Hi gang,

A warm welcome into 2012 and the very best of 
wishes from us to you all.
Who knows what this year will bring but as me 
and she who must be obeyed sit here sipping our perfectly chilled Dom 
Perignon we can't help but cast our minds back through 2011 and I must 
confess it all seems like a bit of a blur!
As 
far as Mercedes were concerned, we sadly lost both Malcolm and Dave 
Holmes due to their own personal circumstances but we were lucky 
enough to find Weve and made the decision to go back to the original 
three-piece format which as it happens has fortunately turned out not 
to have been as crazy as we first thought. The general reaction of our 
audience has been very positive and my own opinion is that some of 
that old energy and enthusiasm has returned to the band which, let's 
face it, has to be a good thing.
As we have been saying lately, this coming year 
is going to see us doing many more gigs in quite a few new venues (as 
well as some old favourites) so we will be constantly reminding you 
all of what's up and coming. Just to make my point loud and clear, 
this Friday (6th) we are in Raffles on Mutley Plain. It's our first 
time here so as usual we need as many of your beautiful bodies there 
as possible. Ok.This is followed on Sunday 15th by a return visit to 
the Voodoo Lounge. We've gone to great lengths to make sure that entry 
to all of our Plymouth gigs is completely free. We are desperately 
trying to get good original live music back into hearts and minds - 
we can only try to be the best we can be - the rest is up to you guys 
out there. Enough said.
As ever of course all you need to 
know is on the official Mercedes website but basic gig info is now 
also available on Lemonrock. Just go to lemonrock.com/mercedes and you 
can find out where we're going to be in the near future.
Wherever 
it is, we need you to be there!
Ta ta for now. K.

 Hi gang

Can you believe it? It's nearly 
hear again! The big "X" - no not the X Factor, I
mean Xmas!! Time to flex the credit cards and 
prepare for the Yuletide onslaught.
Actually, to tell the truth, I 
don't think I've finished paying for last Xmas yet!
Oh well, never mind. According to 
every paper I pick up, we're all heading for
financial oblivion anyway so might as well join 
the downhill slide and just keep
grinning and bearing!
As Dave mentioned a short while 
ago, we're going full circle as far as future gigs are concerned - 
almost back to basics - smaller venues and much more up close and 
personal. So no more garlic for me and extra supplies of deodorant and 
mouthwash!
The first of the "new breed" gigs 
is on Friday 9th Dec at the Post Office in Plympton - and there are 
lots more planned for next year. We will of course still be doing the 
larger venues as usual such as The Wharf, The Voodoo Lounge and The 
Mutley Crown(in fact we are there on Sun 18th Dec).
The master 
plan(if you can call it that) with all of this is simply to try and 
recapture some of the buzz and excitement we all used to be part of 
back in those halcyon days. Yes, I know we're all older(and some say 
wiser!) but I'd like to think that despite the snow on the roof, 
there's still a bit of a flame at the foot of the chimney!
Anyway 
, we're going to give it our best shot. Of course we do need - er- 
YOU.......so try and get along to as many gigs as you can!! As usual 
we'll keep you posted on the website and I'll be reminding you of all 
the Mercedes gigs when I'm out and about on my Total Stranger nights. 
So keep those eyes and ears open and help us make it happen.

In the meantime we hope you all have a great Xmas and a very Happy New 
Year and I'll see you all in Argos on the 24th when I'll be starting 
my Xmas shopping.

Take care. K.

