Quote
The Worst.
I arrived Tuesday about 9PM and was number 35 in the cue, right behind a big family from Bristol with 3 kids aged from something about 7 to 12 I guess. I was impressed with their patience and stamina. I also think Keith liked meeting these children.

Monkeytonkman entertained us all night and day. What a character! There are no words in English to describe him. Eccentric or original do not match the reality. Constantly talking and making jokes for some 15 straight hours plus. He fell asleep on the floor inside Waterstone’s towards the end though, and needed a wakeup not to miss his chance to meet Keith.

Keith looked so damn cool! The coolest rock’n’roll star in the world! I had the biggest smile on my face and just laughed when I shook his hand. And Keith laughed as well. It was surreal to finally meet the man. It lasted for only about 20 seconds probably, but it felt much longer, and it is a memory for LIFE. It was totally worth the 18 hours of waiting, plus travelling to and from London.

Paulywaul, I think it was you I passed after I’ve had my book signed. Glad to hear you made it too! I didn’t see much to you guys in the cue, as you must have been cueing down the next street around the corner by the church.

Bless you for the kind words.

I hope I didn't piss anyone off (except for maybe the ebayers! shudder) Had great time and was fantastic meeting all the people.and it's true. I did have a little siesta while sitting in the corner of the book store. Glad I didn't sleep through it, now that woulda been a bummer, but there were so many good people there that I'm sure they wouldn't have let that happen anyway.

Remember: Life just a cocktail party on the streets!!!

Now lets all start getting our sh1t together for the big tour. Yippee

Keep on rockin, Keep on rollin'





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-11-05 12:21 by Monkeytonkman.

Quote
paulywaul

Quote
Cocaine Eyes

Quote
Silver Dagger

Quote
Cocaine Eyes
Lovely pics. The one just above is PERFECT (Keith signing)! Well done, folks. Happy you had a good time.

Any pics of the SOB who's selling them on Ebay??

Here's the main guy with two of his cronies.

Thanks for the pic of the SOBs. I was asking because when the Stones rehearse in Toronto,there's also a gang of goons who will do anything to the die-hard fans in order to get the autographs. I'm wondering if the SOB in the blue cap has red hair. The red hair guy runs the 'autograph operation' here in Toronto. He once pushed me into the barricades & I ended up bruised and bloodied.

Nope, they were all from a town in England called Weston-Super-Mare. The elder bald guy worked as a bouncer/doorman for a security firm, don't know about the three youngsters with him. One of then told me the most ridiculous lie when I asked him what his interest in Keith Richards was, he stumbled a bit before blurting out "I'm getting the book for my mum" !! Hardly an original story !! Pathetic.

Thanks to all of you who replied about the SOBs. Unfortunately, I suppose there's a gang of goons like this in all cities where celebrities hang out! You should just see how the goons behave during the Toronto International Film Festival. UGH!! To say nothing of when the Stones rehearse here.

Quote
Beast

Quote
paulywaul

Quote
Harm
I do to Paul...

That's good to hear. What was particularly annoying for Beast and I yesterday, but almost every true Stones fan in that queue would have a similar story, was that right behind us was a group of four guys, one in his late 30s or maybe early 40s, and then three much younger, either late teens or early 20s. It was impossible not to hear their innumerable conversations during the day, and those conversations told a story; namely that they knew nothing about the Rolling Stones, nothing about Keith Richards, and that they'd attended countless other book signings expressly for the purpose of obtaining a "signed copy" and then selling it on Ebay. Whilst I reluctantly accept that this is something they're quite entitled to do, there's no law against it, and yes ..... it's the "capitalist system alive and well and in action", I still find it repugnant and offensive. It's difficult not to stand there as a diehard fan and SO look forward to having your 30 seconds in front of your hero, and at the same time realise that the people behind you or in front of you are as far removed from you in that respect as the earth is from the moon. They have no interest, no knowledge, they're just there to obtain the product, and then run home and stick it on Ebay for a ridiculous price. I find it offensive ... but hey, that's just me ! Maybe I should be a little less sensitive ?

