old days hanging out in w berlin, my life was kinda crazy, i'd just come back from hitching around the USA, Mexico and Canada, when Martin rang me to ask if i'd rejoin the band he had put together in Berlin, i didn't even know he was there, funny enough it was my ex wife who bought me the ticket to go, i'd been having an unconditional fling with her in London, and we kinda knew the whole thing was doomed from the start, but there was a nice feeling about the whole relationship, a sort of relaxed enjoyment, it was easy baby.
anyways i ended up traveling via amsterdammed, and met Marty at Zoo station, we caught the train to his place in Krezenberger Strasse, where we proceeded to drink a bottle of duty free glenfilich and some poppy seed cake, this proved to be our diet for the next year, apart from the radio active cheese we purchased at the markets cheaply, at the time totally unaware it was post chornobyl, mmm nuclear cheese.
the apartment was between a bar and a church, it was a kitchen, a huge living room, and two bedrooms either side, martins was bright red, mine was a sort of soft pastel white with a hint of pink, we actually got a grant to refurbish the place, in those days the WG govt. was giving cash away, i immediately started to write songs and explore the city. We gathered a few musicians, an amazing drummer from a band called the planets and a multi instrumentalist called Zak and a sweedish sax player called Zoloft and a keyboard palyer called Steel. We started getting our set down, and the hours we kept were certainly nocturnal, breakfast at 6pm, into the studio at 7.30pm out at 1am, nightclubs and bars till dawn, yeah it was crazy. My fave spots were the Jungle Club, where i met the amazingly talented and dead Gabrelle, the Jungle being the most exclusive nightspot in berlin, frequented by various beautiful people, its the place where bowie and iggy ate the berlin wall cake, the music was amazing and its the birthplace of where i developed my crazy dance style, 'Jungle Stomp.'
There were two things i found strange about Berlin, one the weather, i was a tropical guy in -40, i mean waking up and seeing frozen dogs on the street was not my ideal enviroment, and the other thing that i found difficult was everywhere i went i would be asked if i had 'smack.'
I guess i looked a bit like the archtypical dealer, dressed in black, hat, shades, emancipated, sunken hollow cheeks, but smack was not my drug of choice, and dealing with Gabrile was enough to put you off it for life.