Winding Wheel, Chesterfield, 17th February 2004
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Set List
I’m Alive / Here I Go Again / Jennifer Eccles / Yes I Will / On A Carousel / Listen To Me / Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top / I Can’t Let Go / We’re Through / Fire Brigade / Look Through Any Window / Blowin’ In The Wind
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Long Cool Woman / Sorry Suzanne / Just One Look / The Baby / Soldier’s Song / Gasoline Alley Bred / Too Young To Be Married / Bus Stop / Blackberry Way / Carrie Anne / Stop! Stop! Stop! / The Air That I Breathe / I Can Hear The Grass Grow / Tiger Feet / He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother / It’s In Every One of Us
I
had seen the Hollies last year at Pennington’s nightclub in Bradford, and was
a little disappointed as they played a reduced set and the venue just didn’t
seem right for them.
Despite
being only 20 minutes from home, The Winding Wheel was a place I’d never been
to before, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.
It turned out to be a small but pleasant theatre – ideal for the band.
As
usual the concert stared on time, with “I’m Alive” kicking off. Hit after hit kept coming along.
I was aware of others in the audience suddenly realising how many hits
the group have had.
One
new feature is the projected images onto the backdrop.
This was a mixture of fancy patterns on some numbers, and shots of the
group playing – presumably from something like web-cams placed strategically
on the stage – on others. “Look
Through Any Window” featured shots of the group through a window!
I have no idea why we had the story of bananas showing during the
interval!
I
have always felt that Alan Clarke had one of the best voices in pop, and was
concerned when he retired that the group would not be able to continue.
But the group has taken the opportunity to develop, and despite Carl
Wayne sounding different to Alan, the unmistakable sound of the Hollies is still
there. It is interesting to hear
what a fine voice Alan Coates has, as he takes lead vocals on some numbers.
The
highlight of the show, apart from the obvious finale, was undoubtedly
“Soldier’s Song”. Always one
of my live favourites when Alan sang it, Carl adds extra drama to the song, and
you can almost see the storyline being painted!
The drumming of Bobby Elliott on this song is intense. Tony’s guitar
playing is very underrated – he should be mentioned up there with the greats.
The
end, as always, came far too soon. Carl
gave the impression that he feels privileged to be able to sing all the songs,
but particularly “He Ain’t Heavy” – and he did it full justice.
The final song, “It’s In Everyone Of Us”, summed up the strength of
the group with its superb vocals.
I
have always found that around this area audiences tend to be sparing with their
applause, but this wasn’t the case tonight.
A rapturous ovation, which I believe impressed the group, seemed to go on
forever. Perhaps the relative
intimacy of the theatre helped. It
was well deserved.
Review by Keith Porter
Photo by Helen Macdonald