Hi Fans!

Many thanks from Karen & Mom for the wonderful cards & letters that poured in for their birthdays. Your thoughtfulness was much appreciated.

We regret some summer cancellations due to a new recording schedule.

SCRATCH ALL CONCERTS FROM JULY 15th through AUGUST 13 th.

They will appear at Sahara/Tahoe Aug. 14 through 27.

The Riviera, Las Vegas has bean changed to Oct. 9 through 22.

ADD: Davenport/Iowa - Oct.24.

Carbondale/Illinois - Oct. 27.

Indianapolis/Indiana - Oct. 28.

Muskegon/Michigan - Oct. 29.

Naperville/Illinois - Oct. 31.

The Carpenters recent European tour was a great success. The 10 ¸ hour flight took them from 80 degree Downey to a snowy 30 degree London, but Richard & Karen admit the welcome they received from the tremendous crowds and dignitaries was very warm. The famous Inn On The Park was reserved for them and Karen was assigned Howard Hughes' elegant suite which was a blaze of color with flowers, telegrams and baskets of fruit.

After ten interviews, they were the guests of friend & English record producer Nicky Chinn for dinner at Burke's restaurant (the place to go in London). Five more interviews, plus taping a radio show filled most of the 2nd day. Although a. press luncheon was given in their honor, not a bite was eaten, as they were too busy answering questions.

More interviews and a t.v. talk show followed the luncheon, winding up the evening. at a party given for them by Neil Sedaka. There they met many English music celebrities including The New Seekers & Gary Glitter. Next day more interviews & a photo session, plus a 2 hour radio interview show with Tony Blackburn - on BBC! At day's end, Nicky took them to the Tramp, another famous restaurant.

The following day they were guests of Del Artusa for lunch, after which they strolled along King's Rd, browsing through shops where they found the prices very high. example; Levis selling for $9.00 here. were selling at $17.00 there.

Dinner that evening was reserved at Annabelle's, which Paul Bloch (their PR man) described as a very elegant. extremely conservative, charming discotheque with superb food and service. Karen & Richard met Olivia Newton-John there & thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Sunday they left for Frankfurt, Germany in their chartered DC9 named The Martinaire, and Karen enjoyed riding in the cockpit. They were very surprised to find no customs officials at the airport, and later learned of a pending strike. This proved very costly to them next day when they were preparing to leave for Stockholm. The strike was then in progress, so their equipment had to be transported by van to another airport 150 miles away. The loaded plane then flew back to Frankfurt to pick up the group, only to discover it could not land, due to another plane being in the way on the ground, and no one could move it. The Martinaire circled the airport for hours while long distance calls were made, red tape cut and finally permission to land was granted.

Arriving in Stockholm, the concert had been canceled due to the group's late arrival. No show is allowed to start there after 7:30p.m. and it was impossible to set up all the equipment in less than two hours. Tony Peluso was a victim of food poisoning which left him feeling so weak he could hardly stand, so he performed his part of the show seated.

Karen & Richard enjoyed the audiences in Copenhagen, Denmark, where their unusual way of applauding was reminiscent of a high school or college yell. A limo met the group in Brussels next day for a 2 hour ride to Hessalt, and joined in the celebrations of Radio Belgium's 50th anniversary. As they drove around the countryside, car with TV cameras escorted them. Taping their arrival. The group left by car for Amsterdam, Holland immediately after the Hessalt gig, and we'll pick them up there next month.

So long til then. Ev.

Last changed: Fri Jun 10 09:41:33 EDT 2005