Those b*****ds got busy when they woke up this morning:

[shop.ebay.co.uk]

Beast my dear, check this out .........

[cgi.ebay.co.uk]

Go through the photos until you come to the one of the wristband, look at the number !!

YEs, just five behind me and four behind you. It's THOSE f***ing little s***s !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Paul - well now is your chance to give him a piece of your mind! Go to the "ask seller a question" and tell him to eff off! I will too. We all should.

Quote
CindyC
Paul - well now is your chance to give him a piece of your mind! Go to the "ask seller a question" and tell him to eff off! I will too. We all should.

Also, if you read all the drivel he has written regarding the wristband he says that those with black wristbands had the signatures 'stuck' in the book and not signed by KR - surely this is a load of bull, as some of those here on IORR can confirm. He is trying to make his gold wristband even more desirable I guess.

Quote
paulywaul

Quote
Beast

Quote
paulywaul

Quote
Harm
I do to Paul...

That's good to hear. What was particularly annoying for Beast and I yesterday, but almost every true Stones fan in that queue would have a similar story, was that right behind us was a group of four guys, one in his late 30s or maybe early 40s, and then three much younger, either late teens or early 20s. It was impossible not to hear their innumerable conversations during the day, and those conversations told a story; namely that they knew nothing about the Rolling Stones, nothing about Keith Richards, and that they'd attended countless other book signings expressly for the purpose of obtaining a "signed copy" and then selling it on Ebay. Whilst I reluctantly accept that this is something they're quite entitled to do, there's no law against it, and yes ..... it's the "capitalist system alive and well and in action", I still find it repugnant and offensive. It's difficult not to stand there as a diehard fan and SO look forward to having your 30 seconds in front of your hero, and at the same time realise that the people behind you or in front of you are as far removed from you in that respect as the earth is from the moon. They have no interest, no knowledge, they're just there to obtain the product, and then run home and stick it on Ebay for a ridiculous price. I find it offensive ... but hey, that's just me ! Maybe I should be a little less sensitive ?

Those b*****ds got busy when they woke up this morning:

[shop.ebay.co.uk]

Beast my dear, check this out .........

[cgi.ebay.co.uk]

Go through the photos until you come to the one of the wristband, look at the number !!

YEs, just five behind me and four behind you. It's THOSE f***ing little s***s !!

What an absolute fcuking cnut. Sorry, I was going to swear there but I know there's ladies present on this board!

Quote
Manofwealthandtaste

Quote
CindyC
Paul - well now is your chance to give him a piece of your mind! Go to the "ask seller a question" and tell him to eff off! I will too. We all should.

Also, if you read all the drivel he has written regarding the wristband he says that those with black wristbands had the signatures 'stuck' in the book and not signed by KR - surely this is a load of bull, as some of those here on IORR can confirm. He is trying to make his gold wristband even more desirable I guess.

Good point Chris, because our very own SonicDreamer can absolutely vouch for the fact that at least 100 of those with BLACK wristbands got to meet Keith and get a personal signature, so what this Ebay seller is saying is ENTIRELY UNTRUE.

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Is there not a mechanism for reporting false representations - i.e., shysters - to ebay itself and let them deal with them?

BTW respect and congrats to all you lucky people who met the man. Work commitments prevented any consideration of attending myself, but got vicarious pleasure from reading about your exploits and, yes, I would have been mightily annoyed if I had missed out on such an opportunity due to autograph touts ahead of me in the queue.

Glad to see you all got a training session in prior to the next tour!

Quote
Manofwealthandtaste

Quote
CindyC
Paul - well now is your chance to give him a piece of your mind! Go to the "ask seller a question" and tell him to eff off! I will too. We all should.

Also, if you read all the drivel he has written regarding the wristband he says that those with black wristbands had the signatures 'stuck' in the book and not signed by KR - surely this is a load of bull, as some of those here on IORR can confirm. He is trying to make his gold wristband even more desirable I guess.

