The mystery we are ? Mice on tour -1996.

So back with a new band and a single , I'll never forget the wait while the tape spooled around for my first listen of "Matt`s Prozac". I had no idea what to expect , rockier ? folky again ? but what an opening "CAN YOU TAKE A WALLFLOWER AND TURN HER INTO (INTO) A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT!" - well I suppose I could give it a whirl! What it was , was new , a much more aggressive sound . Perhaps I thought, rock journos having tea and scones with Julianne could be a thing of the past , say the wrong thing and new SUPER-JULIANNE would send them packing with a petrol bomb up their arse (not before time) .This was allayed somewhat by an out and out Eve track on the flip called "Bang Bang" and no surprise to see so many old Eve names in the credits.

Questions , I was full of them , who were " the others" - did they matter ? Where had Julianne been all this time , the advertising and distribution of "Matt`s Prozac" seemed pretty low-key , why ? Tour dates were promised and then not forthcoming , then there were tour dates which were postponed (the Liverpool opening date seemed to be called off on the night , just as well I checked ) and then more tour dates but no more releases. So on Sunday April 5th I pointed the gadget (my beloved car) in the direction of a hotel in Wolverhampton only knowing two songs !

This seemed very odd , surely another single release and a bit of publicity would have been advisable before booking a tour , especially when it seemed "Matt`s Prozac" had sank quietly beneath the waves with all hands. In the "Gothic Rock Black Book" rock journo Mick Mercer described the Eves rise to prominence as filled with "freakish good fortune" and described the band as being so naive it was "uncanny" , his final comment was that the Eve`s were a "farce to be reckoned with" , surveying the small number of the faithful gathered at the Wolverhampton Connaught Hotel (venue of legends) I had to wonder if Julianne and MICE had already lost the plot a bit!

April 5th - Wolverhampton: Connaught Hotel

Met Chris, Matt and Clive three very friendly chaps with whom to swap Old Eve stories with. also met Julianne (any Eve songs tonight ? No .Oh well , don`t petrol bomb me) . "This is scary " says Julianne and off we go with "The Milkman" . "Matt`s Prozac" is something familiar but the set flys by with only "Miss World" and Julianne getting on her own nerves sticking in the memory to take to Bath. I`ve seen Julianne back on stage where she belongs, looking happy and sounding great. I retire to Oxfordshire a happy man.

April 6th - Bath: Moles

As a massive Eve fan i`m still pretty starstruck when catching Julianne, Dave & Ali in the pub in Bath. They`re very friendly though and Julianne (unprompted by me) says she`ll put me on the guest list. She is nice , so I think maybe it`s still tea and scones after all. I watch the band tune up and watch a practice "Dear Sir" on my own. I discuss the tour T-shirt with Julianne (i`m getting into this mixing with the stars lark!) which is awful and waited for hearing No. 2 of this new stuff. Arguably the best night of the tour , i`m starting to get the hang of it. "Blue Sonic Boy" - oh yes! "Mystery People" , brilliant. Almost everyone has a dance and flushed with success back they come with replays of "Dear Sir" and "Frankie" . I ponder the thought that MICE are a mix of the Eves, Pink Floyd, Abba and a slice of the 60`s. Interesting.

April 7th - Newport: Filling Station

April 9th - Manchester: Hop & Grape

I have to return to work so I miss this one. All I hear about it was that their agent had booked the Students Union place while all of the students were on holiday. Julianne described it as "poorly attended" . Aren`t agents supposed to think of things like this ?

April 10th - London Splash Club

Arguably the worst night of the tour. The record company is there and Julianne looks nervous. I`ve lost all my money and arrive late-ish. Then find i`ve lost return bus ticket as well. Feeling really miserable I watch the support act who`s some Nance-ish looking Punk/Glam rocker who fancies himself so much i`m suprised he doesn`t shag himself on stage. Incredibly I pick a fiver up off the floor which is just enough to get me home , MICE come on and I start dancing , no-one else seems to be. Some polite-ish applause and I can`t help thinking that Mr Shag Myself On Stage got a better reception. Would have spoken to ex-Eve`s drummer Mark but he seemed to have fallen over .That summed up the night for me! Still can`t really label the MICE sound because it`s such a rich mix. This pleases me. I learn later that helpful comments from the record company included " Well they didn`t know any of the songs" and "perhaps you should cut your fringe!" - this confirms my fears about the record company! Oh dear oh deary me , I was glad to get back to Oxford and point the gadget home to Bicester.

