When time goes full circle

The whole thing happened so fast, it was over before I knew it started.

I had to get to Liverpool for a Deltasonic record label reunion garden party.

It was the label I was signed to when I was 18.

And now, more than two decades later, I’m back with them, releasing a new album of solo material.

It’s funny how time sometimes goes full circle, and you end up back where you started.

I got off the plane and went straight to my favourite hotel in the world, a second home of sorts, The Adelphi.

It seems that I had, somehow, arrived smack bang in the middle of ‘Beatle Week’, and the main convention was happening in my hotel.

I wandered around in a daze, trying to figure out if I was in heaven or hell.

Beatle wig bands playing the hits, memorabilia, records, special guests.

It was an overwhelming amount of Beatle for the brain to digest in one whack.

Even for a Beatle fanatic like myself, it took a while for me to ease into it.

But I got into the groove, and found myself soaking it all in.

That’s when Gavin phoned to say he’s outside.

We had planned to shoot some footage in the Adelphi for my upcoming single, but with the convention going on, we decided to instead do a pub crawl in the small window of time before I hit the garden party.

We sampled some beers from pub-to-pub, and covered a lot of ground.

Highlights included Ye Old Cracke, where John Lennon used to drink and skip school.

And The Caledonia, where we were lucky enough to catch my old friend, Martin Simpson, playing trumpet with his jazz quartet.

We ended up across town, and were already pretty drunk when I realised I was very late for the garden party.

I said my farewell to Gav,and hopped a cab.

When I arrived, it was like a mini festival… Bands, food, a bar, the works.

Talking to old friends and allies who I hadn’t seen in 20 years, but it felt like it was just yesterday.

Reconnecting to an old life.

Picking up where we left off. Then before I knew it, the night was getting late.

That’s when John arrived, fresh from a stag do, suitcase in hand.

We got a lift back to town with our old manager, Paul.

There was only one place to go… The Adelphi.

We watched some of the wig bands, talked with some of the Beatles freaks without realising we were two of them.

The bar seemed like it didn’t want to close, and that’s when we spotted Julia Lennon, John’s sister.

Nobody seemed to notice her.

She is someone who witnessed Beatlemania from the inside looking out.

We talked briefly with her and drank more beer.

Then I woke up the next day in my room.

I had to move to catch my flight and make it back to Omagh to re-join the film crew.

‘The Spin’ starts shooting at the weekend, and there is much prep to be done.

I still can’t fathom that it’s actually happening.

An idea in the brain from five years ago has slowly materialised, and now this week, 40 crew members arrive from all over to help bring that idea to life.

People like Sebastian… One of the good guys.

I first met him in a hotel in Belfast, exactly one year ago, to the day.

Within seconds of meeting, we both realised we were on the same path. Instant connection.

Like we already knew each other.

I told him about ‘The Spin’ back then, and the hairs on his arm stood up.. Like electric in the air.

And now here he is, exactly a year later, working on the film.

What does it all mean?

How did we get here?

Where is the destination of this train we’ve boarded?

Who knows…

Maybe we will find out in five years.