 Hi Merc Crew,

The nights are closing in and our thoughts wander to cosy nights in by          roaring  log fire and a warming 
mug of cocoa (or maybe something a little more alcoholic). Or maybe 
like me your thoughts wander back to to the old days of television 
when we only had three channels to choose from - but - you know what, 
there always seemed to be something on the box that was really worth 
watching!
In our humble abode we have Virgin tv. I'm not having a go at them in 
particular but it seems that I spend so much time hopping from one 
channel to another I usually end up calling it a day and reaching for 
my copy of War and Peace - it's not a bad little tale but I still 
haven't been able to work out whether the butler did it or not, 
although I'm only on page nine hundred and thirty eight so there's 
still plenty of time yet.
In all fairness it's not all bad on tv. At least we have Strictly to 
keep us entertained. Old Brucie still keeps it all together and the 
resident band are bloody incredible, especially the singers. Not to 
mention the toned bodies of those dancers!! The girls look ok too!
Of course we also have the (welcome?) return of good old X Factor. Now 
I'm not going to get dragged in to any arguments over the show or pass 
any comments on any of the acts. My better half is a big fan so we 
have plenty of differences of opinion here at home without taking them 
out into the public domain. I just wish there were less adverts and 
less tearful cliches - the number of people who have given 110% must 
be thousands by now. Bring back Opportunity Knocks, that's what I say!
Don't forget to bring your beautiful toned bodies along to the gig at 
Mutley Crown on Sunday 23rd of this month. We don't even mind if you 
want to wear you ball gown!
The following Sunday (30th) is the benefit gig for Robbie Heape at the Voodoo Lounge. Those of you 
who know the history of Plymouth's bands will remember him as the 
frontman for Canyon who were kicking ass long before we showed our 
ugly faces in this town. Loads of good bands (and us) are going to be 
giving their time and efforts to a good cause.
It would be great if you could do the same.
Take 
care. K.

Oh what a night - Late August back in 2011 - Ok, so it doesn't have quite the same ring as the Four Seasons' classic but us writers (!) should be given a little bit of slack from time to time. I am of course talking about the gig at the Mutley Crown last Sunday. A really good turnout and I think I'm pretty safe in saying that a thoroughly good time was had by all both on and off stage. So, thank you all for your support.
Before I forget, let me just apologise for the minor glitch with the PA system towards the end of the evening. Beyond our control unfortunately, but hats off to the guys from Nubsound who managed to do a running repair which helped us make it to the finish line in one piece. We hope it didn't cause too much of an upset.
The next gig is actually at the Mutley Crown again on Sunday 23rd October.       Quite a few of you have been asking about the chances of us playing more than we have been over the last few months so let me say that we are looking at adding some extra dates to the 
Mercedes gigsheet. Rest assured we will be keeping right up to date with any news - so watch this space!  
Our CD 'A Long Way From Anywhere' will be back on sale in a couple of weeks, keep your eyes on the Merchandise page for clearance to buy.
Best wishes to you all. K.

Hi music lovers (and Merc fans)

Here we are in mid July and like the majority of you out there I'm still
waiting for Summer to come along. No worries, it will probably appear all bright and
breezy sometime around September! I guess the suntan 
lotion will have to stay in the drawer until then.
The band has had a few weeks' break since the last gig at the Mutley Crown 
(which we all enjoyed by the way) and Dave has been keeping himself busy 
doing some home major improvements. Weve has been working on his sailing 
boat - he lives in Torbay, perhaps he is planning on sailing down 
to the Plymouth gigs in future. Mind you, with the road works we have 
here at the moment, maybe that's not such a bad idea! Meanwhile me and my better half have been catching up with some old friends we haven't seen for a very long time in sunny Spain.
Anyway, August is coming up fast and there are three gigs to tell you about.
Two of them are local, firstly we are returning to The Garden in Torpoint on Friday 12th. They have done some major refurbishments since our last visit including a new stage so we're looking forward to that. The Mutley Crown is becoming our regular gig and we are there again on Bank Holiday Sunday 28th - no excuses for not turning up to that one -  there's all day Monday to get over it!
The third gig is in Crewe - yes you read it right - Crewe. On Sat 6th.
Ok. We realise it's - er - a fair trek from here but we felt it was only fair to tell you about it anyway. It's at a venue called The Box and the guys there are holding a 25th submariners reunion, reliving the ols days at the Pheonix and Ark Royal. They have a website if you want to find out more.
That's about it for now. Don't forget to come along to see us as much as you can and bring all your friends, we can't do it without you. 

Take care. K.