Wednesday, 29 May 2013

MEMORABILIA AUCTION & SALE NEW BRIGHTON


A Memorabilia Auction & Sale was held at Fort Perch Rock New Brighton on Sunday 19th May 2013.

Among the Mersey Beat era musicians and other 60s personel present were - Brian "Saxaphone Jones (The Undertakers), Geoff Nugent (The Undertakers), Cliff Roberts (Cliff Roberts & The Rockers), Ala Cra (Revivalist DJ), Harry Prytherech (Remo 4), Dave Williams (Jaywalkers), Don Woods,
Crowds awaiting the auction.


One of the many memorabilia stalls.

Another memorabilia stall

If you were present please feel free to add your own comments.

BOOK PROMO AT CHESHIRE CATS

Manfred Kuhlmann was promoting his revised book at the Legion in Liscard on 22nd May. One of his many ports of call during his 2 week tour of Merseyside venues. john. The guest band were the "4 Originals" 

If you were present please feel free to add your own comments.

Monday, 20 May 2013

QUEEN FOR THE NIGHT

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN, THEATRE SEVERN SHREWSBURY FRIDAY 17th MAY 2013


I  never got to see Queen live themselves, but I am sure this will be the closest I am going to get to seeing the originals. Gary Mullen & The Works if you haven't seen them is a must for all Queen fans.

If this band was a sporty car then they went from zero to top gear within seconds and it was like that all the way through both halves of the show. From the opening bars of We Will Rock You to Don't stop Me Now to close the first half, then the entire second half closing with We Are The Champions, Gary and the band certainly rocked us prooving that they are the champions, when it comes to Queen tribute acts.

With a powerhouse of a band behind him, Gary was going to take no prisoners, and showed what a great showman he is, using every bit of the stage available to him, working the audiences, till they gave in dancing in the rows, clapping and singing along.

I am sure he was relived when it was interval time, I know I was time to give my hands and voice a rest, take five and reduce the pace but it was over all too soon and back into top gear for the second half, finding the cruise control mid way as Gary changed the tempo to give us "Love of My Life" with just a 12 string guitar accompaniment, before hitting the throttle once again with Jail House Rock, Bohemiam Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, with Radio Ga Ga, and We Are The Champions making up the encore.

Concerts have the habit of attracting the extroverts and this one was no exception with a number of Freddie Mercury / Queen "lookalikes" in the audience including a couple in drag from the video to "I Want To Break Free". During this song Gary invited them onto the stage and like true troopers they played the part well strutting around the stage complete with toy hoover.

Gary certainly has lost none of the charisma that saw him won Stars In Their Eyes receiving the all time record number of votes. In fact the only thing he visibably lost on Friday night was sweat, which he lost by the bucket loads. But it was the audience that was Under Pressure, could we keep up with the frantic pace of such a high energy performer, the answer yes we did and nobody bit the dust!

A superb evening and whether you are a total fan of Queen music or just the odd hit next time Gary Mullen & The Works are at a venue near you go along and enjoy "One Night Of Queen".

For More information visit - http://www.garymullenandtheworks.com

If you were at this concert or any other on the current tour please feel free to submit your own comments.

Monday, 13 May 2013

ALBERT LEE at SHREWSBURY

ALBERT LEE & HOGAN'S HEROES THEATRE SEVERN SHREWSBURY SUNDAY 12th MAY 2013

I first saw Alber Lee on a cold damp evening at an outside concert featuring Albert and James Burton at Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton in 2012. However, as he was only guesting I didn't get to really appreciate what a fine musician he really is.

Sunday's concert with his own band, Hogan's Heroes totally confirmed to me how talented this guy is. Not throughout the entire concert did I hear one song that I knew, and believe me I have heard a lot having been around the music industry for nearly forty years.

Comprising of numbers by themselves, unknown writers as well as the likes of the Everly Brothers, Gram Parsons, Carl Perkins, Glenn Cambell, Buddy Holly, and Johnny Burnette the concert was mainly country rock but with a touch of tex mex and western swing added for good measure.

There was plenty of lighand shade throughout the concert with up-tempo numbers followed by a nice melodic ballad with Albert swapping his guitar for piano before dooning his guitar again for some real rocky number.

When I go out I like to be entertained and entertain me these lads certainly did, expert musicians displaying their skills on drums, bass guitar, keyboards, and pedal steel, with the lead vocals shared between Albert, Gavin Povey on keyboards and Peter Baron on drums.