Those Bluddy B*****ds - they are an even lower form of life than imagined. I can't help thinking if signed books had named dedications there would be less of a market for them on e-bay?

Quote
Beast

Quote
Manofwealthandtaste

Quote
CindyC
Paul - well now is your chance to give him a piece of your mind! Go to the "ask seller a question" and tell him to eff off! I will too. We all should.

Also, if you read all the drivel he has written regarding the wristband he says that those with black wristbands had the signatures 'stuck' in the book and not signed by KR - surely this is a load of bull, as some of those here on IORR can confirm. He is trying to make his gold wristband even more desirable I guess.

Those Bluddy B*****ds - they are an even lower form of life than imagined. I can't help thinking if signed books had named dedications there would be less of a market for them on e-bay?

Very true ... wonder whether bookstores and publishers and organisers of book signings etc will actually take note, or whether they won't/don't give a toss and complacency will prevail ? Probably the latter !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Hey,

Have been following IORR for ages, and I thought it's about time I post something here. Because I just gotta say that all of you who got to shake hand with the MAN himself are the luckiest on Earth. (Although it had nothing to do with luck... You all really deserved it.) But I can't stop thinking how much I envy you all!!!

I wish I could have made it here, from China... Would have been in font of the store a week before if that's what it takes. Did that a few times to get Stones tickets or to be the first to run into the stadium... And it's worth all the pain!

BTW, I probably would have said to Keef how much I'd love to see the Winos back together. There is no other band like the Stones, but they couldn't really surprise me anymore, I guess. Sure it's a thrill to see them, and the Stones is my LIFE. But a smaller show with Keith up front...! Go, Winos! (Just the other day found a great bootleg of Keef's here in Beijing in a small shop titled "A Slice of Rock & Roll". Hehe.)

About eBay. You are all right. And those guys will always be there, trying to make money. (And there will always be people downloading music, when they shouldn't.) Let's just hope that it gives a chance for another true Stones/Richards fan to own a piece of Keef... I hope it's not dealers winning the auctions... I have to say that the prices are crazy. I saw one book go for a $1000!

Thanks for the posts! In China you cannot open Twitter, Facebook or You Tube. But reading your comments I felt like I was there, and I enjoyed every minute.

Keep on rockin'! And I'll keep on reading IORR! Will tune in!

a big piece of me is tempted to open a dummy ebay account and bid a few million for that book, then laugh at the bastard thats selling it. I would have loved to have gone on Wednesday but I couldn't unless i jacked in my job. It really pisses me off that someone has gone to all that effort to simply sell it and essentially earn more in that day than most do in a week.

Great to see you there, Pauly. I eventually got back to Cornwall at 1.30 this morning (Friday). Absolutely knackered, but well worth the early 4 a.m. start. My daughter has now put on Facebook that she fancies a sixty-year old as Keith got up out of his chair and gave her a little bow when he shook her hand. The man's still got the twinkle in his eye, that's for sure ! I just said thanks a million for the music over the years and he told me "thanks, man, I truly do appreciate it !" Great to meet The Beast there with you.... what a misnomer for such a beautiful lady !, Mattleeuk and who could forget Monkeytonkman (!!!).
So glad to have made the effort to get there and so pleased for everyone that we all got to meet the living legend and have our moment !
My local's just opened across the road here in St. Columb Major so I'm off to brag to my mates over a few pints !
Chris

Satisfied since 1976

Many thanks to Adrian-L for the original message. I'd booked last week off but was able to change some of the days at short notice after I saw his post. Had to go to work yesterday and today feeling SHATTERED!

Shook hands with Keith twice and got the book signed so it was all worth it. He looked great and was so friendly - plus he was only twenty minutes late!

All the best to everyone else who stuck with it and got their reward.

Finally, hello to Peter and Tony. Great to meet you and talk about the Stones. It certainly made the time go quicker. So glad the weekend is here and we can all unwind.

(Side note):

Instead of two skull rings, Keith seems to be wearing a new ring on his left hand, looking like a wedding ring, with silver and gold interwoven bands.

