inn Express.
Friday September 8th
Day of extremely boring rehearsals.
Saturday September 9th
Awake too early with the usual jet-lag. Minibus to the venue - a lovely open air amphitheatre set in a huge park - and we ran through most of the show with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Louis Clark conducting.
Nice gig catering of salmon, salad and rice. Good crowd of about 6,000 and went down very well.
I found it hard to relax though, having to really concentrate on keeping strict time to hold together band and orchestra, and having to play too quietly for my liking.
I'm one of the loudest drummers around - I want to play loud rock 'n' roll!
Sunday September 10th
Woken at 8am by a bus generator starting up right outside my room, so went a walk. Back to my room and watched some American football and Sampras beating Agassi in the US Open tennis final. Day off. Found a decent Chinese restaurant for dinner.
Monday September 11th
A hard day's day! Up at 6am and minibus to the airport for flight to Miami. Long wait there before flying on to Guayaquil in Ecuador, about a 4-hour flight, arriving around 9pm. Chaotic airport but met by the promoter and whistled through customs and immigration.
Ecuador, on first impressions, a poor and scruffy place. Checked into what we are told is the best hotel in the city. If that's so I'd hate to be staying in any of the inferior ones. Nightcap in the gloomy hotel bar before squeezing into my single bed, traffic noise roaring outside my window.
Tuesday September 12th
Woken by the early morning rush hour traffic. A plain omelette the only edible thing at breakfast. Midday press conference. I moved rooms to avoid the traffic noise, but ended up next to the hotel's air conditioning unit.
On the Equator here but it's hot, humid and cloudy. Had a look around the city, but little to see. Found an open-air market and bought some tatty souvenirs to take home. On the evening taken out by the promoter to a restaurant in the middle of the bustling sprawl. Dinner of some unidentifiable fish pretty revolting, but the local wine surprisingly good.
Wednesday September 13th
Slept a little better. Deffed the breakfast - once is enough! Managed to phone home after quite a palaver. Lot of hanging about during the day. Only been away for six days and feels like a fortnight already.
Sound check at 4pm. Nice little theatre. Only about half full on the night, but an enthusiastic crowd. Signed a few autographs after the show and soon back to our grim hotel.
Thursday September 14th
Band and crew all checked out of the hotel together early in the morning. Glad to leave Guayaquil and fly to the capital city, Quito. Some spectacular views approaching the airport and we flew precariously close to the rooftops on coming in to land.
Bus into the city and the hotel a huge improvement on the last one. No soundcheck possible as all the power has to be turned off between 3pm and 6pm due to water shortages. A generator at the hotel however.
Felt tired, but probably due to the extremely high altitude here. Siesta. Down to the gig about 7pm. My rental drum kit an absolute joke - every drum a different make and different colour! Show very good, though, and sold out. Made excuses not to go out clubbing afterwards as a very early call tomorrow.
Friday September 15th
Hard to drag myself out of bed for the 5.30am alarm call. Got to the airport, which was heaving with people, and thankfully soon on our way out of Ecuador - I have no desire to return.
Flew to Miami, then a horrible cramped flight to Chicago, jammed between two grossly overweight American businessmen.
Met at Chicago airport by minibus to drive us to Lyons, Illinois, and very nearly involved in a nasty automobile accident. Finally checked into a Holiday Inn around 9.30pm, about 16 hours after we got up.
Another 10 days of gigs to come here in the USA.
I'd rather go home.
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Bev Bevan - Musician and radio presenter
Interesting stuff here Bev. I was particularly drawn towards your comment about being frustrated that you were not able to play as loudly as you would have liked - the last time I saw ELO part 2 with yourself in the band was a gig in Leeds, where I was amazed by how quietly you seemed to have to play. Shortly afterwards you left the band. Wondering if there's a connection here....
Keep up the good work!
James
Dear Mr. Bevan,
Happy to find your site!
