Circa 1992

It was the early nineties, metal was on its way out as grunge was about to explode on the scene.

Still a few bands played on…The Badlands story.

My booking agent partner Jon Vyner was eager to have Badlands tour the UK. The problem was, Badlands was on the verge of spitting up. Still, after much persuasion, Jon convinced the band to come tour the UK. I filled in a few cheesy support acts and the tour was set. Jon and I then became tour managers.

The story goes that Jake E Lee and Ray Gillen were not on speaking terms. In fact they insisted on having separate hotels, transportation arrangements, dressing rooms and riders. It was quite the scene and much like managing two separate acts. On stage, it was a different story and quite amazing to see the band play night after night. They simply put their differences aside and Rocked!

The tour finished with a date at the Marquee Club in London. It was a night I would not forget. Both Jake and Ray were legends in their own right. After the Marquee gig, Ray made his way our of the building via the front door and through the crowd. With much respect he made a point to walk up to me, shake my hand and say “thanks for everything”.

Ray was an amazing guy and is still sadly missed.

Thanks for the memories…