I’m a huge fan of Hard Rock cafés! I know that they are considered a tacky overpriced tourist trap, but I have a real soft spot. I hear you all asking: “With all the authentic bars and restaurants in all these wonderful places you visit, why Hard Rock Café!?” Well, let me tell you!
There are a few reasons, the initial reason being I like t-shirts and you’ve all heard the saying “been there done that, got the t-shirt” well I go some places, I do the thing and I want a t-shirt, problem is, tourist t-shirts are usually poor quality and fade and fall apart after a few washes, Hard Rock Café’s are in loads of destinations, 165 globally and that doesn’t include the hotels and casinos! So, 10p usually buys a quid that there will be one at the destination you’re going to. So, I can get a good quality t-shirt with the destination on it so I can say I’ve been there. They’re also not as extortionate as you might expect, and generally the same price in all their destinations.
We announced the upcoming birth of both of our daughters with The smallest size t-shirt which is actually a baby vest, Evelyn loved hers and is currently on her third “My First Hard Rock Café T-shirt” Sadly Belle never got the chance to wear hers, I still have it and it will always and only be hers.
HOWEVER there is a rule that I must abide by, which I will explain at the end!
Reason number two: I love rock music, it is the only music in my opinion, no other comes close except maybe country. I love how broad the genre is, there isn’t enough around these days which is a shame, which probably explains why they don’t play as much rock in there as they used to, I have been in some and Rhianna has been on, she aint a rock star!!! This is my biggest gripe…. If there isn’t a guitar and drums in it, don’t play it!
Memorabilia is the third reason that drags me there! It’s actually my wife’s favourite thing, she’ll wander off for a look and come back with a smile from ear to ear, skipping like a schoolgirl exclaiming “Bruce Springsteen’s jacket is over there, right next to Slash’s top hat!!!”
Do you want to know the reason they have all this stuff? Tough I’m gunna tell ya….. In the 70’s rock stars used to attend the café in London (which is the first one) and Eric Clapton asked the owners to hang his guitar (a Fender Lead 2 for the music geeks amongst us) over his usual seat in order to lay claim to it. Dogs and other animals would pee on it, rock stars stick a guitar on it! They agreed, which then prompted Pete Townsend (The Who) to give them one of his, which he scribbled on “‘Mine is as good as his! Love Pete” And so it began! I did meet a guy in The Logan Rock Inn, a cracking pub in Treen Cornwall, who was married to a lady who used to work for Hard Rock Café, high up in management, anyway, he told me, that she told him, they have a warehouse FULL of memorabilia! Begs belief what might be in there!! All I have in my mind is the warehouse like the one from the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark which instead of valuable/dangerous artifacts, it is full of guitars, drumsticks and clothing waiting for rotation into the latest Hard Rock Café.
Reason four is of course, The cocktails!!! They do a mean Hurricane which is consistent all around the world, and if you pay a little extra you keep the glass, which is an EPIC glass! We have 3 of them! I also have 30 Hard Rock Café city shot glasses, I’ll explain that later!
And last but by no means least, is location, location, location! They are always in really cool places, here are a few examples:
- New York: Times Square
- Copenhagen: Radhuspladsen
- Dublin: Fleet Street/Temple Bar
- Sydney: Darling Harbour
- Brussels: Grand Place.
- Innsbruck: Maria-Theresien-Strase
I’m sure you will agree all awesome locations, so if you look for the Hard Rock you’ll probably find something cool, alternatively, if you look for something cool, you’ll probably find a Hard Rock!
THE RULE
Now, this rule IS set in stone, I did make it up, but it cannot be broken.
I cannot purchase a t-shirt unless I have a beer or cocktail in the bar.
It’s a hard rule and it has caught me out, like in Boston when they wouldn’t serve me because my UK driving license and copy of my passport AND photo of my passport page wouldn’t suffice. I’d like to say it was their loss, but it’s now closed and I’ll never get my t-shirt!
If I can’t have a drink or if a friend or family member visits one, they can get a shot glass for me, hence the full cabinet….. I promise it isn’t because of my drinking problem… which I don’t have, PROMMISE! So if you see a Hard Rock Café, do me a solid and get a shot glass, I’ll be your best friend!
Love all – Serve all.
TM.