Quote
chriseganstar
Great to see you there, Pauly. I eventually got back to Cornwall at 1.30 this morning (Friday). Absolutely knackered, but well worth the early 4 a.m. start. My daughter has now put on Facebook that she fancies a sixty-year old as Keith got up out of his chair and gave her a little bow when he shook her hand. The man's still got the twinkle in his eye, that's for sure ! I just said thanks a million for the music over the years and he told me "thanks, man, I truly do appreciate it !" Great to meet The Beast there with you.... what a misnomer for such a beautiful lady !, Mattleeuk and who could forget Monkeytonkman (!!!).
So glad to have made the effort to get there and so pleased for everyone that we all got to meet the living legend and have our moment !
My local's just opened across the road here in St. Columb Major so I'm off to brag to my mates over a few pints !
Chris

Sorry to have missed meeting you Chris. I thought I'd rounded up most IORRers for the team photo at the end. Regards SD.

More great pics from Brian Rasic from London:

[www.rexfeatures.com]

Great pics! Remember us meeting at the hotel near the stadium at Budapest on the last tour.Way above 40C on 2 or 3 days there.Angie has a blank look most times but she has her dad to look after her.I have not heard or seen Brian Rasic.Any one know him???

From a collecting perspective.... (here comes the nerdy bit). The pre signed copies are actually MUCH nicer (accept you didn't get to say hi to Keith). Not only were they done with a nicer pen but they are in special books that have printed text saying it is a signed edition. These books are MUCH rarer than a regular copy and have bullet proof authenticity making them MUCH more desirable.

If Keith had taken the time to dedicate each one then it would have reduced the number of people that got to say hello and see their copy signed but eliminated the eBaying scum. It might have meant that although less people got to meet him in total the actual number of genuine fans that got to meet him was higher.

To be fair I think that because Keith did more books on the night than expected and had already probably done 450 pre signed ones then I am not aware of anyone that turned up in reasonable time before the signing and didn't get one. Please advise?

Beware of fakes, not that I have seen any yet but when some of these professionals have one they tend to have babies. Whatever you say about the eBayers, the fake eBaying scum are worse! To be honest, as long as every fan that actually turned up got one then I would be happy to pay a "fair" price for a signed one (if I couldn't have made it).

In one way it would have been nice if all the copies Keith had signed had the sign edition marking as this would stop to fakes but alas it also means the professional hunters have their merchandise authenticated and get more for them! There are definitely pros and cons to every method. A real fan who queued up and saw Keith sign their copy doesn't need any more proof than that!

Quote
mattleeuk
From a collecting perspective.... (here comes the nerdy bit). The pre signed copies are actually MUCH nicer (accept you didn't get to say hi to Keith). Not only were they done with a nicer pen but they are in special books that have printed text saying it is a signed edition. These books are MUCH rarer than a regular copy and have bullet proof authenticity making them MUCH more desirable.

Unfortunatly, books marked "signed edition" could be signed by an autopen. There is no bullet proof authenticity of Keith actually hand-signing all of the "signed edition" versions. The demand for signed books is far more than I can imagine Keith willing to sit down for an entire day or two signing copies.The only ones who know is the publisher and Keith.

Gene Simmons did the same thing with his "autographed editions" of "sex,money,kiss". All Autopen. Gene never did a book signing for hundreds of people a day with a fine point silver paint pen. You have any idea how hard it is to sign a gazillion things with a fine point paint pen? His book store signings were done in thick silver paint pens. Easier to control and a faster signature. To use thin paint pen on a coarse paper surface takes time to sign. Here's an example of the autopen signature:

[cgi.ebay.com]

Hold your "Well, Gene's a tool. Keith would never do that to fans". I'm just presenting what I know. I hope the Keith "signed editions" are real. That's probably what the Keith website sold. I was able to order one.

I don't believe they are autopen at all... the ones I have seen are all different and Keith has been seen signing stacks by hand, plus in my experience he cares about that kind of stuff.

