I went to four gigs on the SAS Band mini Christmas tour, and I can honestly say that this band gets better and better each time I see them. Jamie was his usual incredibly gorgeous self (I swear he gets better looking as he gets older!) and musically, the whole band was on top form.

As usual, the two gigs at Chiddingfold were fantastic. I always come out of this place thinking that it was the best gig I've ever been to, and this weekend was no exception. It's a perfect venue, as it's so small and intimate, and as it's quite difficult to get to, only true SAS fans tend to turn up! There's always a really good atmosphere, and the band and the audience have so much fun. On the first night, the guests included Tom Robinson, Mark Shaw, Paul Young and Fish. I thought Tom Robinson was excellent, singing " 2-4-6-8 Motorway" and the beautiful "Kid Charlemagne". Mark Shaw was energetic and a great showman as always, and Paul Young sang a beautiful Otis Reading number as well as "Every time you go away". As this was the 20th anniversary of John Lennon's death, Chris Thompson sang a Beatles song, "In My Life", and the combination of his singing and Jamie's beautiful guitar playing actually made it sound much better than the original! Afterwards, Jamie said, "yeah... eat your heart out Noel Gallagher...!!" Then he told a joke: "Someone asked me the other day if I'd heard the last Oasis album. I said, I hope so...!" (Think about it)

The second night was perhaps even better than the first: it had more of a soul feel with guests such as Jess Roden, Madeline Bell, Stevie Vann and also Leo Sayer and Damon Hill. A great new girl called Patti Russo sang "Respect", but Jess Roden and Madeline Bell were probably my favourites - I love the way Jess sings "25 Miles" and Madeline "Lady Marmalade". The band themselves played a couple of songs on their own. Apart from the "Jam" that they always do at the beginning (which is a great song in its own right - it's so funky and it's always great to hear Jamie sing!), they did something which they'd played at Party in the Park: an instrumental with about twenty famous riffs played continuously, to form one piece of music. Aparently it's really difficult to play and Jamie was shaking his head and going, "why are we doing this...?" but it was a great song! Of course for me, however good the guests are, the main show is always Jamie, which isn't really suprising since the way he looks and acts on stage means you can't help but look at him. Both nights, he was looking and sounding amazing, and was so happy and jokey that it makes everyone feel good!

The gig at York was rather strange - it would have been tough to follow the show that the band put on at Chiddingfold and it didn't quite make it. York is my home town, and though it was great to see the band there, I was kind of wondering whether it was quite ready for the SAS Band and especially Jamie! It turned out that it wasn't really, as very few people turned up, and I think this affected the band. Jamie wasn't as happy as he usually appears on stage and wasn't playing as well as normal. I'm sure the whole band was tired rom playing eight nights in a row, and they deserved a bigger crowd (still, it was nice for us as there was lots of room to dance!) Fish was great though: for some reason he wanted to sing "That's Amore", and everyone came on stage, lined up behind Jamie and did a little dance! It was bizarre, but hilarious!

Manchester was a different prospect: it was the end of the tour, Jamie was mch more animated again, and of course it was a special night, saying goodbye to Paul Young. The SAS Band played a short set, but they managed to cram all the best people into an hour or so: Madeline Bell, Jess Roden, Fish, Paul Young, Mark Shaw, Stevie Vann, and even Roger Taylor. Stevie did her usual "Make Love" routine with Jamie, this time purring at him: "honey what're you doin' tonight?" to which Jamie replied, "Hey, I'm in enough trouble already...!" Roger got to sing three songs whereas the others only got one, and he chose old Queen favourites: "A Kind Of Magic", "Ga Ga" and "Break Free". He makes me laugh though, as although he is evidently the most famous person there, or at least a member of the most famous band, you wouldn't think so by the humble way he acts on stage! One of my favourite songs that night, as it was at the other gigs, was when Chris Thompson and Madeline Bell sang the Sad Cafe song "Every Day Hurts". It has a lovely acoustic guitar part, and it was sung beautifully, but it was so sad to think that less than a year ago we were listening to Paul Young himself sing the song. There were some poingnant moments like this, but the evening was more of a celebration of Paul's music. After the SAS Band played their set, a reformed Sad Cafe played some songs, and then Mike and the Mechanics came on, with Jamie on guitar. It was great to hear these other bands, and the whole evening was a fitting tribute to Paul.

All in all: a fantastic few nights, and I can't wait for the next gig!!