Tom's Blog - the next generation!

I have a dream

2008-10-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

Blimey. My friend Jackie heard this on BBC Radio Scotland on Friday. It was an interview with BA Robertson about the Children In Need single.

AMANDA MILLEN - As soon as that's all done tomorrow, we'd love to get a taster of the tune, cos obviously I don't think we've got it just now, but we'll definitely play it on the show

BA ROBERTSON - It is a slightly different take on it, they've made a big thing about the fact that there's a lot of personalities on it, but there's also some local musicians. I did some recording this week in Glasgow withPhil Cunningham and Ally Bain, and I've also, I've got a little bit of a Scottish Gospel Choir, a little choir, do you know who Tom Urie is?

JIM GELLATLY - Yes, yes.

BA ROBERTSON - It's the choir he sings in. So I've got them, which people haven't really talked about yet, but it's got quite a nice kind of feeling of it being kind of a community thing, it is, I mean, obviously the big star thing is important for Children In Need because that's what, you know, draws people into the idea but it's got erm, it was interesting cos Phil and Ally, that was my excuse for doing it, cos I've wanted to be in a room with Phil Cunningham for a long time and never had the opportunity.

AMANDA MILLEN - Me too actually, yeh.

JIM GELLATLY - Tom's actually amazing as well, cos I saw...

BA ROBERTSON - Fantastic voice as well, he's actually going to probably finish up singing a bit of the lead on it.

JIM GELLATLY - Oh wow, cos I saw him playing with the Scottish band Parka at King Tut's, and he was singing, they have Saffron from Republica on their album, but he sang her part at the gig and it was amazing - underrated star - bit of an actor and comedian as well

BA ROBERTSON - I had never met the and they came in, and I have to say, I have Jill Sinclair who did the DVD for Live 8 working with me on trying to pull it together, and I said to her, you don't think you can find me a gospel choir in Scotland, do you? So she went off andfound them, but I have to say, you know, having been around the block a couple of times, my expectation wasn't er...and they've got a myspace but it doesn't do them justice - they really were sensational.

We Have a Dream!

2008-10-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

What a day!
Don't know if you've heard, but they're re-making the BA Robertson classic "I Have A Dream" for Children In Need. I had the absolute privilage today of spending the day in the studio, with the great man himself, BA Robertson, working on the harmonies for the single.
We're also going to be on the TV show in November - the single is out soon, please buy it, it's for a great cause!

The noo

2008-10-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged for ages - a couple of people have actually phoned to check if I'm okay.
I'm fine.
It's been a stressful time - as you know, my wee mum is ill. I've been on a hospital-visiting rota with me brother and sister, and she's not getting any better. She's a poor wee soul, please continue to pray for her, if you can.
I also managed to drag myself off to the doctor's - something I hate - but, fortunattely, I got a clean bill of health. Cholestoral was normal, no diabetes, nothing. Suffering a wee bit from stress, but I guess that's understandable.
The past couple of weeks since the show finished have been spent with Donny and Matt, trying to plan a future for Sweet Home Balmaha. We had a few offers in as soon as the show closed, a couple of which we've said no to. But there's one particular direction that I think we're taking it - watch this space.
Feeling a bit down tonight - I always get a bit under the weather when the seasons change, but with my mum being ill, this all just seems a wee bit worse. I couldn't watch the pride of britain awards, for example - roarin and greetin. I'm finding myself crying at adverts, it's pathetic.
Next week, I'm working on series 2 of Fags, Mags and Bags for Radio 4. It was written by my mate Donny and Sanjeev Kohli. It got nominated for loads of radio awards last year, and it's a complete joy to work on.

Whit a week!

2008-09-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

What an astounding week we're having. The houses are packed, with people being turned away, and the queues going round the block. The audiences are amazing, and the reviews have been fantastic (apart from the Metro, but ye cannae huv it all.)

Most excitingly, a very bizarre thing has happened - our songs from the show came to the attention of one of the world's biggest song publishers, and they've offered me and Matthew a deal! Can't go into too much detail, but we are beyond excited! More news as it breaks.

On the down side, my wee mum is still desperately ill, so please, keep all your positive thoughts and prayers coming.

