Release Day - myself as "Dr. Magic", giving the new best of album a plug!

Later that evening - the real McCoy sits in the exact same office chair!

As the new album was a retrospective collection, I had thought it would be fun to dress up as Dr. Magic on launch day, like I used to on stage, back in the late 80's. So, I'd acquired myself a lab coat and bowtie, then first thing, I'd cheerfully posed with a copy of the album for a posting on Facebook. It was a busy day, as you can probably imagine, and I'd quite forgotten about my online impersonator. Sam took Twizz out to visit a friend later in the afternoon, I took advantage of the peace and quiet, poured myself a well earned beer (or two) and sat down to watch the Australia vs Argentina Rugby World Cup Semi Final on the telly. Not long into the second half, there was a knock at the door. Grumpily,

I went to answer it. That's when the shock hit. As I opened the inner door, there in our porch stood a mirror image of myself, the only difference being his carrying a few more pounds, looking a good few years older and sporting more hair. Although only with me for a few hours, we must have talked several weeks worth. I mean, you would, wouldn't you? How many times are you going to get the chance to meet a counterpart from another universe? And within half an hour of his being here, there was no doubt in my mind that he was exactly who he had claimed to be. Okay, the questions were endless, the answers sometimes less than satisfactory, but I was too mindfucked by the idea that there was another Earth out there, one where the Ford Escortron wasn't just an old Mark 1 Escort with an upturned fishbowl on the roof. I know what you're thinking; "This is rather a lot for us to take in, Mick, perhaps you could put it together in the form of a story photo album on Facebook so we could all read it through at our leisure?" And yes, of course I can. If you're paying attention (and I'd suggest you do, we'll be asking questions at the end) the Doc (that's what I settled on calling the real alternate universe Dr. Magic) and I had already produced one, recall? ANTI MATTER - THE STORY FROM AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE (you don't need a Facebook account to view it, so enjoy muchly), and I did a second one myself called THE VISIT (no, you don't need a Facebook account to look at that one either, but I'm sure you're getting the hang of this by now, so I promise not to say that again), covering the events of the big day itself. And it wasn't going to end there, he was definitely coming back, the whole "photos from the future" thing had proved that beyond any doubt. And he'd be bringing Mick Tron, my Biodroid counterpart. And Albert, my little green man in bowler hat counterpart. My cover art, it would seem, had been somewhat prophetic. "So," I inquired, as he was heading for the door, "The Ford Escortron; it's really out there then, waiting for your return journey? What if somebody sees it? We don't have technology like that on our Earth!" He smiled, "Oh, don't worry," he assured, "nobody is going to see it where I've left it."

The next thing we knew, it was all over the local paper and we ended up with BBC News' 'North West Tonight' team in the village asking awkward questions about little green men. Luckily, nobody mentioned bowlers hats, that would have been embarrassing. Acting on a tip off from the owners of the Knott End Cafe, or "mum and dad" as Sam calls them, she made sure she was there when the BBC were filming. With a brilliant performance, she ducked every question about 'space cars' and kept ranting on about proposed library closures and the planned reduction of local bus services instead. Sensemillia, darling, we're so glad you could be there. By the time of the Doc's next visit, Saturday 28th November, it had all blown over. And hopefully he'd had some training in effective clandestine parking. The visit itself was amazing, not just the Doc, but Mick Tron the Biodroid too. No Albert, sadly, "One thing at a time." Said the Doc, "We'll be back." We had a great jam session in The Mmatterialisation Chamber, we all seemed to know exactly what was in eachother's minds, almost like we were all one person. We recorded a piece we have called "Variations", something the three of us are intensely proud of. We wanted to do something really special, something worthy of such an incredible moment; the first ever transdimensional recording session. As yet, it hasn't seen the light of day, but it will, I promise you. The Doc was thrilled to be able do it on the old TEAC Portastudio, magnetic tape being distant history on his Earth, and a format he had never recorded on. Soon after this, I finally upgraded my computer for one that would work well with my new Behringer mixer and studio software. And, of course, new computers tend to come with (and please excuse the bad language) Windows 10. Naturally, most of my software, including some of the Microsoft stuff, became instantly incompatible, including the program I used for digitising from cassettes. In all, it took several months to resolve the majority of the problems, the most annoying resolution of which meant my having to get a smaller FST monitor for the old system because I would need to keep that as well. Or spend even more money on a new printer/scanner, in spite of the one I had working perfectly. Thanks, Bill. Anyway, I'm getting there, gradually becoming used to working with (ugh) Windows 10 and should be ready to start digitising from tape again soon. Then, at last, our stunning transdimensional masterpiece shall be heard! I know what you're thinking; "Seriously, Mick, the photo stories on Facebook are so much easier to follow, did you do one for this part too?" Of course I did, the album is imaginatively titled THE VISIT 2 (I spent hours coming up with that one), enjoy muchly! And I promised not to tell you that you don't need a Facebook account to view it again, so I shan't. Which just leaves us to ask the $64 question...

Above - quote: "Oh, don't worry, nobody is going to see it where I've left it."

Right - Sam's brilliant issue dodging performance on the BBC's "North West Tonight" news programme. Our Twizz, on the other hand, decides to go all shy and refuses to appear on camera. At least not from the front...