My association with this venue goes back over 33 years when it was known just as The Travellers’ Friend. It always attracted large crowds and last night was no exception. As it happened this was the venue’s first live performance since the start of the pandemic so it was an honour to be the band to get things started again. Without doubt it was the best reaction we have had since it changed its identity . It’s hard to compare it exactly with crowd reactions in the 1980’s because they were crazy times and therefore memories can be a little unreliable. The compliments rained in after the show and I can say for sure that the new Smokie line up is a definite hit this side of The Irish Sea.