It is no wonder Albert has been dubbed "the world's greatest guitar player" and whether you are a novice or competent guitar player, a visit to an Albert Lee concert should be part of your rehearsal schedule. To sum up Albert's talent as a guitarist I must quote a comment made by a young lady which I overheard on leaving the theatre, "I cannot believe how incredibly nimble his fingers are for an old man", nimble! you should see how they work that guitar.

To catch a concert and for full details of Albert and the band visit http://www.albertleeandhogansheroes.com

Alan Crowe

If you were at this concert or any other featuring Albert Lee please feel free to add your own comments.

Monday, 6 May 2013

MADE IN BRUM

MADE IN BRUM THEATRE SEVERN SHREWSBURY SUNDAY 5th MAY 2013

As the lights dimmed Bev Bevan took to the stage to welcome everyone before introducing the show's host Jasper Carrott who gave an excellent spot of stand up showing why he is still at the top of his game after all these years.

Introducing each member  of the band as they took to the stage individually - Tony Kelsey on Lead guitar & musical director for the show, Abbie Brent on keyboards, Phil Tree on bass guitar and the master of the band Bev Bevan on drums.

After the band played a 60s music medley overture - Duane Eddy, Shadows, Beatles, Hendix, Stevie Winwood, Black Sabbath, and Led Zepplin to name part of the medley; Jasper introduced Phil Tree who performed the Spencer Davis classic - Gimme Some Lovin', before taking to the stage was the first of the show's guests - Trevor Burton the former lead guitarist with The Move who rocked the house with Eddie Cochran's "Something Else" which he announced was also the title of a Move EP recorded live at The Marquee, this was followed by The Move's "I Can Hear The Grass Grow".

Next guess was Birmingham's first ever pop star Danny King. A look at the Brumbeat website will confirm the statement showing Danny as the leader of many different bands. Opening his spot with Cliff's "Move It" he then changed tempo with Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways".

Next Jasper introduced former member of The Rockin' Berries and a recording star in his own right - Geoff Turton, who with Trevor Burton picking up his guitar gave a superb rendition of The Everly's "Claudette" followed by The Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles" and the Big O's "Pretty Woman" which had the audience well and truly clapping along.

Adding a touch of glamour to centre stage, Jasper introduced Joy Strachan-Bain of Quill. With an excellent stage presence she performed Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" before changing the mood to a Dusty Springfield number which she dedicated to absent friends.

With Geoff & Trevor back on stage the ensemble went into a Motown medley - "Heard It Through The Grapevine" with Abbey on keyboards taking the lead vocal, then "It Takes 2" and closing the first half "Dancing In The Street" with Joy taking the lead vocal.

The second half began the same as the first with a stand up routine from Jasper, followed by the band's version of Elvis' "Freight Train" before Geoff & Joy take to the stage with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" with excellent harmonies from Phil and Tony. Next came The Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and PJ Proby's "Hold Me" with Joy performing The Moody Blues classic "Nights In White Satin".

Taking us back to his days of working the folk music clubs, Jasper led the ensemble in Steeleye Span's "All Around My Hat". Danny King then returns to the stage with Elvis' "Surrender" and The Drifters' "Save The Last Dance" before going into a poignant part that whilst singing "My Prayer" the screens played tribute to a number of Birmingham musicians that have recently passed away.

These included - Carl Wayne, Ben Brain, Barry Pritchard & Rod Allen (The Fortunes), Jon Bonham (Led Zepplin), Kelly Groucott (ELO), Nick Drake, Gerry Levene,Clifford T Ward, Clint Warwick (Moody Blues), Cozy Powell, Jim Capaldi & Chris Wood (Traffic), Dave Ismay, Terry Wallace (Vikings), and Roger Hill (Fairport Convention).

Back on stage Trevor Burton rocked it up again with "Drift Away" and then his tribute to Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" which showed off his excellent guitar playing and using a wah wah pedal to great effect.

The entire cast then closed the show with ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" before returning for an encore - the Birmingham anthem - The Move's "Blackberry Way" which certainly had the crowd joining in and leaving the theatre in good spirits.

Taking their final bows each member lined up holding hands, more like what one expects to see at the end of a variety show or pantomime and certainly a far cry from the days when Bev and Trevor along with the rest of The Move would leave their mark in hotel rooms etc.

What I liked about this show was the great use of photographic stills and cine film clips on back screens, depicting images of the cast members career, scenes of Birmingham and images of the different artistes featured in the show.

However,I have several dissapointments - one would have thought Geoff would have sung a Rockin' Berries hit; the stars would like so many others would meet with the audience afterwards; but more so I feel that with the great number of hit songs to come from Birmingham there was no need to have featured American acts, that way the entire show, not just the musicians, and film clips would have been Made In Brum!

If you were at this show or any other on the tour please feel free to add your own comments!