The Hollies - Concert Review

Northampton Derngate, 12^th March 1998 - by Sue Kelly

his was the first of two consecutive concerts at Allan's local venue. Much was made of the fact that he lives in the area and there seemed to be more than a touch of sincerity in his voice when he said how nerve-wracking it felt to be performing in front of people who know him simply as a neighbour or a customer. Whatever he may have felt about it, the audience certainly gave their local hero - and his mates! - a very warm welcome.

The concert got off to a flying start with Stay, Here I Go Again and Yes I Will, swiftly followed by the fantastic I Can't Let Go. Allan was on top form, everyone was playing well and the sound quality was great.

As ever, I listened to Sandy with my eyes closed. It really is the best way to hear those intricate harmonies and pick out what each member of the group is playing. I opened them only to watch Alan Coates seemingly effortlessly play his guitar solo.

This was the fifth concert of the tour and it was noticeable how much more at ease The Hollies seemed compared to the first week. The two new songs - Man With No Expression and Don't Let Me Down - sounded extremely polished. The harmonies were absolutely beautiful, and Alan, Ray, Ian and Tony looked deceptively angelic as they stood in pairs, hands clasped in front of them, singing backing vocals on Don't Let Me Down!

Tony announced that Alan Coates was going to sing Butterfly, saying rather wistfully that he wondered if he would ever the make centre stage position.

"One day", said Coatsie. "When you're a bit older!"

Much as the audience clearly loved the 'new' material, there was no doubt about their feeling for the hits, as the roars of approval for Sorry Suzanne - which featured some masterful drumming from Bobby! - I'm Alive and On A Carousel proved. I particularly enjoyed the latest re-vamped version of I'm Alive. As well as the 'front row', Ray and Ian joined in on backing vocals and it added up to the typically rich sound of The Hollies at their very best.***

The second half kicked off with Stop In The Name Of Love, before Allan got everyone clapping along to Jennifer Eccles. A swift drum roll heralded Just One Look in the original style. As the neat Sixties-style ending and the applause died away, Allan suddenly made a shock announcement! Speaking in a very dramatic voice, he said:

"Well, we nearly never had a second half!"

There was a collective sharp intake of breath from the audience as we all wondered what on earth could have happened. Allan duly confirmed our worst suspicions: "Tony cut his finger!"

(Fortunately, the injury wasn't so severe that he was unable to complete the concert.....although the subject was resurrected at Sheffield, two nights later, when he very imaginatively told how there had been blood EVERYWHERE!)

Anyway, cut finger or no cut finger, his acoustic guitar playing on We're Through and Bus Stop was a highlight for me. Bus Stop is another song which has reverted to 'the original style' and it sounds terrific.

The Buddy Holly segment was, as ever, brilliant. Ray once again took the honours with his bass vocals on Rave On. It was then the turn of Alan and Tony to star with their amazing high-speed playing on Look Through Any Window, before they continued with Carrie Anne.

As Tony and Alan swapped places to prepare for Stop Stop Stop, Ian set the mood with his Eastern-style keyboard music and we were (at last!) treated to one of Tony's long banjo introductions.

A perfect version of The Air That I Breathe led finally to He Ain't Heavy and the inevitable rock 'n' roll section. There wasn't much room between the first row of seats and the edge of the stage and there was a mad scramble for the prized position at the front.

Some of the ladies had to make an undignified scramble over the backs of seats to get there....but, as that fantastic music brought another memorable concert to an end, no doubt it was worth it!

NB *** When are they going to let Bobby sing??!!

Sue Kelly

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