There's me asking who Brian Rasic is and then finding out he is one of the worlds finest photographers of music performers.Anyone managed to chat to him in the queue while he's waiting to get his book signed ????

Quote
mattleeuk
From a collecting perspective.... (here comes the nerdy bit). The pre signed copies are actually MUCH nicer (accept you didn't get to say hi to Keith). Not only were they done with a nicer pen but they are in special books that have printed text saying it is a signed edition. These books are MUCH rarer than a regular copy and have bullet proof authenticity making them MUCH more desirable.

If Keith had taken the time to dedicate each one then it would have reduced the number of people that got to say hello and see their copy signed but eliminated the eBaying scum. It might have meant that although less people got to meet him in total the actual number of genuine fans that got to meet him was higher.

To be fair I think that because Keith did more books on the night than expected and had already probably done 450 pre signed ones then I am not aware of anyone that turned up in reasonable time before the signing and didn't get one. Please advise?

Beware of fakes, not that I have seen any yet but when some of these professionals have one they tend to have babies. Whatever you say about the eBayers, the fake eBaying scum are worse! To be honest, as long as every fan that actually turned up got one then I would be happy to pay a "fair" price for a signed one (if I couldn't have made it).

In one way it would have been nice if all the copies Keith had signed had the sign edition marking as this would stop to fakes but alas it also means the professional hunters have their merchandise authenticated and get more for them! There are definitely pros and cons to every method. A real fan who queued up and saw Keith sign their copy doesn't need any more proof than that!

Here's a true fake. Signature slightly different from the rest, would not include the wristband, and an unusually low Buy It Now price; these books go for as much as 700 pounds... BTW, I'm sure that Keef signed all the blue pen versions himself; they all look a bit different.

cgi.ebay.com

Why would you pay that much money anyway?

Quote
crawdaddy
Great pics! Remember us meeting at the hotel near the stadium at Budapest on the last tour.Way above 40C on 2 or 3 days there.Angie has a blank look most times but she has her dad to look after her.I have not heard or seen Brian Rasic.Any one know him???

Of course I remember you, we first met the day before the concert at a warm up party. Those were great days in Budapest.hope we will meet again at some Stones concert..

You have a site of Brian Rasic here with awesome pics:
[www.brianrasic.com]
I don't know him personally but he has a facebook account and I chat with him there. I think he's a great guy, very communicative.

>> I think he's a great guy, very communicative. <<

+1 - i don't do facebook, but agree that Rasic not only takes great photos but is also very broad-spirited

Brian Rasic has cetainly taken some great pics in his career.Looked at his website and he has taken pics of everyone who is anything in music.Thanks for the link and I certainly hope we will meet up again in Europe somewhere on the next tour!!

[cgi.ebay.co.uk]

The wristband that follows with this signed copy is number 27,
in other words a member of the family right in front of me.
They were about 10 people or so and I thought it was great
to see the parents raise their kids in the spirit of rock and roll!
But now I understand: they are not fans of Keith and the Stones,
and the only reason to drag these poor kids with them and make them
wait for 20 hours was just to get four more signed copies to sell
on ebay for about 750 US dollars.
"#%&!¤" disgusting.

Pathetic isn't it?

Anyway I'm glad to hear you and it seems most other IORRs really did get what they wanted.

Quote
The Worst.
[cgi.ebay.co.uk]

The wristband that follows with this signed copy is number 27,
in other words a member of the family right in front of me.
They were about 10 people or so and I thought it was great
to see the parents raise their kids in the spirit of rock and roll!
But now I understand: they are not fans of Keith and the Stones,
and the only reason to drag these poor kids with them and make them
wait for 20 hours was just to get four more signed copies to sell
on ebay for about 750 US dollars.
"#%&!¤" disgusting.

Yep, that was the case with a group of 4 people just behind me in the queue. They'd all come up to do exactly that, buy as many as they could and they're ALL being sold on Ebay. I agree, it is f***ing disgusting ... but unfortunately, well within the law. There we go !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]