These are a selection of messages and comments sent in from fans about your favourite band. 'Smokie at the Blue Sky A couple of Saturday's ago, I was out at the Blue Sky Chinese restraunt and club in Bradford city centre with my family, the place is very popular and very good - one of Bradford's finest restraunts. It had got to about 10pm and after being there for over two hours, I only just realized that all the background music that was playing was all that of Smokie and it continued to be Smokie that was playing all night, 'Wild Horses', 'Live' and 'Uncovered' were all played so I asked the owner who happened to be there at the bar and he told me how he and most of the staff (who were mostly Chinese) were big fans of the guys. One of them even went to the famous concert in Beijing when Smokie were filmed for I.T.V. He also told me both Terry and Martin had visited the restaurant more than once! 'Nan Li Wan' was the song that got the staff into Smokie, they had heard that first and then after seeing them live in Beijing and in Bradford, their favourite song was 'Desperate Measures'. This was all good news to my ears that Smokie are still getting the recognition they deserve and that their is played and is as popular as ever! ' Sam Collier, Low Moor, Bradford   'I want to tell you how much I enjoyed the Concert here in Cape Town. What a blast! The only disappointment was that I couldn't get to meet you all personally as I have waited all these years from your last Tour to do so as I was unable to get to the pub where you met your fans last time around. Oh well, I hope it's not too long before you come back to our sunny shores when I WILL get to meet you come what may. I wanted to show you my 'Smokie' ring - It's a plain 5mm wide gold band with the Smokie logo in raised letters. I'm very proud of it and flash it at the drop of a hat. I'm listening to the Hit Box collection as I write - this being the 5th time I've been through the complete set and I still get goosebumps from your voice. Hoping Smokie will be back very soon. Best wishes, COLLEEN ' Colleen Boden   'I am your biggest fan. I am 26 yr old gal from Australia, and i grew up on 'Bright lights and back alleys'. My mum loves you! We have all your music. I was so happy to have got my hands on your new album. The music hasn't changed. I can relate to so many of your songs thats why i love it so much. I wish you would come and tour here in Australia. Please continue your great songwriting it's fantastic. Love you all your biggest fan xxxxxx' Lis M   'Hi guys I just wanted to say that I went to watch your concert at Emerald City and it was the best concert I have ever been to. I would also like to thank Steve for giving me his drumsticks after the concert as they have been the highlight of my LIFE. I Also thank all of you for doing an EXCELLENT concert at Emerald. I really hope you come to South Africa again as I would do anything to see you guys again. I want to also thank Martin, Mike and Mick for giving me your autographs. Thanks Wuzza.' Warren Griffiths   'I recently had the enourmous honour to attend the Smokie concet in Hatfield, Pretoria (South Africa). These guys are as phenominal as I always thought they would be. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I have always been, and will always be a devoted fan.' Jeanine du Plessis   'How you rocked us last night. I cannot remember when last I have enjoyed a concert as much as I did the one that was put on by Smokie in Port Elizabeth South Africa last night. It was like a time warp back to the 70’s all the familiar faces a bit older and slower but still ROCKING. Now all we need to know is when will you be back?' Dave McEwen   'Hey there. Just watched your show in Hartenbos (South Africa) wanted to say that i truly enjoyed it. You made my dream come true by performing in South Africa. I always dreamed of watching you guys live! Now everytime i listen to the box set i will remember that wonderful evening... Don't stop singing you guys are the greatest :) Thank you from the bottom of my heart... Chantel' Chantel Cushion   'Well, that's another UK tour finished. Can't wait until 2005 for the next one. Doncaster was fantastic - besides being featured several times on the live video!! Jules, we want all copies (and the original) destroyed!!!! Looking back over the 5 gigs we went to, I think that, if I had to pick a favourite, York was probably the best; the audience was really up for a good sing, a good laugh and, generally, a good time that night. But Scarborough, Preston, Bradford and Doncaster were all fantastic. There was a subtle reference to Sheffield during the Doncaster gig. Here's hoping that next time they can compare the two. I would like to say hello to everyone who was at any or all of the afore-mentioned gigs, especially Val. Also, Wendy and family. Tracy (aka Alice) and I always look forward to seeing you at the gigs. All I will say about Val is, if they turn up singing "Alice" in Welsh - you know who to blame!! I used to have a flare for languages, but that's disappeared; I still can't get the Spanish words!!! Here's to the next UK tour and I sincerely hope the next 18 months go quickly. Best wishes everyone. Lyn (aka Skippy ) Sheffield, UK' Lyn (aka Skippy)   'Just like to say a big thank you for a fantasic show at the Alambra last monday night, This was mine and my husbands first visit to see the band and we were not dissapointed, Very good show, great sound and atmostphere, we will be looking forward to seeing them back again in Bradford. Thanks once again, for a great night. Sam and Dave Hall' Sam & Dave Hall   'Im just back from Aberdeen and Arbroath watching smokie. This is the tenth concert I've attended in two years and the boys where brilliant as usual.Arbroath is famous for its smokies for which it was apt this weekend.It was a great show. I liked how they split it - first half it was all ballads then the second half smokie stuf we know and love.If you think you know how to love me is my favourite and it sounds as fresh to day as it did in 75 - and the spanish version is brilliant. There was a great moment in the Arbroath show when Mike paused when singing "few dollars more" and the crowed started clapping. For about three min the band just stood and watched. We met Terry, Martin, & Steve after the show as usual they made time to speak to you, we also spent some time with Martin's lovely wife Ross who also makes you feel very welcome we had great weekend hope to see them next year' Neil Kane   'HI! We both want to say a big "thank you" for a great evening last night at Grimsby. It was full of energy and colour, magnificent sound, visuals, and most of all wonderful musicianship. I am a retired vicar - 65 next birthday! I was brought up in Liverpool, went to the Cavern to watch and listen to the Beatles, whilst drinking .......... out of Coca Cola bottles. My early records were of Bill Hayley, Guy Mitchell, Johnny Ray, Tommy Steele, and the Beatles of course! I also love classical music and play classical music and jazz on my wonderful grand piano, which was a gift from a retired concert pianist who went off to Spain to retire. I haven't been to a rock concert for many years so last night was a special treat! I suffer from deep depression and I want to thank you for the amazing lift your performance gave to me last night. My wife Kathy is Head of Religious Education at a Secondary School in Louth, spends hours working in her study at home on the computer, playing "The Best of Smokie", and singing her heart out! Many thanks. I don't know where you get all your energy from! Best wishes to all of you. Keep up the good work, but don't knacker yourselves!' David Redrobe & Kathy Colwell, England   'We have read about the youngest Smokiefan on the news page!!!! But what about the oldest???? Grethe is a 93 year young (not old) Danish lady. She sits on a wheel chair and the very first time she listened to Smokie, was Christmas 2 years ago. We were playing ‘Light A Candle’ when she suddenly asked ‘who is this?’ It was of course Smokie to which she replied ‘Smokie play things like this???’, and from then on she asked for me to play it again and again!. The following year, Grethe moved to a resthome, and for her birthday she received a CD-player - now she could listen to Smokie every day (very loudly!!!) Some times when the nurse comes, to make a nice bath for Grethe, she says, ‘I will not take a bath before my Smokie music is over’ Grethe is my mother, and I think she is the oldest Smokie fan in the world - she was 91 before she started to love the music of Smokie.. For my own part I was 60 - maybe the girls in this family start everything late (but we stay a long time...) Best wishes to Mike, Terry, Mick, Steve and Martin.. From Jette, Denmark' Jette, Denmark   'Hi it´s a couple of weeks since the gig in Kristiansand. I was there and had a great time, and so did everyone else there. Smokie has been a part of my life for a long time, especially for the past three years, which have been happy ones. A couple of days ago Terry wrote that his fans makes his world go around and around and around, Smokie makes my world go around and around and around! From the bottom of my heart: Thank you for being there and lighting up my, and many other peoples lives with your music. Love Christina' Christina Holmberg   'Hi All! Just wanted to say a few words about the gig in Sweden last night. Smokie played Toereboda and it was a wonderful gig, it was perfect! When they left the stage I bet everyone in the audience felt like they had been to the best, happiest and coolest party ever. A huge thanks! Before this show it had been a long time since Smokie played in Sweden one and a half years ago. We have missed you guys sooo much! Please come back soon, we love you! ' Angela, Sweden   'Hey all smokiefans out there, this is my Smokiestory. It all started when i was a little child. My mom was a huge Smokiefan in her young days. And i grew up with listing to Smokie and many other 70's bands. I never stop listing to Smokie so now in my teenage years i still go around being a Smokiefan, always hearing Smokie. It has been wondering a lot of my friend why the Smokiemusic mean so much to me.. I cant really answer that but i guess it's the great concerts i have been to and my times backstage. This is not something to forget.. Smokie are such kind people and they behave like they where