The Hollies - Concert Review

Croydon Fairfield Halls, 14^th November 2004 - by Tony Marsden

A new ensemble of The Hollies took to the stage before a packed audience nineteen months on from their last appearance at Croydon Fairfield Halls.

Peter Howarth stood centre stage as replacement of the late, great Carl Wayne and 5000 Volts hitmaker Steve Lauri had assumed the role of rhythm guitar and high harmonies in place of Alan Coates.

The lineup changes were by no means detrimental to the overall performance.

Besides a tremendous vocal reach and his theatrical manner, Peter was also adept on acoustic guitar. This was evidenced on his near-solo reading of
"Sandy", a fully solo version of "Here I Go Again" (the group having performed the more usual version earlier in the show) and his ability to complement Tony Hicks' playing on the pared-down version of "Gasoline Alley Bred".

Tony, who paid tribute to Carl and introduced the new members during the show, had a less extensive 'armoury' than on recent tours (electric guitar, semi-acoustic guitar and banjo) but still delivered a stunning display of fretwork virtuosity, particularly on his own "Too Young To Be Married".

Steve handled lead vocals on "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top" while Alan Coates' absence allowed Ray Stiles to increase his vocal contribution, standing centre stage for "Flowers In The Rain" (sung as a tribute to Carl) as well as his usual role on "Tiger Feet" during the encores.

Dusted-off versions of "Stop! In The Name Of Love" and "The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee" (the latter featuring Peter in fitting attire!) opened up the respective two halves of the show, both fully representative of the group's hitmaking career.

Here's to many more shows by The Hollies...

Tony Marsden

Setlist

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