Considering the incredible year it’s been, I felt it deserving that we acknowlegde some of the “characters” (and their deeds) of the 2002 LOVE family.

MOST DEDICATED FAN. And the nominees are: Scully, Martyn, Dukie & Lizzy B. this one was tough to call. I mean, Lizzy is on top of it and seems to be there for everyone and is so helpful on the site. And Dukie is a diehard, seemingly everywhere i turn around he’s there. And Martyn flies in from South Africa, for goodness sake!!!! And Scully was practically at EVERY UK show and even flew to Ireland. He also bought us a bunch of drinks at our Hotel after the Dublin show.

And the winner is… SCULLY!!!!!

WILDEST FAN. And the nominees are: that chick in Amsterdam who said, “And Arthur Lee on the Sing!!!”, that wacky guy who lip synced and made up dances to EVERY song at our Pumphauset Copenhagen show (he was in front of Rusty), that guy in Utrecht that Arthur threw the towel at(the guy that wouldn’t shut up!), the Scottish guy in Rotterdam who screamed just about anything in between songs, & that knucklehead that tried to steal Rusty’s guitar pedals at the Bristol show.

And the winner is… Who else? THAT GUY IN UTRECHT!

LOUDEST AUDIENCE. And the nominees are: Oslo, Madrid, Athens, Gothenberg (Sweden), Roskilde (Denmark), Glasgow, Manchester, NYC, & Los Angeles (knitting factory.)

And the winner is… YOU KIDDIN ME? MANCHESTER by a landslide!!!! That was easily the loudest, drunkest bunch of hooligans i ever saw in my life (although Glasgow was a very close second!)

MOST STONED AUDIENCE: And the nominees are: Eugene(Oregon) & Amsterdam.

And the winner is… Amsterdam! (duh)

MOST POLITE AUDIENCE: And the nominees are: Eugene, Berlin & Milton Keynes

And the winner is… 3-way TIE!!!!!

MOST FUN CITY TO HANG OUT ON DAY OFF: And the nominees are: London, NYC, Madrid, Amsterdam, Stockholm & Copenhagen.

And the winner is…(and this was tough)? MADRID!!!!

WORST CITY TO HANG OUT ON DAY OFF: And the nominees are: Milton Keynes

And the winner is… (surprise!) Milton Keynes!!!!!

MOST DANGEROUS CITY TO PERFORM IN: And the nominees are: Philadelphia & Detroit.

And the winner is… You kiddin me? PHIL-A-DEL-PHIA. Although Detroit was a close second (people were selling crack in front of both venues), the award goes to Philly on general principle.

BEST SOUND GUY/GAL: And the nominees are: Seattle’s “Experience Music Project”, NYC’s “Bowery Room”, Salano Beach’s “Belly Up Tavern” & Cleveland’s “Beachland Ballroom.”

And the winner is… As good as all three of these venues were (Especially Cleveland), The Bowery Boys were the best friggin sound people on the planet. This was my 3rd time playing there and it’s the same grumpy Manhattan crew, with those thick Brooklyn accents that drive you crazy.

WORST SOUND GUY/GAL: And the nominees are: The Barcelona crew, That guy in Detroit & Gary Stern at the Knit Fact and Bimbo’s in S.F.

And the winner is…GARY STERN!!!! How do you get fired on the first gig of the tour?

BEST MEAL ON THE ROAD: And the nominees are: The restaurant in Athens that Glenn Povey and Richard Allen took us to or that curry we had in London

And the winner is… THE RESTAURANT in Athens!!!! This place was amazing…

WORST MEAL ON THE ROAD: And the nominees are: Premier Lodge in Northampton, those wings at the club in Philly or the Belly Up club meal.

And the winner is…P.L. in Northampton!!!!!

BEST HOTEL ON THE ROAD: And the nominees are: That castle in Edinburgh we stayed in, the Zamphir in Athens & the Days Inn in Birmingham.

And the winner is: a tie. Both were great, although I’m tempted to give the edge to Athens.

WORST HOTEL ON THE ROAD: And the nominees are: ALL Premier Lodges

And the winner is: The Dodgiest of them all, Milton Keynes, where there is no extra charge for the mold (although the Liverpool P.L. came in close second…)

BEST LOVE WEBSITE: And the nominees are: LOVE’s, Torben’s or the Freedom Man’s.

And the winner is…Three-way TIE!!!!! Keep up the good work…:-)

Mike Randle