Review

2008-09-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Blimey. We've had an amazing review. Check this out.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.2446963.0.sweet_home_balmaha_oran_mor_glasgow.php

Mum

2008-09-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

God, sometimes you don't really realise how many mates you actually have. I've been overwhelmed by the messages and love - thank you all.

My wee mum is in a bad way - she's in hospital just now, and the next few days are critical, so please plase keep all the thougfhts and prayers coming - they really, really do work.

I'm struggling personally too - Sweet Home Balmaha opens tomorrow, and my head is with my mum. She told me in no uncertain terms today that "The show must go on" and you don't mess with my old dear.Thanks again to you all xxxx

Sweet Home - 3 more sleeps

2008-09-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

Now totally excited. We've worked really hard on this, on all aspects of this wee show. Right from the conception in March 2007 till now, we've wanted to bring these characters to life. Billy, the old rocker who wants the easy life, clinging on to his nest egg, a pub in Balmaha where he runs his weekly open mic nights to a half empty pub. Elvis, his son, a gifted singer songwriter, who is desperate to escape to the bright lights of London, but is held back by his overbearing father. And Heather, the gorgeous barmaid who packs a punch, and has a secret plan of her own....

When we wrote the script, we had no idea how much stuff would come out in rehearsals - Maggie Kinloch, the director (above) who is the head of drama at RSAMD has been phenomenal, doing so much character work with us and getting some real pathos into the story.

Kathleen has been a total sweetheart, although, as I've said before, she never shuts the fuck up. This is her first theatre job and she's worked her ass off - and she's going to end up stealing the show. Matthew McVarish (below), my best mate and one of the most talented people I've ever known is also amazing - I've really started to feel like he's my son.

I hope as many of you as possible can come and see it - remember, you can hear a couple of the songs over at www.myspace.com/sweethomebalmaha

Cannae get 2 minutes!

2008-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

So today, Sunday, the "Lord's day," and I'm running about like a mad thing. I need to get all the sound cues ready for the show - and also had to visit my poor wee mum in hospital. (She's in good spirits today.)

Matt and I got some exciting news - as I've said before, another tangent that has inadvertantly came out of Sweet Home Balmaha is that there are now publishers interested in working with Matt and I as songwriters. Yesterday, we found out that we have been invited to breakfast next week with someone unbelievably famous - we're too scared to say who it is incase we jinx it, but I'll post here afterwards. It's one of the world's most famous singer/songwriters, and they've taken an interest in us.

So, the show opens a week tomorrow, and after a week of rehearsals, I can now see the shape of it - and I really hope it's going to be a hit.

Big bother

2008-09-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

I had big hopes for this earlier in the summer - I loved Darnell, thought Lisa was fab, was intrigued by Rex - but it trickled out into a puddle of nonentities.

Not since Bubble in series 2 have I loathed a housemate more than Mikey - his voice actually makes a part of my brain vibrate in a very bad way. I thought he was vicious, spiteful, hideously judgemental and he basically just freaked me out. And that evil little bastard that spat on Mo, I hope he never resurfaces.

The only interesting housemate was Bex, but her taste in men leaves a lot to be desired.

So I was quite pleased to see Rachel win, but she's so boring, that we actually switched the TV off and didn't bother watching her interview.

This morning, we're back in rehearsals to get the shape of the show completed. It's going to be good, I reckon.

It never rains but it pours

2008-09-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Not a great couple of days - my wee mum fell off the Largs bus and broke her leg yesterday. It#s not too bad, she had surgery today and it went well. So who knows.

I also attended my Aunt May's funeral this morning, two weeks after my uncle died, so as you can all probably guess, I need some good news.

On a positive note, rehearsals are going well. Donny came in today to watch a run and gave us some great feedback. Kathleen McDermot is a delight but never shuts up. Matthew McVarish is the most talented person I've ever worked with - honestly, I thought I knew it all, twenty years in the business and all that - but I am learning so much from this guy, he's fucking brilliant. We're all turning into our characters, which always happens in almost every show I'm in. (Read Tutti Frutti and that statement will fill you with horror!)

