It started with a stick (part 1)

Well, 2 sticks to be precise. Sometimes you can look at your life and vaguely trace all the choices you make; all the people you meet; all the important aspects in your life to a few points in time where you decide to walk one way or another. Well, just about everything in my life including where I live; where I work; who I married and more can be traced to one moment.


Sometime in 1986, I was hanging out with my best mate at the time, Stephen McCarron. We would hang out in his room listening to music or play games on his amazing new Amstrad computer. Or we would head into town and do the Richmond Centre loop. It pains me to admit it now, but at the time, while I was still deciding exactly who I was or what my interests were, I decided to become a 'New Romantic'. I know...what was I thinking! Stephen was also a New Romantic and I suppose I modelled myself on him a bit. I even bought the same big long black coat and big silver leather boots that he had. Thankfully I stopped short of applying make up. That was a step too far! I actually remember saying to him once that if I wasn't a New Romantic, I'd probably be into heavy metal. Little did I know what was round the corner!


One day, we were in his room, listening to music again. It was either 'The Cult' or 'Big Country'. We had just been to see 'Big Country' in the Templemore Sports Complex which was my first time going to see a live band. I remember being especially impressed by the drummer, Mark Brzezicki.

I just loved watching him play and found him far more interesting than the other musicians. The spark of my interest in Drums started there but lay dormant until that fateful afternoon in Stephen's room.


We were listening to music and chatting about whatever 15 year old boys chat about. I think some other mates were there but I can't remember now. Anyway, I can still picture this like yesterday. I was sitting on the floor, maybe reading a magazine or something when I noticed something under the bed. Being the nosy type, I stuck my hand under the bed and pulled out a pair of drumsticks. 'What are these?' I asked. 'Oh, drumsticks.' said Stephen. This gave oxygen to the spark and I asked him could I borrow them.


So, I took them home and set up a mock drum kit in my mum's kitchen, using chairs and cushions and a few pots. I remember practising away to find out how to drum. I listened to records and tried to copy what they did. Now normally, I'll get bored with a new hobby but I kept coming back to this. After a while, I persuaded my parents to buy me a kit so we checked the classifieds and found a kit for £120. I remember going to get it and being amazed that it was covered in a Leopard Skin print!! It was pretty rough but I loved it.


After a while, Stephen and I thought we would try to get a band together. Unfortunately that very first attempt in his garage was pretty ropey but it did introduce me to Chris Bradley and Flo Porter. Now my memory is a bit patchy here but I'm pretty sure this was around the time that I got to know Chris and Flo. To be honest I've forgotten the circumstances but I know that Stephen was also in our very first band for a while but quickly left. In those very early days there were several people in and out of the first band and we practised in loads of different places. My interests in music soon switched from New Romantic to rock/metal. After a while the initial line up settled down to myself, Flo Porter on vocals, Chris Bradley on lead guitar, Davy Watts on lead/rhythm guitar and Pixi on bass. We found a place to practice in a local community centre and we settled on a name....Crisis

Crisis 1987

Back Row - Davy Watts, Chris Bradley

Front Row - Michael Peoples (Pixi), Flo Porter, me!

Monkey Business

I thought I'd talk a bit about how I got into extra work.

I've always loved films. I've been going to the cinema since I was a small kid. I remember going to see 'Jaws' and loosing a tooth during the hull inspection scene. I was chewing a toffee and, when the head rolled out, I clenched my jaws so hard that a tooth got lodged in the toffee when I tried to open my mouth! I have lots of fond memories of the Strand cinema in Derry in the 1970s. Films seemed to be a bigger event back then. One time the Strand showed 'Star Wars' & 'The Empire Strikes Back' as a double bill but, for some weird reason, they showed 'The Empire Strikes back' first!! Everyone has their favourite type of sweet when they watch a movie. Back then, mine was Poppets, especially the mint ones. I loved them. Nowadays, it's Revels; every
time.

I love this photo! This is me in the late 70s standing in my parent's garden in Derry. I'm holding an invisible light-saber of course! My love of films was evident even then. And what about those knees!!!

Those early days gave me a real love for films. In the days before DVDs and behind-the-scenes features, it was hard to find out how films were put together. They held a magical quality to me. I was fascinated by the early Spielberg films. 'Close Encounters of The Third Kind' really clicked with me, more so than 'ET' which everyone else loved but wasn't a favourite of mine. 'Close Encounters' was an incredible film. I remember trying to build a model of Devil's Mountain out of mashed spuds. My mother wasn't very impressed!

In 2001, while in Philadelphia (where my brother lives), I bought a DVD of the remake of 'Planet of The Apes'


I know the film got a lot of negative press but I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the special features, one of which showed how the extras were trained to walk and act like apes. I loved this feature. It looked like a lot of fun. It got me wondering just how the film companies arranged to have all the people in the background. I remember thinking - 'I'd love a go at that'. I didn't know where to start. The internet (before google!) wasn't much help. I then had a brainwave...

I got a number for the BBC in Belfast. I rang them and asked them where they got their extras from if they are making a show here. The woman on the other end of the phone was very helpful. She gave me 2 phone numbers and told me to ring them. I was very grateful! I was about to offer my thanks and say goodbye when she said she would put me through to someone who could give some more advice. So I heard a few clicks and then I heard a voice with an English accent say 'Hello?' I explained that I was interested in extra work and we spent the next 30 minutes having a great chat. He explained how it all worked. How, if they were filming a military scene, they would use ex-military as extras as they knew how to hold a weapon and dress properly. He gave me a lot of helpful advice about how to behave on a film set. He was a really nice guy! After a while I thought I'd let him off the hook so, just before I said my goodbyes, I asked him what agencies he used. I can still hear his reply, because I nearly fainted.

"Well, when we made Tomb Raider, we used...."

It turns out, I was talking to Terry Madden! I couldn't believe it! He was incredibly helpful. The lady at BBC in Belfast had put me through to Terry at Elstree studios, presumably while he was working on 'Die Another Day'! Well, if I had a passing interest before, I had a burning desire now!

I had also asked the lady at the BBC which agency was the more popular of the two. She told me to try 'Actor's Ireland'. I gave them a ring and they told me to send them a photo and a few details (measurements etc). So I sent them off and figured I'd be at the bottom of a long queue. I have to say I was gobsmacked when they rang me a few days later to say they had a job for me...

About time

So...hello I suppose!

I've wanted to start a blog for ages. I have a head full of anecdotes and I really wanted to get them down on, er, binary, before I start forgetting them all.

But before I begin, I suppose I should introduce myself.

I'm Laurence Doherty. I'm a regular, 40 year old guy who has been blessed with a great life. I have a beautiful wife and three fantastic kids. I have a great job and live in a great place. I've had my ups and downs ; highs and lows, like anyone else. I'm really not sure how much of that I'm going to chat about on this blog. I see this really as a place to talk about my three main hobbies which are - film extra work, drums & running.

I've been running since my late teens. I've been drumming since my mid-teens. And I've been working in films since 2002.

I've called this blog 'Hurry Up And Wait' as that best describes the kind of existence I have with my interests. I'll go into the specifics a little more in later posts.

I haven't a clue if anyone will read these but, as I have said, I have a million anecdotes rattling around in my head and I want to save them from extinction. Also I'll post about what is happening to me day-to-day. Tonight my band, 'After Midnight', is playing at a wedding in The Merchant Hotel in Belfast.


Bye!