Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2009 | Page 39

FOOD & DRINK AWARDS 2008 - MAIN SPONSOR RED FUNNEL

Bassey or Michael Flatley. His legacy of
the next ten years or so is in his collection
of laminates – the photo security passes
from each tour. He has about 500 of them.
“Some people have been really nice,” says
Mark. “The majority have been really up
themselves.”
Travelling with the artist, whoever it
may be, Mark soon learnt where the
boundaries were. On one tour he found
an uncanny resemblance between himself
and the star caused confusion with fans
and resentment with the artist. Another
major star, known for his tantrums, used
to “snap in a heartbeat” and was best
avoided. “When get into this business it’s
not a good idea to say anything other than
hello. Or if you start ingratiating yourself
you come unstuck,” says Mark. “A lot of
the Americans are painful, self-obsessed,
just what you imagine them to be.”
The tour buses may be luxurious but
the work is hard. A typical day would be
to arrive at about 8am, unload anything

between five and eight trucks, which could
take till about 3.30pm. “You’ve got the
lighting guy, sound guy, all trying to get
their job done. It’s awful.” Then come
the camera checks and talk-back system
checks. “Then you eat dinner about 6.30,
the show starts at 7.30 and finishes at
11.30. Then you do it all in reverse, you
get back to the bus at 3am, drink as much
as you can and get up and do the same the
next day.”
Of course when you’re sitting behind a
huge camera you can discover a multitude
of secrets. Mark has zoomed in on
obvious hair-weaves and toupes which
their owners would rather were not made
public.
When he isn’t on a music tour, Mark
might well be found somewhere in Saudi,
waiting to film a handover ceremony for
some major project that has been going
on. And waiting is the word. “You might
be out there eight or nine weeks, and it’s
ridiculously hot – if you step out of the

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air conditioning you’re ready to drop
dead, but you’ve got to lay cables and
things. And the day comes – and the king
decides he doesn’t quite feel like turning
up today. So we all stand down, back
waiting again, with no booze, no telly, no
internet, no women . . .”
Mark has started to resent the time
away from his girlfriend, with whom he’s
recently set up home. But if he ever feels
jaded, coming back to the Isle of Wight
has an instantly relaxing effect on him.
“It is the nicest place to live in the British
Isles. The only thing that drives me nuts is
the ferry. It’s legalised robbery. Even Dick
Turpin wore a mask!”
Thirty-odd years since he first worked
with a camera he is still excited about
where the work has led him. “The nicest
thing is you get dumped off all around the
planet, and you get a taste of something
else. I would never had had a whiff of
any of that had I done painting and
decorating.”

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