A couple of years ago I wrote the book "The Beatles - From Cavern to Star-Club". Now IÃÅœm working on another book about British Beat in Hamburg in the early 60âÂÂs.
If IâÂÂm correct you and the Diplomats did a stint at Top Ten Club, Hamburg in May 1962. If possible IÃÅœd very much would like to get in touch and learn more about this stay for the book.
Best regards,
PhD Hans Olof Gottfridsson
I enjoyed reading all your entries especially the one of Kansas which I was raised and have lived here most of my life here in Wichita but not in KC, lol! I grew up listening to Electric Light Orchestra and still do to this day...due to all respects you were an time drummer, ty!
You are an impact to the next generation and thereafter...my daughter enjoys you all and my grandbaby dances to all the tunes of ELO who is only 20 months old. Sorry I missed you all in 1995 but you'll always have a place in my heart...Rock On!
Blessings to you and yours ~ rose;)
Bev Bevan: What a stupid little brain man. Since you start your boring dairy, you started up complaining about everything, complaining about waiting at the airport, complaining about your flight to Atlanta, then your flight to Guayaquil, more complaining about your hotel in the city, then complaining about the noise. And when arriving in Quito complaining like a little stupid girl about flying "precariously over the rooftops". You idiot continue complaining about leaving Ecuador and planning no come back anymore (I am sure Ecuadorians will be glad no to see all of you bunch of idiots come back to their land). And just to finish, you stupid, once in America, complaining again about flying to Chicago next to "over-weight American business men", and back to Illinois, complaining that you, bunch of druggies almost get involved in a "car accident". Honestly, for me, it seems that specifically you, are a bad-luck magnet, because you attract bad vibration to the all group, because you attract uggliness, negativeness, uncomfortable situations to others, bad flights, undesirable "overweight people" flying next to you idiot, nastiness at the airports, almost "nasty car accident involvement" and on, and on, and on. You know what stupid. Next time when you wake up in the morning, instead of complaining about airports, flights, people, other cultures, cities, and countries, instead of criticizing other people for their appearance, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, AND THANK THE LORD, for all the good things He provides to your daily life, for all the things you can do and enjoy, because there are million and millions of people around the world who have nothing to eat, nothing to drink, no bed where to sleep, nothing to wear. Count your blessings idiot and stop complaining. Do not forget to say Thank You Good Lord for one more day of your Blessing to my life. Your life will change, your perception about people, cultures, and other countries will change, and you idiot, will be happier, and will give happiness to others. Believe me, it works.
@ P.J. Valverde - LMBO!!! Get it off your chest, man. LOL - wonderful ;)
Bev, I never knew you were in the DAIRY business? Is it a dairy farm? Did Alice ever get back there? How many cows do you have? Like your drumming, you were probably OUTSTANDING in that field.
I was particularly drawn towards your comment about being frustrated that you were not able to play as loudly as you would have liked - the last time I saw ELO part 2 with yourself in the band was a gig in Leeds, where I was amazed by how quietly you seemed to have to play. Shortly afterwards you left the band. Wondering if there's a connection here....
Keep up the good work!
Menopause Remedies
Well Bev, if there's one question I have always wanted to ask you it's "Why did you sell your share of ELO to Jeff and jack it all in?", but I think your little diary entry up there has explained it all to me.
It seems to me that you had become disillusioned with the whole ELO/ELO2 vehicle- towards the end thinking that perhaps you should have just let it lie when Jeff decided it was finished. Well I think ELO part 2 was wonderful, and if you had quit it all when Jeff did, some of the brilliant songs from the two "part 2" albums never would have came to be, that surely would have been a crime.
I always thought that the release of Zoom must have stung a bit, but now I don't believe you cared either way. In fact, I find myself wondering if you have even heard it.
To me you'll always be a founding member and the drumming backbone of one of the greatest bands ever to have existed, and I hope you look back back at those times and are proud of them. I'm sorry it all went stale for you (If this is the case of course) but you know what they say.... All good things must come to an end.