On Saturday 4th November 2000 the Compiled Crew held a 'one-off' OMD Fan Gathering at The Sparrow Hawk Hotel, Burnley. An event that so nearly didn't come to fruition was finally attended by more than 70 fans from the UK as well as South Africa, the USA, Germany, Belgium and France. The attendance ensured that the whole Hotel was booked out and ours for the duration of the weekend. Guests started arriving in the afternoon of Friday 3rd November, taking the opportunity to meet faces (old and new) and prepare for what the organisers hoped would be an unforgettable experience.
(above and below: photos from Friday night)
Several events were timetabled for Saturday (including a couple of surprises) and so everyone was kept busy from early morning until the wee small hours of Sunday. The day kicked off with guests being formally greeted by the Compiled Boys and presented with their own 'One Mad Day 2000' gift packs containing all manner of goodies. Each pack contained a timetable of events including an OMD Quiz, rare archive footage of OMD being shown on TV, a display of OMD collectibles, OMD artefacts for sale and auction, a slideshow presentation of OMD releases from around the world, a performance by The Messerschmitt Twins and, finally, the OMD disco.
(above: Compiled Committee members L to R Ian Hayter, Kevin Pretlove, Bob McCluskey and Mark Crouch)
(below left: OMD presentation pack below right: Raffle Prizes)
What no one knew (not even the organisers until the last minute!) was that the event was going to be attended by two very special guests who were smuggled into the venue while the slideshow presentation was in mid flow. What would have been a showing of OMD in concert from 1993 suddenly became a lengthy Q&A session with none other than Paul Humphreys and Malcolm Holmes!! What made the weekend more special for our guests was the fact that rather than a 2 hour 'meet & greet' with the fans Paul and Malcolm had happily agreed to stay with everyone until departure on Sunday morning!
(Paul & Mally proving that being a celebrity is thirsty work!)
Guests were able to chat with Paul & Mal, get autographs and have their photos taken and, likewise our Special Guests were able to experience what makes OMD fans 'tick', party the night away and not have to put their hand in their pocket for a drink all night! As the refrains of 'Electricity' faded at the end of the disco some guests filed off to bed while others took to the Hotel Bar and had their own party that ended near the break of dawn.
Below are just some of the photos taken at One Mad Day 2000. Our thanks go to Martin Korndorfer, Mark Clode, Sara Harvey and Tony Crouch for some of these images.
(above left: taking part in the OMD Quiz and above right: the Quiz winners
below left: a selection of OMD memorabilia and below right: Kevin the Auctioneer!)
(above left: slideshow presentation by Ken 'The Anorak' Pletley and above right: Q&A with Paul and Mal
below: Paul & Mal chat with the guests)
(above left: the Prize Draw and above right: The Messerschmitt Twins
below: dancing the night away)
As Sunday morning arrived everyone shared breakfast with Paul and Mal and had a last opportunity to get autographs etc until, inevitably, it was time to head for home.
No amount of words can express how much enjoyment was had by all those who had faith in this event and the Compiled Crew can't thank enough all those fellow fans who came along. Our unreserved thanks and appreciation go to Paul and Mal for giving up their weekend to spend it with us and proving what genuine guys they are. One Mad Day 2000 was an event unlike any other that has gone before and is unlikely to happen again. For those of you looking in who were there we hope this page brings back some happy memories. For those who weren't we hope it gives a flavour of what was the highlight for all those associated with 'Compiled'.
The 'One Mad Day' team
(L to R Mark Crouch, John Harrison, Bob McCluskey, Tony Crouch, Ian Hayter, Kevin Pretlove)