[The Flying Mouse]

I've posted on the thread as a mod, here's my post as a fan, and a member of the community.

Meat.
I feel that the post at the start of this thread is untrue, and an unfair generalisation of the members here.

You seem to have made a rather large turnaround in recent posts that puzzles me. You seem to be saying that you had a larger game plan in mind here. I hope i'll understand when you explain it further.

You say that you were trying to weed out the enemies, and I say with all due repect, that that sounds rather paranoid.
This is a fan club dedicated to you. IMHO you have no enemies here.
You have fans who are more critical, but that is because they have high standards, and high expectations of you.
That does not make them your enemy.

The folks respect here (by and large) respect you as an artist, and wish you every success.

Assuming there are trolls in our community, it's a well know fact that trolls feed off provoking a negative emotional reaction. As your post was very negative and very emotional, it seems logical that it would be the trolls that were more likely to stay.

As to the issues thar prompted the post.

The voice thread.
I've got to say that I did a mental facepalm when I saw the thread appear.
I thought that no good could come of it.
But I was plesantly suprised by the level of discussion. The posts were written in an honest and respectul manner. Nobody said you'd lost it, you couldn't sing anymore, or that you sucked.
True, there were many posts that praised past performances (my own included) but I (and most other posters) also said they continue to enjoy your work, and continued to be thrilled by your work, both live and in the studio.

The Romney endorcement.
Any time somebody in the public eye backs a political party, they put their head over the parapet and risk being shot at. It's a fact of life.
I don't need to tell you this.
Romney, and people close to him in his party have some policies and ideals that many find offensive and prehistoric.
Some issues shadow the candidate so much that it often becomes all the candidate is about.
When Obama first ran the biggest issue seemed to be "does America want a black president". The little issue becomes the big issue.It's ludicrous, but it's how things are.
I know that it's impossible to stand on a podium at a political rally and say "this guys economic plan is great, but some of his ideas are bat shit"

There was a discussion here about the endorcement, and people spoke their shock and suprise that you had backed him. Many because of some of his outdatted (and IMHO undemocratic) ideals.
It would have put many minds at rest if you had visited the forum and posted your own political views. Why you backed Romney, and what you didn't agree with. I know you did something simalar on Facebook, but a post here might have been helpful.
I'm not saying this because I know better than you, hindsight is a great general.
I don't believe that anybody genuinly, in their heart of hearts, ever thought you were against gay rights, womens rights, or agreed with statements that if a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, she is blessed by god. I think people just wanted the reassurance from you.

I saw myself the level of abuse you received on facebook, but you had nowhere near that level of abuse here. I know that for a fact, because it would have been deleted by myself or one of the other mods.
We would afford the same protection from abuse to any other one of our members.

OK, you've seen posts by people saying they don't want to be a fan anymore, and that point of view baffles me.
You're a great artist, but, again, with all due respect, your personal politics are not my concern. I would no more vote for my favourite artists political candidate than buy underwear based on what an actor says.
You have your opinion, and the right to express it. I repect that. I have the right not to care about your political leanings, listen to some f*cking great music, and drink a beer.

The group performance.
It wasn't good.
You know that.
As you've explained, you didn't want to get up there. It wasn't practiced, and the set up wasn't right. This confirmed everything I believed (and posted) about the performance.
But if a chef spills the salt cellar on your meal, and then you eat it, you are going to send it back because it tastes bad. In general, nobody will give a damn it's just because the salt was spilled, they'll just know the food wasn't good. Most people don't want to know why the food is bad, they'll just judge the results.
Again, i'm telling you things you already know here


The level of abuse you posted on the forum hurts me. On several levels.

It hurts me that you feel so little for this forum that means so much to me.

It hurts that you dismiss many of us fans as the "97%" that hate you.

It hurts that you hurt, and feel it us to blame for making you feel that way.


It hurts to see a true/loyal/real (take your pick, I don't like any of those terms) post something like this, because he is hurt by your scathing post.............

Originally Posted by allrevvedup

Hey meat,

I guess I'll be one of the 97% to not go to a show or a meet and greet or buy an album again.

My one meet and greet I went to you responded to me with 'f*** you that's not a question' when I started to talk to you about 'somebody loves me'

I took it as banter and a joke then but after reading what you've had to rant about today then I can safely say I wouldn't want to pay another £200 to do it again.

To me your best work of recent times was hang cool teddy bear and that's what I'd like to remember you for.

But because of this, and the fact that you seem to want to crap all over your fans who shell out crazy amounts of money to see you in all corners of the globe, I just want to say goodbye.

I'm done, no more moderation or posts

It hurts that your responce to this fan is this..............

Originally Posted by Fire Ball

Good, all revvedup left the building !!!
Don't let the door hit you in the ass !!

Mike is a long time fan of yours. He's been a mod here for a long time. He contributes a lot to the forum, and to the community. I don't believe i've ever read a post by him that has been unfairly critical.
Sad times to lose people like him.

I can understand his disillusionment. You say that we are saying that you suck, but you are the one telling us that we suck.
I don't want to deny you your feelings, but the hate you claim we have given to you has been revisited on us. In the harshest terms.


Sorry for the length of this post (if you're still reading) but it's the first i've written on the thread about how I feel on the subject.
I love ya Meat. You're still the best in the business, and you always bring the best.
I'm a fan for life, that's just the way it is
If you want me carted out of a show, expect a fight, because I want to see the goddam show
Rock on
Neil