Working with Lee Griffiths could be described using so many words, but ‘uneventful’ certainly isn’t one of them.

This weekend found us at the Circle Club, an ‘exclusive’ members club just off St Annes Square in Manchester. The venue was initially quite welcoming, but the organisation behind the promoter who got us in there was rather shady to say the least. We ended up having to sort out the club’s sound system (which wasn’t our job) and this threw out the whole evening’s timings. We were the headlining act, but what we didn’t realise was that the promoter was the girlfriend of one of the support acts, and she had an agenda of her own: getting her fella noticed at any cost. If this meant trampling over the other acts, then this was acceptable.

But not to Lee….

The set started really well. As ever, Griffo heckled the audience something rotten. And the more he did so, the more they warmed to him. He ripped into the venue’s attitude, bar prices and up-their-own-arse customers who thought they were something special, and everyone was falling over laughing. They lapped it up. DJ Wayne Sealey from ‘Nightmares on Wax’ worked well as the new addition to the band. Improvising with loops and scratches underneath the tracks added a new dimension to the music.

Although we were all running way behind time, the promoter let her fella play his whole set, and then put Lee on nearly three-quarters of an hour late. Then, when he was about three songs into a ten song set, she rudely and frantically tried to cut the performance short mid-song, saying that the club had to open up shortly to the regular members. Griffo was having none of it. And, in front of an attentive crowd, ripped her apart. We carried on playing and ignored her for a couple more tracks before we had to acknowledge the end. Very frustrating.

The crowd loved us. It was great to see people who’d come from all over the country to see us play. Many were singing along to the songs and having a laugh. It was a tight set.

But this was not the last from Stroppy Cow. She threw a wobbler because he didn’t do as she told him. It was clear that we were dealing with a stuck-up kid who was throwing her teddy around. We just ignored her. I don’t think we’ll be dealing with this fool again. In a last attempt to regain control of the situation, she accused Lee of grabbing her and fetched the bouncers. We all witnessed what happened, and there was no basis in her accusations.

Lee got kicked out – which tickled him enormously. It was a proper showbusiness exit!

The whole band and our friends partied the night away in town until the next day, before going to meet with our new manager. Dave Roberts of M20 Records loves the music and the vibe of the band. He’s got a good pedigree and knows his stuff, a man of substance with big ideas, contacts and the will to put his money where his mouth is. A good combination which instills confidence.

There was a little bit of magic going on that night, and everyone who took part could feel it. The eye-contact was electric. Momentum is building up, and a critical mass has been reached. As soon as we can, I’m booking a couple of overnight sessions in the studio and we’ll have the next album sorted.

And it’s going to be GOOD!