Camel On The Road Again

Camel once again grace dear old blighty's shores in October 2000. Pity it's taken them three and a half years! Still, it's good to welcome back a good class live act which still understands good old musical integrity values regardless of a reduced audience compared with their mid 70's heyday.

Joining Andrew ('Andy' to his friend) Latimer and Colin (Mr Bass) Bass on the tour to make up the band are Clive 'Archie' Bunker on drumsticks and Guy LeBlanc (no worries - he's not French - oh shit - he's Canadian!) on Bontempi.  Actually, Ghee (Guy is pronounced like Indian cooking fat) is, allegedly, a rather excellent exponent of the Hammond organ, so let's hope he brings one along.

Only one date in the UK has been announced so far (though there appears to be room for at least half a dozen more), and there are no prizes for guessing that this one is the Astoria in London. As Camel can draw more of an audience than the usual twenty that attend prog gigs, they will be playing the main auditorium and not the basement A2.

Now I can hear some of you questioning whether Camel are prog or not. We at Silhobbit say that if they are not prog, they must be porn. In their last video "Coming of Age", not only was there a clue in the title, but a female member of the audience claimed, when interviewed, that she "had shared some of her most intimate moments whilst listening to Camel". Still not convinced? Try our short quiz below….

PROG OR PORN?

Have you ever listened to Camel:

a.      with a friend
b.      with a friend of the opposite sex
c.      in bed
d.      stark bollock naked

If you have ever bought a Camel video, did you purchase it:

a.      from a high street shop
b.      from the top shelf of a high street shop
c.      via the internet
d.      by mail order

(c. and d. purchases would be delivered in a non-descript brown paper package)

Due you usually watch your Camel video:

a.      with the rest of your family
b.      with your partner
c.      with the sound turned down and the fast forward and pause buttons on the remote to hand
d.      on your own

Have you ever whilst listening to Camel:

a.      made love
b.      made love to someone else
c.      played air guitar
d.      sung along

Have you ever bought a Camel CD on the basis of any of the following tracks:

a.      Earthrise
b.      Lady Fantasy
c.      White Rider
d.      Nude
e.      No (not a track title - just 'no' you haven't bought a CD on the basis of the above - Jeez!)

Who would you be least likely to admit to liking Camel to:

a.      fellow prog fans
b.      other friends and colleagues
c.      your girlfriend/boyfriend/dog/sheep/whatever
d.      the police

Do you keep your Camel CDs:

a.      in the living room so that all your guests can see
b.      in the bedroom
c.      under the bed
d.      near to a box of Kleenex three ply

Add up the number of a, b, c and d's you have and check below.