HAVING A BALL
n DO you sometimes wonder if roadshows are a sort of punishment exercise, designed to put performers down a peg, get them out of head office for a while, and let them look at how the other half lives?
The Radio One Roadshow seems to have been happening every summer since Marconi made waves. In fact, this is its 27th year. The first was kicked off by Alan Freeman in a caravan.
This one, so far as Scotland is concerned, is launched today in Aberdeen by Zoe Ball and what the BBC describes as ''her wacky sidekicks''. Mind you, she does tell us: ''The roadshow means dressing up in stupid outfits.'' So maybe that's what wacky is. The place to be if you want to be in the crowd is the Queen's Links, where Jamleia, Thunderbugs, and Toploader are the warm-up bands, but the big attractions are Martine McCutcheon, former soap star and now a regular on Top of the Pops, and retro rockers Ocean Colour Scene. Tomorrow Ball rolls into Balloch, with Skunk Anansie, Travis, and Billie, and on Wednesday it's Irvine's Beach Park, with Gay Dad, Phats & Small, and Five.
And that's it. End of Scotland's share of the action, while the show wanders the length and breadth of England, presumably getting wackier all the time. According to the Beeb: ''Strawberries and cream, sunburn, barbecues, and the Radio One Roadshow'' are quintessential elements of a true British summer, though for most of us, that's a rather airbrushed picture. What would Ball have made of the weather on Fair Monday? She'd have coped, I guess.
The roadshow vehicle is 100ft long and spendidly equipped. It's a huge operation, negotiating with councils, checking sites, and, for the DJs, actually having to look straight into the faces of up to 20,000 people, instead of merely chatting to a microphone.
The Dance Party Tour is a more recent phenomenon, running in tandem with the roadshows. ''We set up a massive sound system, invite cool DJs, and basically chill out and have a party as the sun goes down,'' says Dave Pearce. Scotland, however, will have to do without. The first party is in Portrush, Northern Ireland, on Friday; there are
others in St Ives, South Sea, and
Brighton in August, but we'll have to twiddle the knobs on our trannies and dance round our living rooms.
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