The Hollies - Concert Review

Lewisham Theatre, 24^th April 1999 - by Uli Twelker - Germany

Six Hollies invade the stage on time, with Tony Hicks joking around "I never know, is it the Odeon or the Gaumont?" Before you have time for a chuckle, they throw a series of hits at you: "Here I Go Again", "Jennifer Eccles", "Just One Look", "Sandy" by Bruce Springsteen, because "we discovered him", as Clarkey reminds us. Business as usual then for the veterans of Britpop harmonies?

"All of that, thankfully, but there´s more, cosmic survivors from the "Butterfly" days: ALLAN CLARKE´s crooning is a shade darker now, and his appearance gives him the air of an agile Mia Farrow-era-Sixties-Sinatra.

TONY HICKS not only let his hair grow to resemble the cover of "Sorry Suzanne", he´s still one hell of a guitar player, soloing as convincingly as he weaves clever chord structures around our favourites.

BOB ELLIOTT could take it easy laying down a lazy back beat, the way only he can., but his temper & talent seem to insist he enriches each and every number with little patterns and fills to - yes, definitely write home about!

Mind you, with all these ingredients, the sum total is still very much the authentic 'Hollies' sound, with backing vocals now handled by three lads: Tony, Alan Coates and bassman Ray Stiles, who´s up front for tonight's gig because Coatsy´s back trouble means he´s confined to a "breast feeding chair", as Tony grins naughtily.

Only The Hollies could continue with hits all night, but for thrills we get a look into their workshop as well: "Stay" is first presented in the slow-paced Maurice Williams and Jackson Browne version, so when the band suddenly leap into their own speeded-up version, we know exactly why we´re here! On with the action from ´64 to ´66: Hollies in Hollywood, or rather Pinewood: They recorded their "After The Fox" single for the Peter Sellers film, and modern technology brings the unforgotten Sellers from Abbey Road to centre stage!

From then on it´s a succession of highlights – chart smashes thrown in non-stop for good measure. Allan Clarke shows his little grandson Sam that he´s still in the UK harmonica champions league with his solo rendition of "The Train". "Running Through The Night" presents the band in breakneck Country Outlaws style while "We´re Through" features keyboard wizard Ian Parker on cross-auditorium accordion. And then, while McCartney may not sing Clarke-songs, as Allan quipped, young Tony delivered "Blackbird" from the White Album. Surely, Macca will pay him back with interest by doing "Crocodile Woman" on his new rock´n´roll album...

The second performance after the intermission starts like "Live Hits" and "Archive Alive" – with the unforgettable "I Can´t Let Go".

Talk about legends, there´s another glimpse towards rock´n´roll heaven: Buddy Holly´s tender lead vocals creep into "Peggy Sue Got Married" via Parkers samples, the way The Hollies stole the show on the MCA tribute album in 1996.

Nash-successor Coates delivered "On A Carousel" in such style that makes the audience feel it´s been his own for a long time now. Mind you, the guy´s been with the band longer now than Graham and Terry taken together!

Soon, "Breathe" and "Heavy" really sparkled, as if Clarke had saved some extra Red Bull energy for their faultless presentation. But the Hollies still have steam to spare for a rousing "Rock-around Saaarf London" trio that comprises "Let´s Dance", "At The Hop", plus – of course – a long long "Long Cool Woman" with comprehensive soloing and band introduction.

This band has been running longer than "Coronation Street", and England seems to want more: all the re-runs and new Hollies episodes for years to come. Long may they run!

Uli Twelker, Germany.

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