BEST OF BRITISH: Bike, van, scooter or auto, get your motor running down the Ace.
"Oi!"
Finding two lone Rapiers in situ on a cold grey weekday morning at North London's Ace Cafe makes so much black-and-white sense. After all, Colin Pryce-Jones, shown above in skivvies civvies with John Tuck, penned a masterful instrumental ode to this motorbikers' paradise on the Old North Circular, Breakfast at the Ace, for The Rapiers' second longplayer, Return of The Rapiers.
Naturally, owner Mark and Linda Wilsmore's pit stop remains a prime place for a Great British Fry-up, Johnny Kidd and The Pirates tribute night, endless cups of caffeine and daydreams of Rita Tushingham, with a never-ending hum of motor revving in your ear.
And plenty o' Rapier chat 'round the table. Like:
- Making a rock 'n' roll go on the ever-tough, ever-tightening '60s theatre circuit. Colin: "All in all, 2007 wasn't a bad year for us."
- Pondering a Silver Anniversary celebration in 2008. Hint: Save 22 March in Amersham on your event calendar.
- Keeping things fresh at each Shadowmania, despite strict attendee expectations and a stricter playlist format. (On that note, this corner votes to retire Saturday Dance in favour of mid-'60s Beat numbers like My Way or Will You Be There. There, I've said it.)
- Wishin' and hopin' Jet Harris finally acquiesces and adds his stonking B-side Footstomp to his Me and My Shadows stage show.
NB: As for the Ace grounds, well, try to snap a bad picture, even with a laughably outdated 2.1 megapixel camera. You gotta love the clean lines, the racing checkerboard motif, the ubiquitous logo branding every gaze. Ace stuff indeed.
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