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BACK DOOR
Blakey 1971
12th March 2003
Afternoon rehearsal. Back at Blakey after 31 years...
the concert...
To Ronnie, Colin & Tony... (Back Door)
Welcome home to the Lion Inn Blakey Ridge,
its been a while since i have seen you, and i wish i could be
with you on the 12th March to watch you perform, to your usual
high standards. Unfortunately i am away working, but hopefully
Alan Fearnley will keep me a copy of your new album, to complete
my back door/colin hodgkinson collection, i still have the original
Back-Door Album on the blakey label, one day i may manage to get
you all to sign it for me, i hope you have a great time on your
return to the inn, i wish you all well, once again, sorry i will
not be there..
your ol'friend & roadie,
Mac Mason (March 8 2003)
Back Door are back
Superb Evening, good beer, great music, fine new album. If anything,
even better than they were in the 70's.
Also an opportunity to get the first album on CD - has anyone
noticed the tracks are recorded in the wrong order?
Gary Thornton
13th March 2003 an extra concert added due to ticket demand 
I'm really chuffed with the new Back Door CD. It was all a bit
of a shock, I found Cultural Foundation's site by chance on the
Sunday morning & was listening to the CD on Tuesday morning.
I did a pilgrimage to The Lion a few years ago, It doesn't appear
to have changed, I'll have to go back! Any more B/D dates coming
up?
Thanks,
Nick.
I'm 'only' 41 but Back Door have woven their way into my life. My Dad was Brian Jones' odd jobbing builder at weekends. He worked on the Lion Inn and the "cottage" opposite and I spent many of my weekends up there when I was around 12 years old with him doing odd jobs, exploring the moors, staging mock battles and having more space than a hundred children today.
Music and life infused the whole place, for my young eyes there was always so much excitement and intrigue there. An enduring memory is of me and my brother camping on our own on the field next to the Lion Inn on a Saturday night and hearing the music playing all night and of a musician (I like to think it was Ron Aspery but I can't be sure) sat near our tent playing saxophone to the sheep and the early morning sun.
Needless to say one of the first albums I bought (from Alan Fearnleys in Middlesbrough) when I started to take an interest in music was 8th Street Nights. Every now and then I've tried to get other stuff by them as it is such a favourite album of mine and was delighted when Warner Brothers re-released them on CD. I'll also be getting the new CD today.
I missed the opportunity to see them when I was in London in the '80s and they played at the 100 Club and now I'd love to see them play - I'm kicking myself for having missed the recent gigs back at the Lion Inn. If anyone knows when they are playing anywhere in North Yorks again I'd love to know.
Neil McLaughlin
PS Anyone else got any good tales of life at Blakey?
Back Door - Uncertain '72
As a bass player with a trio in '72 we backed a four-girl act called Tender Plenty (and they were too) and we were booked to play the Starlight for a week. We three lads in the band were absolutely knocked out with seeing a resident band like no other you could ever imagine !
It must have been around the time the first album came out, as the lads seemed to be keen to find out if we thought it was any good or not ! Needless to say, we told them exactly how we appreciated the direction they were taking and how wonderful we thought they were - which seemed to cheer them up a lot ! Why on earth they needed any reassurance is hard to see now, but back then with a new project, it was understandable.
We jammed with them that week and at the end of it, they kindly presented us with copies of the first album which I still enjoy - especially for its earl 'earthy' quailities (cheap,yes, but so effective).
We also taped a session we did with them as well, a bit of which still survives to this day !
Personally never felt the Americanised productions did them many favours, and for me, it will always be that first album that stands out.
Glad to see the band still have so many friends, and quite rightly too.
Mike K
