Well it’s only taken me 4 years to get here, that makes me look relatively normal and well balanced round here doesn’t it ??. Ok, so the incessant gig thing, that doesn’t ??. Fair do’s.
So, now to pay the traditional respects to all the like minded souls who I’ve been lucky enough to meet on me travels since this site started. Which is about the same time as when the band dusted down their passports and decided to push me towards the brink of bankruptcy. You’ve all made me richer in other ways, mind. In fact these days I prefer to stop in the bar with these listed below rather than do the gig. Take a bow......
The one-and-only London Order:
Mickey Way/Mr Disco – Terrace culture vulture, Zulu Warrior, Denis Bergamp [he won’t fly either], ACR boy, early 80s Ska appreciater rolled into one and all round top lad. Took the TRAIN to Barca from London then missed the gig!. Class geezer.
Ness - NOs No.1 female fan, the only true NO groupie, well, given half a chance ;);
Greg – Ness’ loyal other half. You’ve heard of golfing widows?....,this lad deserves a platinum disc never mind a fcuking medal. From same tin-pot Cheshire town as me, must be something in the water, apart from ICI fumes;
DoN - soundest Cockney Red I’ve ever met, the only sound....:D;
JIM REILLY!- dunno how he copped that name ;), top bass player too;
Pete Solitude - funny as fcuk, one of the old skool who’s got his own place in NOs bootleg history. Gone from these shores but not forgotten;
The Smedleys - Factory connoisseurs after me own heart. Baby George born at 1.37am, immediately set ‘em thinking how they could get the FAC 137 song title into his name, you can’t manufacture ‘genius’ like that;
Old Monkey - how many men can say they’ve worked a lyric from Ceremony into their Wedding speech?! Top work. THAT set a new benchmark, until some head-case [A* J*****] had the whole fcuking song played during the signing of the registers!;
Re: Order - Will, Ian, Warren & The Other One – expected nowt when I first saw them live at the Highbury Garage and got everything. Promptly set about a good review on these boards, only fair, respect where it’s due. Most London Order sessions revolve around the work of these chaps nowadays AND they change their set list. Sound lads;
Niel Hacienda – As a young lad growing up in England you have two key choices to make : your music and your footy team. There’s nowt much wrong with Hac 
. Repeat for James Thomas.
The UK Order......
The Makems [John McV, Iain Wandless and Guv] the Slough contingent [Simon and Neil] – they put in the air-miles this lot. Proper ‘ardcore. First met them at the San Francisco Area : One gig, then last week in Barca and Lisbon plus many times inbetween. The Mancs – ATR and John, over 150 gigs between them!
Christine, Wayne and Colin. Dave ‘Molly’ Molyneux [catching you up mate!, give me 5 more tours], Hibster [stopped at my house, saw that I'd got a spare 60 mph Oz CD and had it away !] Grahame Ferguson [gave us the key to Glasvegas, top host and Hooky’s DJ sesh in G-Man’s boozer was a nite of nites], 4.45 
, ROCKET ‘KFC’ MICK [don’t know WHERE to begin], I even got to meet Mike Garrity without him mentioning Hurt or Blue Monday. Just spent 10 days in the States with John ‘Pizda’, likes a cig does our John. We’d never met him before he got to Californ-I-A, but he slotted straight into our organised chaos and gave the zombies at the gigs some proper shit, viking style, top lad;
Welsh Darren - we're all thinking of you matey 
.
The attendees of the first NOOL convention, some of these have been lost in action along the way.....Shug [no, he’s still here ], Muffy 
, Martian [now that boy could chat – raising hell on the BSP forum these days], Major, and the lovely original NOOL babe’s Liv, Cheeky Monkey and Kezzie.
The German Order – Danny Wengorz and Berndt, always welcome on these shores, see you at Southside next week.
Our cousins from the Republic of North America....WenOrder, Spotnick [Heart & Soul of this community these two and all round nice guys, keep it comin’] and Kamar [prefers Cricket to Baseball now I’ve educated him ;)] who all showed us great hospitality at the Chicago and NY gigs, The Happy One [cheers for the CD Sam], George Saunders [CEREMONY!], the new generation of NOOL babe’s 
Tracey [spun any Client yet?], April [!!!] and Agent Wood [drinks like a fish and dances like a Brit]. FAC 7-Al and Elizabeth [everyone gets to hear the Gurkha story now], Green, Brian, Pope, Turn Jim and last but not least Jeff [an American who’s prepared to travel to see the order, rare breed 
].
The furthest flung NOOLers who I’ve had the pleasure of, so to speak, are of course from the convict colony, CTB, Depth Charge
and the legendary Dennis Remmer, Mr Factory Records himself. Top lads who are gonna hand over the ashes in a few months .
Must take a moment to mention David Sultan, Monsieur World In Motion. A nice lad with a big ebay habit. Now get yourself down the front instead of mincing about with that camera if you ever want to be a 'proper' fan .
A quick nod to officialdom......Andy Robinson, the NO fan with the best job in the world. He's looked after us when we’ve needed a helping hand. It’s appreciated .
Bu I’ve saved the 'ardest of the 'ardcore, in my eyes, till last. The idiots who choose to take all their holidays with me to get their fix of New Order. No gig too far, no cost too much, no muff too tough.....stand up, AL JARVIS and the ‘POMPEY-ORDER’ GARY EDWARDS & GORDIE SMITH. Daft as a brush the lot of ‘em but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This dream team must also include our European Tour Manager ALEX ‘THE RED’ STASZKO, who, when he’s not puking up on the London Underground or getting abused by Hooky from the stage ["Alex, u look more of a cnut than u usually do!"] sorts out everything from hotels to viking helmets to back stage passes. So he gets two shouts. One for each lamb chop side-burn :D.
When’s the next one of these due? At 10,000 posts?. Don’t worry, I’ll be dead before then.
and I got there a day later than I planned. Still had to pay for the apartment too.
Roskilde in 2002 for NO [forgot my passport] and Berlin in 2003 for Ladytron [just over slept].
...and the next time you stick Finsbury 85 in your video, remember the bruised ribs and other crush injuries I recieved trying to hold a fcuking 'portable' camera at the front row for your pleasure.
Take care mate