April 11th - Northampton: Roadmenders

The Roadmenders is a dreary place and "The Heads" seem determind to cause a brain haemorrhage - a bit loud lads. I start noticing the other band members a lot more. Dave seems pretty bemused by it all . Ali doesn`t smile much but I suppose keyboard players don`t , and Tim looks so cool I think that I could throw a brick right at his face and he`d just stumble a bit , shake himself and carry on playing ! Remember those great rhymes in Eve songs like "rememBER decemBER" and "Ribbons and Bows so everyone Knows" etc etc. well they haven`t gone ! For example with "The Milkman" we have "isn`t this neat but we`ve got to be discreet" and my favourite "supercalifragulistic soon can turn sado-masochistic" plus "if you want to know MEE , well just better take things slowLEE" - so i`m an anorak , but it proves that Julianne is writing ALL of these songs , it has Julianne written all over it. Some of the songs tonight are haunting , some pure pop , All About Eve are dead, right ? - Hmmmm , long live All About Eve! It`s not that there is nothing new here , it`s all new , but at the same time so familiar. "Miss World" to be another "Martha`s Harbour" type success methinks.

April 14th - Nottingham: Rock City

Bit worried about this one early doors. There doesn`t seem to be anyone here in this large-ish venue. I sit at a safe distance from "THE HEADS" and wait for the crowd to arrive - a few more people turn up but as MICE walk out past me there didn`t seem to be many around. People gather around the stage and there are about fifty in total. "The Milkman" , "Dear Sir" & "Frankie" are songs which you can skip around dancing to making a real fool of yourself , so I proceed to do so. Julianne dedicates "Dear Sir" to my girlfriend Beverley (I asked in Northampton). I can`t help thinking that the odd Eve number could liven the crowds up early on , I think "Light As A Feather" would have slotted in nicely or even "Our Summer" , it`s not to be , maybe one day. Backstage Julianne is muttering darkly about firing her agent & letting the record company know her wrath , hell hath no fury........

April 15th - Leeds: Duchess Of York

I remember the nights at the Royal Albert Hall. Wow I thought this is the business, where next Wembley ? Six years later and Julianne is at a pub with a stage. I hate being up north. The friendly doorman tells me that he distinctly remembered my name on the half of the guest list he tore up and laughs at me - welcome to Leeds. Quite a few people get stuck in dancing tonight and all seem genuinely surprised at how good MICE are , better than your average pub band then , I ask you! I notice that the band members are taking it in turns to wear the tour T-shirt but i`m still not persuaded to buy one. Other songs are coming more to the fore now , "Messed Up" is really good but I can`t catch much of the lyrics over the guitars. Julianne is still moaning about the record companies comments in London about her fringe , she then dedicates "Battersea" to people who are full of shit , I wonder who she could mean ? "Blue Sonic Boy" is the "In The Meadow" of the set I decide , with songs that good they`ll not be this small for long. I don`t think they`ll be jamming with Micheal Jackson for a while yet though. I wonder If Julianne will go on as long as Tina Turner?

April 16h - Newcastle: Riverside

The Riverside is a venue for 650 people. Looks rather empty with 36 people in it. "Are Newcastle playing at home tonight?" Julianne asks innocently - nope! Anthony tells me that the Eve`s never went down that well in Newcastle either. All of my reservations about the timing and handling of the tour came home to roost here.Even the secret gig wasn`t as secret as this ! There was no way you could ignore the fact that hardly anyone was here. Sure, things were bound to be smaller after three years , but not this small . Properly advertised and timed I reckon you could have got a couple of hundred here - even the venue didn`t have any posters up. The line from "Star" going "but she is lost who hesitates , it may already be too late" sounded rather poignant here.

But back to the music - "You know it isn`t easy hanging out with the Timelords when you`re a Dalek , can`t even climb up the stairs" well indeed not - cue national Daleks in Distress Day. I`m pleased to note I have no idea what Julianne is on about in "Blue Sonic Boy". I really don`t care of course , I want to leave the "real" world behind when I listen to music hence lyrics like " our heels high enough to crush the Lizard" (from "Touched By Jesus") suit me just fine , another old Eve calling card noted. I know i`m going on about the similarities but MICE could have been doing hard core Jungle , instead "It`s like an ice-cream man , with no bell in his van" is as All About Eve/Julianne as you can get complete with rhyme! I`m really impressed with how well all of this is transferring to a live format. MICE are living up to my hopes and expectations. Playing to 36 people ? - not for long.

April 17th - Glasgow: King Tuts

April 19th - Liverpool: Lomax

April 21st - Stoke: The Stage

I pick up the tour again in Stoke. Liverpool went well I hear , I hear nothing about Glasgow. MICE come on stage and i`m joined by Jo and Steve by the stage. All the rest of the Audience cling to the sides too shy to stand a bit forward never mind dance. Stoke is not my favourite place ever and judging by the faces of all the Goth`s in tonight it isn`t theirs either. I don`t think the Goth element of the audience thought much of it and I don`t think they`ll be back , I never did understand why they latched onto the Eve`s anyway. "MAY I , join you on a rollercoaster ride!" , you`ve got to get stuck in for a serious dance to "Dear Sir" , i`m reminded of the carefree days of "Flowers In Our Hair" - the goth`s look completely underwhelmed , do I care ?