This is a weird time - great happiness and great sadness. They're cancelling each other out, so I'm "fine."

Meltdown

2008-09-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Have totally overdone it. I was away working in Aberdeen all weekend, and have crashed and burned today. I had to cancel two night's work as I'm completely exhausted, and hoaching with a weird flu-like bug. So tonight I went to bed at 6pm and now I've just woken up.

Today's rehearsal was fabulous again, it's a dream job. Fred McAulay gave us a plug on his show yesterday, which was so cool of him. I've got close associations with the Fred show, I've been a contributor for the best pasrt of 8 years, and always love it. Fred is being massively supportive of Sweet Home Balmaha, as are so many other people. It's also a total joy working with my best mate, Matt - I knew he was talented, but I'm constantly in awe of what a great actor he is, and I'm learning so much from him. Kathleen McDermot continues to be an absolute joy, and has us in stitches every day.

In the middle of this madness, I lost my Aunt May last Friday. She had a colour TV before anyone else I knew, and every time there was a musical on the TV, I would go to her house and she would spoil me, letting me watch The King and I, The Sound of Music and all the greats. She made cracking pancakes as well. The funeral is Thursday, which I've managed to get out of rehearsals for. She was a nice lady, my dad's big sister.

Right, I'm off to bed with a book.

T xxx

First day

2008-09-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hurray! I'm getting readers now! Welcome back Anne, it's been a while! And Christy, my friend from primary school, now back in touch from Australia after almost 30 years!

Today, we had our first day of rehearsals. Unfortunately, I had a bizarre accident last night where I fell down the stairs when I was taking out the rubbish - and promptly fucked my knee. So I was in agony this morning, but it seems to have calmed down now.

We had our read thru, with all of us there - Me, Matt, Kathleen. Maggie the director, Suzi from Oran Mor and the legendary Donny, who was on fine form. Our official photographer, Kenny, who's documenting the whole process, was also there.

The read through was great - hearing the characters jump off the page was a thrilling experience - Matt and I have lived with these characters in our heads for the best part of two years, but Kathleen Mcdermott especially exceded all our expectations. She nailed it.

The afternoon was spent doing some character work, and then we managed to stagger thru the first ten pages.

Tonight I was going to chill out but ended up driving my mate Jenni to Edinburgh, so I'm bushed!

My sweet hoooommme....

2008-08-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

So today (Monday) is the big day. We begin rehearsals for Sweet Home Balmaha. I've spent the last few hours printing off scripts and mixing music - whilst trying to keep my eyes open. I was DJing just north of Aberdeen this weekend (had a fab time - me, Nightshift and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers) so I'm exhausted. Plus, I ate a lot of crap. so I feel rubbish.

As I've said before, I'm more nervous about this show than I've been about anything else - basically because I think it could go somewhere, and I don't want to be disappointed.

BUT - we're surrounded by good people. We have a photographer who's going to document the whole process, so hopefully there should be some rehearsal pics on here every day. We've been lucky enough to get a rehearsal room at the RSAMD (Oran Mor plays are usually rehearsed in a draughty church hall) which is great cos it's bang in the middle of town.

So please check back here every day for updates.

Not...the gym!!!

2008-08-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

I went to the gym today - I didn't do anything except drink coffee with my mate Angela who works there, but I'm going tomorrow morning at 8 - and every morning! I need to get a bit healthier cos I've got a big run of work coming up. And I hate the place.

So if you're a member of Greens at Finnieston and you see an ambulance racing there at around, ooh, a quarter to nine, say a little prayer for me......

PS I've finally lost the plot. I just watched Friday's EastEnders - why was in floods of tears as Wellard passed away to the strains of East 17?

Glenuig

2008-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Donald Cameron and Matthew McVarish

What a fantastic few days I've had. I tell you, if you fancy having a laugh on holiday, I recommend you take one of the country's top comedy writers with you. I'm still sore with laughing.

So my best mate Matt and I took our collective best mate Donny camping (this "best mate" stuff gets complicated, doesn't it? There are all sorts of categories - oldest mate, best girl mate, best school mate etc)

So we set off in my Jurassic Park jeep up to the darkest highlands - well, Glenuig, near Mallaig. It is TOTAL Harry Potter country - the films are all shot around there, and we had the soundtrack with us.

