Paris France 2002

In June Scotty did a show in Paris for the Elvis fan club there.  Two of the Band members were from the later Elvis TCB band, Glen D. Harding, and Jerry Scheff.  We had been to Paris before, Scotty twice and me once.

Scotty, Glen D. Hardin and Jerry Scheff

Jean-Marie and his wife were our hosts. He is the president of the fan club, and although his wife does not speak English and Scotty does not speak French, they LOVE each other.  We had a most wonderful time there, I got to see my friend Sandrine again, and we were treated like royalty.

Ms. Jean-Marie and Scotty

The show itself happened to fall on the president’s fortieth wedding anniversary, and he closed the show singing “One Night With You”.   Scotty said he sang so great that next time he does a show there, he wants Jean-Marie to do the entire show as the vocalist!  We also saw Patrick again.  He is our friend there and runs the Elvis boutique in Paris for the fan club. 
After the show, we boarded the Chunnel Train to go to London.  We did not want to have to deal with the problems of both Charles DeGaulle airport and Heathrow in London , so we went by train.  It was the neatest trip!  If you get a chance, take that ride sometime.  We could even take the wine with us which was given to Scotty by a little man who was a fan for many years who did not speak English, but brought Scotty a tie and some wine. If someone translates this for him, please thank him for the wine…we thoroughly enjoyed it with Pete and Stella Pritchard at their home in London the very night we got there!
We were met at Victoria Station by Pete, Ritchie Gee, and a van driver who broke every law (both speed and otherwise) between the station and our Hotel in Southgate.  By the time we got there, Scotty needed the wine to calm him down after the wild ride.

Queen's Golden Coach

The show at the Tennessee Club was a riot….almost literally!  The show was sold out before the date, but so many showed up without tickets that Ritchie Gee just kept packing them in.    That place is the greatest venue you can go to with a rock and roll band.  The people just come to dance, sing and have fun.  The dressing room was a locker room (this is a golf club when the shows are not going on) that smelled just like a locker room, and the backstage was the gravel outside the door that led to the big showroom. That was all that we saw….the rest was full of happy people.
When Scotty did the next show, we got a letter from a fan from N. Ireland who we had met at Sun Studio asking for backstage passes at the Tennessee Club.  I wrote him back and told him there WAS no backstage!  He came to the show anyway.
This was the shortest trip to Europe I have made.  Scotty just had the two shows, one in Paris and one in London, so we were there and back in less than a week.  It was too short to get jet lag, and neither of us was the worse for the wear when we got home.  It was short, but it was one of the best we have had…it was with old friends and new ones and we were treated great!

Gail Pollock