The Hollies - Concert Review

Wimbledon Theatre , 30^th November 1997 - by David Matthews

My wife and I attended the final show at Wimbledon and were greatly impressed. The song choices, arrangements, and enthusiasm shown were key to our enjoyment. We thought it was perhaps the best show we have seen by The Hollies.

It was great to see and hear all thirteen top ten hits from 1963 to 1968. I thought Alan struggled a little on 'Yes I will' but otherwise he was in great voice on songs such as 'I Can't Let Go' or 'I'm Alive' which had been omitted from some recent tours.

The selection and performance of 'Butterfly' was a highlight of the show with Alan Coates adopting his best 'Nash' vocal style. Another first for me was the acoustic performance of the little known song 'If I Were The Priest' with Alan Clarke reminding us of his enthusiasm for Bruce Springsteen.

I would prefer them to do more album tracks and fewer cover versions alongside the hits - but by including 'Butterfly' and 'Draggin My Heels' they were taking a most welcome step in this direction.

If Ian Parker is responsible for the arrangements then he is to be congratulated on his unselfish approach. The guitar sounds were certainly more evident in 1997 than on the recently released 1983 live album. For me this makes the performances of the earlier songs more authentic and enjoyable as Tony's guitar was always a highlight on record.

From our fifth row view the enthusiasm of the band was still most evident on this, the last night of the tour, and the jokes and repartee added to our enjoyment of the music. These included Ian's accordion offstage walkabout, the jokes about Tony's over-used suit and the pricing of the guitars for sale, and the pantomime dress walk over the stage by the lighting crew.

I look forward to seeing The Hollies again at Croydon in March, when I hope that they will add a couple more surprise song choices from their large body of recorded work.

David Mathews

Setlist

Back to Review Index