We also had The Wicker Man soundtrack with us which is creepy as fuck. Especially when you're in a tent on your own (my snoring disqualifies me from sleeping in the caravan, which doesn't bother me, as I've always loved camping.) The countryside around here is breathtaking. The camp site is only about 11 miles away form the Glenfinnan Viaduct, famous for carrying the Hogwarts Express to its fictional destination.

The first day was spent on Ben Nevis - we decided to take a chairlift to the top - none of this hill climbing shite. It was a smashing laugh, especially as Matt's vertigo kicked in. Luckily, we had Donny to entertain us, as you can see in the above video!

When we got to the caravan, we had a disastrous attempt at a barbecue - disastrous, mainly because of a hidden menace we had forgotten about - the midge. Millions of the wee bastards. And no amount of Avon Skin So Soft would deter them, no, these were piranha midges. We ended up not being able to spend any time outside.

Friday was spent at Mallaig - and what a weird place. We tried three restaurants, having bad experiences in every one of them. One of them did that hideously Scottish thing of "only serving food between 11 and 11.30 and even then it was just a toastie." The other place we tried wanted 8.95 for a baked potato, so we eventually plumped for what was described as "fresh Mallaig haddock, freshly caught this morning." I've had better from the Blue Lagoon, and I didn't pay a tenner for the privilege.

I adore Scotland, but we're shite at service. It seems the farther north you go, the more difficult it is to get a toastie without spending 24.80 or marrying the landlord's daughter.

So, back home now - and onto the next big thing. Rehearsals start soon for Sweet Home Balmaha, our baby we've been working on for the past year. We're pretty confident about it - we've tried to write it like an American sitcom, with a high laugh-per-minute quotient. I think that's been the benefit of three of us writing it together.

And as it's our own show, as opposed to just being the cast, we've got a power of work to be getting on with - songs need finished, scripts need tidied up, we've got meetings with designers etc...totally exciting. And it's also amazing to be working with Maggie Kinloch, who's directing. Maggie gave me my first professional job as an actor in 1993 in St Andrews, when she cast me as Baloo in The Jungle Book. Fifteen years later, we're working together again, and I can't wait - she's a genius, and a possible calming influence on us.

Local Hero

2008-08-14T01:31:00.001-07:00

Well, the curse of the self-employed means that this year's holiday starts today - three days in a tent up north! But I can't wait, even if the midgies eat me alive!

Back on Saturday with stories and pictures.

Nicking Sandy's ideas......

2008-08-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Me outside the "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" gazebo, Salzburg 2004.

I liked the look of Sandy Nelson's Nordic blog, that I've decided to hoover up his idea - well, not really, I've been blogging for years, but this google blog looks pretty cool.

There are various blogs of mine littering cyberspace at the moment, my attention span never allowing any of them to last more than a few months. So here's the rebirth. Here you'll find all the usual shite - my weekly X Factor rantings (tho I'm already hating the idea of it sans Mrs O) and my shameless publicity and self promotion.

Big news these days is that I'm back in Glasgow. The country life didn't work out - not cos I didn't like it - I did, but I had no idea when I bought the cottage that, suddenly, all my work would dry up. It's one of the fuckers of this business. Feast or famine. Tutti Frutti was the best thing that ever happened to me, but I lost a lot of my regular gigs by doing it. A lot of credibility for my career, but tough on the wallet.

So I'm back in Glasgow and loving it. The most exciting thing that's happening at the moment is that I have a play on in Oran Mor next month. I've written it with my two buddies Donny and Matt, and it's a musical comedy called "Sweet Home Balmaha." I'm going to blog daily on here about the whole production process of the show. We start rehearsals in three weeks.

The show stars me - Tom Urie

and this guy, Matthew McVarish

and, not forgetting the stunning Kathleen McDermott, this is her here

she's completely fab, and we're delighted she's agreed to do the show. She's won a Bafta and everything!!

The show runs at Oran Mor from Monday 15th - Saturday 20th September, 1pm. Tickets are a tenner, and you get a pie and a pint thrown in.