The Proclaimers

Perhaps this belongs in one of the other categories but it is my first offering after Birmingham a review of which will follow in due course. If it is a topic for another category then I can be moved.

Perhaps you guys can help me out here. My night was somewhat spoiled by this and I would appreciate views:
After I attended the gig at Warwick I went to the merchandising table after and had a look at the Hunt & Nockalls cd. I thought if it was the set list they played that it would be a good reminder, rather like the Grim Northern and Unkle Bob cds gathering dust on the shelf. I had no cash with me so I said to Miles Hunt and these are my exact words “I can’t buy one now as I have no cash with me, I am going to be at the Birmingham performance on Monday so I will make sure that I have money then because your music is growing on me”.

After the Birmingham gig I went to the stand like I said I would. Now this is paraphrased but the general gist on the conversation is here
“Hello,” I said “ I said I would be back with money.”
“Ah, yes the man from Warwick,” said Hunt, “well I ‘m not going to sell you one”.
Witty banter but okay “right,” small laugh (try to join in with his joke…)
“Why’s that then.?”
“You were rude to me so I don’t want you to have one.”
At this point I am still not in on the ‘joke’ but I smiled anyway. Hang on he seems serious and my daughter is starting to think the same..
“When?” Normally I am willing to apologise if I have said something to offend.
“You said my stuff was growing on you”

At this point I realised that the man was being serious. He said no more and I was lost for words, did that really happen? Fortunately there was no crowd that he was attempting to humiliate me in front of, just my family. I played the episode back many times in the two hour journey back and am still at a loss to understand what I did to offend. It leaves me very angry and it has soured my experience.

Now:
I am no “rock star” (technically neither is he but…) have I made a grave error? Should I have been so in awe of the music that I had to immediately rate it higher than The Beatles or The Proclaimers or I was not worthy to judge? I think that a bit unfair.
Is it inappropriate to say ‘growing on me’ in rock star circles, does it have some other connotation I am unaware of?
Did I offend? I am sure with his surname he had far, far worse at school, but I don’t think I did. Anyone thinking of buying a cd as a souvenir should be careful not to use the words I used and offend the poor man. I would say that if you are in two minds about buying their cd – don’t bother.

He has done me a favour, I decided during the performance at Birmingham that I didn’t really think it was worth buying as it would never be played, but I had said I would and still would have. I certainly wasn’t going to argue over it.

I don't know if this helps but in a little-known Swahili dialect 'your music is growing on me' sounds very like 'you are a pretentious, overblown toe-rag who won't be getting any of Daniel's Grandad's custom, even if your music is the best thing since sliced bread'.

Hi JSTDSagain!

Don't even waste anymore time thinking about it. We all know who you really went to see - THE PROCLAIMERS - Maybe that chap had a bad day and you were the poor unfortunate who was gonna pay for it! Hey there's always karma! You sound like a real gent too, by not "rising" to "it". Don't let that daft bloke spoil your memories of a good procs gig, which I'm sure he won't cos thats nigh on impossible! Angie JTJ

I saw this thread i thought i really had to respond.
I am sorry you had a bad experience with Miles, but i can only speak from the positive. I met Miles at both concerts i went to and both times found him to be a top bloke, totally at ease at where he was in the music biz and where he is now. When Mazza and i "invaded" (!) Exeter the afternoon before the gig we bumped into him and recognising me from the previous night he warmly shook my hand.
I too had to say to him i didn't have any cash to buy his CD the night before and when i finally got round to going to buy one it was after the gig in Exeter, again he recognised me and he and Erica said it was the only one they had left and seeing as they had remembered i was going to come back they had got their own copy out of their car!
Maybe you caught him on a bad day (we all have them) but i seriously cannot rate the guy higher, i've even since bought another of his more recent CD's!

Sounds like he was being a complete 'luvvie' to me. I fail to see how anybody could possibly have been 'offended' by what you said, and I can see how you'd be pretty confused (and not a little upset, I'd hazzard) by a response like that.

I saw Andy Fairweather Low last year, four times in fact because he was so good, and at the first gig (very small) I mentioned to him afterwards how I'd only recently caught up with his work. He couldn't have been a nicer bloke, a real professional and genuinely pleased to hear that. For someone who tours with Eric Clapton I'd say that was pretty humble and down to earth of him!

Haven't met C&C, and only caught up with their work earlier this year, but reading the posts on these forums I get the distict impression (from those of you who have met them, and seeing them interviewed) they are really down to earth and top geezers (excuse the Essex twang!). I saw them at Cambridge back on Oct 13th, we started in the balcony but did'nt like sitting still so moved downstair to the standing area! Had a great time, really would like to see them again do an acoustic set but will catch the next tour for sure too.

Now, rant over. (and yes- I'm on your side on this one!)

Yeah Essexdave, C&C are really nice people. Hope you get to meet them soon. I think no one has caught them on a bad day yet