Tuesday 12th July 05 - The Paddingtons Single Release at Ringside and Signing at HMV (2/7) By Joe Hakim Photos by Darren Rogers

(1/7), (2/7), (3/7), (4/7), (5/7), (6/7), (7/7).

Photograph Gallery   The Paddingtons Gallery 1,    Gallery 2 ,    Gallery 3 ,    Gallery 4,    Gallery 5,    Gallery 6 ,    Gallery 7,    Gallery 8.

Hey there, the tallest one says. What's going on here then? I smile from behind fundamentalist facial hair and say, It's The Paddingtons. They are here. Now. HMV. Today. The Paddingtons eh? he says, and then he looks over at his partner, who just smiles back. Yeah. They're doing a signing. A signing eh? the copper asks before nudging his partner. When they're famous we can say, 'We saw them down Whitefriargate that day,' can't we?

Both of them laugh, but I fail to pick up the humour in the last statement, so I continue to wear my shit-eating grin like some sort of fuckwit. After what seems like an eternity Mo comes over to bail me out, figuratively speaking.

We're with thisisull dot com. We're press, we're covering this thing, he says. The appearance of a camera seems to freak out the coppers, who mooch away. Are you ok? Mo asks. I couldn't help but notice that you seized up when they came over. It's the weirdest thing. Police turn up and it's enough to make me hop about like a crazy bastard.

Start acting like a guilty man, even though I haven't actually been accused of anything. It's a disturbing, involuntary behaviour shift, a habit I must try to drop. It must have something to do with being sober. When I'm pissed I turn into a legal expert and will quite happily engage the police in a state-of-yoots-today type rant. The front of HMV begins to fill with indie chicks and a few long-haired lads. The band start to arrive, and at first it's hard to separate them from their fans. There's no limo pulling up, no minders or security. They mingle with their fans, shaking hands, chatting and just generally flitting about. The fact that their new single sits on a shelf just a few feet away from them is ignored. There's no trace of rock-star ego here. But I'm slightly puzzled: Where are all the fuckin' cameras? Where's Hull's press?

The lads take their seats in the back of a store, as a shop security guard hastily organises people into lines. I can tell by the determined look in his face that this is something that he takes really seriously. I try and fade into the background to take some notes, but he tries jostling me into a queue. I manage to escape and find a corner where I can rest my notepad. The lads do their bit, signing singles and posters, posing for photos and kissing the cheeks of eager young birds. They're also handing out wrist bands for the special gig that will take place at The Ringside after the signing.

I'm nestled in between the A-Team and Wrestlemania DVDs, feeling like some kinda weird voyeur, watching part of the biz side of showbiz unfold. A lad called Simon gives his wrist band to a girl called Emily so she can go to the gig with her friend Lucy. You can almost feel the love, baby.

Continued... Next page (3/7).

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Darren Rogers thisisUll.com

Photograph Gallery   The Paddingtons Gallery 1,    Gallery 2 ,    Gallery 3 ,    Gallery 4,    Gallery 5,    Gallery 6 ,    Gallery 7,    Gallery 8.

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