Warming up in Sweden

The air may well have been chilly in Sweden but inside the venues there was plenty of warmth in the reception the band received from the audiences in our two sold out shows. This is the year when we find out how much importance people attach to a night of entertainment when weighed against all the other financial decisions they need to make. It turns out that not only are they keen to see Smokie but they are also very enthusiastic about the new line up as well as the fun we are now all having onstage. We are indeed fortunate to be able to put together a show from five decades of material and yet still deliver with energy. On announcing at Tonhallen in Sundsvall that this was the first show of our touring year there erupted a big cheer from the audience. Of course everyone likes to be first in line and this year it’s Sweden’s turn. There was little evidence that the band had not played for two months because the set ran like a dream and this encouraged the band to build on that feeling and deliver a show at Gavle Konserthus that had even more gusto. We are now truly warmed up and ready to go, as we will do on our next two also Swedish weekends. In the meantime we say a final farewell to the charity we have supported for over thirty years, an appeal that begun with Terry and Shirley Uttley. There may well be tears but we can bow out knowing that we have made a difference to cancer treatment at Bradford Royal Infirmary and entertained a lot of people in the process.