just as normal as anybody else.. I once bought a guitar hoping that i could learn to play it.. And strange enought i did learn it. When i bought it, it was in my hope of being able to play Smokiemusic on it.. it took a very long time before i learned it but i finally did and now i can play Smokie. That is my story until today told short ... i'll soon be going to another concert which i'm looking very much forward to. Thanx for reading my story. and best Regards to all you Smokiefans all over the world. from Katrine, 16 years , denmark.' Katrine   'What can I say? I've been a Smokie fan for many years. The show was brilliant as usual. You have an obvious passion for the music and it comes accross. I never fail to be amazed at any of your shows by the energy you have and the pleasure you get from it and the pleasure you give the audience. You had a rough time a few years ago and my thoughts were with you. thanks for all the pleasure you have given to me over the years. Long may it last. ' Nicola Connell, Kilkenny   'Much better than the Ronan Keating concert in Belfast 2 weeks ago. Brilliant' Gerry Singer - Abbey House Concert, Donegal   'This summer I went to see smokie at Kongsvinger, Norway, about an hour from where I live. I have been a fan of Smokie since 1995, and the kongsvinger gig was my fourth gig, the first one being at Lillestrøm, in ´98, and number two and three in Oslo in 2000 and 2001. When I was at the gig I started to think - what am I doing here? All around me were mostly women, who all had passed 30, some even 40, and I was a young boy, who had one month left untill his 19th birthday. Also, the fact that at this point, I was living at the Norwegian Royal navy´s recruit school in Stavanger, made the feeling stronger; was I crazy? I had boarded the plane in Stavanger at 18:45, landed at Oslo airport about 40 minutes later, where my Dad met me and gave me the car keys, and about one hour later I was at Kongsvingerhallen. Anyway, I went in, and watched a great gig, but the feeling was still there; am i crazy? Anyway, a few months later, I went to see them again, in Oslo. And it changed my mind. When I left the gig I knew that the band I´d been a fan of since 1995, still was one of my favourite bands. But why? At Kongsvinger, some of the women around me, were waiting for Mike saying: "Oh my god, he´s so handsome, he´s gonna stand right there, Oh my God!!!!!". to be honest, I thought; "What a crazy woman". Ok, I´m not going to discuss if he´s handsome or not, because I like girls, but he´s not my favourite member. The gig I saw in Oslo, was performed by five great musicians, not five handsome guys - I think that smokie should be seen as musicians. Especially, I listen to the guitar parts (mostly because I´m a guitarist myself), and Mick is really doing a great job. Terry is a great bass player, and Mike, well, his guitar parts fit in too. i wont say he´s the greatest rhythm guitarist, but he´s more than good enough for the job he's doing. And with Steve´s drumming and Martins keyboards, and not forgetting those vocal harmonies it all makes a great gig. Sure, I´ve heard them doing mistakes on stage, but who cares, nobody´s perfect! What I´m trying to say is that I´m not a typical smokiefan, but maybe there isn´t a "typical" Smokiefan? I will still buy their albums and see their gigs. So Keep on rockin guys!' Martin Foss   'Hi all! It was exceptional, it was a fabulous experience to see Terry, Mike & Co. perform live in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Everyone on my Smokie-loving band in my highland hometown of Gabrovo with whom I shared my memories of the gig the next day was deeply sorry for not being able to see Smokie on stage. Terry sort of promised that next year Smokie will be back to BG. I strongly hope it will happen. One last thing: it seems that many successful things are born on April 4th - besides NATO and Mike Craft, it's also STS Group - the company I work for and to which I owe making my dream of seeing Smokie live come true. We in Bulgaria love you guys, please don't forget us on your next tour. Cheerio, Ivo ' Ivailo Tzonev   'I just can tell that I think Smokie is the best band in the world. I´m just 13 years and I know that it isn´t so well known that young people like Smokie. But I just love them.' åsa widh   'I remember when I was 11 years old, one evening I sat in front of the television. During a commercial break i heard it; Rose-a-lee, Rock`n Roll Rodeo, it was Smokie`s newest album - The World And Elsewhere, and I remember saying to my father; "Father, I really liked that music! Can i please get that CD??" That was the first Smokie-album I got, and today I have a collection of almost a hundred different albums of the greatest band, with the greatest music! The year is 2002, and Smokie celebrated their 25th anniversary two years ago. Not many bands are that strong and fresh as Smokie! They have been going from strength to strength, and they have gone through a lot of pain and sadness. Smokie are a remarkable band, still going strong after all these years. So I want to congratulate you guys,and keep up the good work!!' Svein Erik Larsen
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