April 22nd - Portsmouth: Wedgewood Rooms

April 23rd - London: Dingwalls

With the month going and my money going faster I give Portsmouth a miss. I`m told about a hundred were there which makes Newcastle all the more puzzling. Back to London and to the Dingwalls which is my favourite venue of the tour. I meet Andy from the Eves .He is a really nice bloke and I pester him with questions about the Eve`s. It emerges that the Eve`s may very well return one day

I`m still trying to think of a the words to describe the set and i`m struggling. It really is a rich mix of things. "The Milkman" and "Dear Sir" are cracking pop tunes . "Unborn Angel" and "Miss World" are quiet reflective numbers with the focus on Julianne`s vocals and the lyrics . "Mystery People" and "Blue Sonic Boy" set out to be classics and succeed , slabs of metal and keyboards ensure that the Eve`s old romanticism gets blended with the real world and the X-files in "Mystery People" - "Blue Sonic Boy" is about some juggerenaut metal , more keyboards , a slice of "Outshine The Sun" with Daleks and Ice-cream vans mixed in as well ! Of the things that are really MICE and MICE alone i`d point to "Frankie" and especially "The Trumpet Song" , both great fun and I can`t really think of anyone who is doing anything like this right now , I don`t know why but both songs remind me somehow of happier days in the past say in the sixties. "Bang Bang" is an Eve song played by MICE which leaves "Star" & "Battersea" as yet another twist to the set , I prefer "Battersea" of the two and it smacks of this new aggressive streak in the songs more than any of them , "Star" sticks out purely because it lacks a bit of the innovation of the other songs , it`s good , but it just shows up how fresh a lot of the other stuff is , maybe it`s just the mix and quality of the songwriting I find so remindful the Eve`s. "Messed Up" is one of those songs that grows on you , this is another very likeable distinctive MICE track. The Dingwalls was a mini-triumph , the first of many?

April 25th - Norwich: Waterfront

April 26th - Worcester: Northwick Theatre

Bizzare is the only way to describe this night. The venue is large , the straggle of old All About Ever`s and the few travelling supporters like me , look like a small jumble sale being held at Wembley. "The Heads" are on thier last night and proceed to finish with a hilarious riot of rock cliches in thier last number. There is a Come Dancing style raised platform for us dancers which is a bit odd and when MICE come on I note a few oddities. Dave looks like a cross between a Vietnam war veteran and Rag Dolly Anna , Tim looks like a cross between Forest Gump and Wurzel Gummidge , Ali and Julianne look normal but this is where normality ends! Mysterious beeping noises invade the set and it emerges that Tim`s PA is picking up Radio Worcester! No one seems able to solve this problem so they plough on , there is another halt while Julianne says Tim has forgotten to buy some batteries for something , the band seem to miss some of Julianne`s cues and Dave seems a bit out of it to me! No-one seems to mind and "The Heads" emerge to join in the dancing. I speak briefly to Dave afterwards - "Hey John I`m like really happy man...." Hmm - OK Dave. Julianne seems her normal self and I pester her to release "Miss World" as the next single. She thinks that would be a bit of a red- herring but as the set is such a variety of things I don`t think it would be. It`s a funny life sometimes.

April 27th - Southend: Esplanade

All right I admit it , I can be a right miserable moaning faced negative bastard at times but I hate Southend. It`s full of scum bloke Londoners all wearing London football shirts , this goes nicely with the skinhead hair-cut , a bull terrier and bored looking girlfriends but especially well with a mandatory attitude problem they all have, it`s like are you going to spill my pint mate. Give me Woolacombe any day , still back to the plot....

Southend the gig is brilliant fun. It`s also testimony to Julianne`s immense slumbering Eve fan base. I meet the charming Sayuri , who has come all the way from Tokyo just to see Julianne. With limited English and a fraught telephone call to Ken Jones (Old Eve Fanzine chap) she ascertained that Julianne was back on stage. She did no more than book 8 days leave (not easy for a junior employee in Japan) learn more English (which was miles better than my Japanease) and come to England on her own to see MICE. She`d met Julianne at the Dingwalls date and told me that her friends in Japan had introduced her to All About Eve some years ago. I met another guy from Germany who had 290+ AAE records. If this lot get organised it`s Top Of The Pops again for sure.

After the twilight Zone in Worcester MICE are the business tonight. The small travelling support including myself go bezerk and Suyuri has a great dance with me , "Dear Sir" gets dedicated to those who travelled up to Newcastle and is the prompt for Julianne to get bombarded with party poppers and streamers. An extended "Blue Sonic Boy" loses something for me but i`m well past caring , it`s party time and "The Trumpet Song" and "The Milkman" bring a 19 date tour to an end. There are flowers for Julianne and a set of Rollers for her fringe (oh that Tracey is a comical nutcase readers!) , Julianne says she won`t forget the Inter-city trickle that trundled around some of Britain`s lesser known venues and I believe her. I reckon that of the very large travelling supporrt that AAE used to command about 20 turned up on this tour and about 8 were regulars. That is much much fewer than I expected and i`m sure that most old Eve fans have no idea that Julianne is back and back doing great songs.

Great songs , great memories , great people , great dancing , great tour - here`s to the next one and don`t leave it so long next time Julianne !

The Milkman Tour : Written By John Lynch (The Crafty Paddy)