The Hollies - Concert Review

Germany - Eight days - four shows, 4^th July 2002 - by Lesley Haywood

Rob & I arrived in Germany on Thursday 4^th July for the start of 8 days holiday that was to include 4 Hollies concerts in 4 different areas and venues. After collecting Andy, our son, from his school trip in Oberfell @@ we set off on Friday for Heilbronn where the Gaffenberg festival was to take place on Saturday 6^th July.

The venue was in the middle of a forest, just outside the town. The Hollies were one of several acts there and weren’t due to go on stage until 11pm. By the time we got there things were in full swing – lots of beer tents and food stalls and packed with people. The weather was glorious, very warm and dry. There was limited seating on benches under a white tent-like canopy and this, not surprisingly, was full to bursting. There were also tables and seats around about and plenty of standing room. The Hollies started on time and performed a one hour show. Right from the start the audience were very vocal and loved it. All the regular hits were performed and most of the audience sang along. They finished with their now trademark “Prayer” – a section of “It’s In Every One Of Us”, sung by Carl, Alan, Tony & Ray all standing around the centre mike. You could have heard a pin drop while it was being sung, but at the end the audience erupted and the noise and applause were amazing.

@@On Sunday we moved on to Munich where they were to perform in the Olympiapark at the Tollwood festival on Monday 8^th. This park is the home of the stadiums, pools and arenas where the 1972 Olympics were held and is very impressive. The weather was red hot, but we managed a tour of Munich on an open-topped bus, along with a tour of the Olympiapark which included the football ground and changing rooms where Bayern Munich play. While we were there we saw where the festival was to be held. The Hollies were due on stage at 8.15 and we got there at about 7pm. It was a lovely venue, the central feature being a large circus-like Big Top where The Hollies were to perform. All around it were craft stalls, food & drink stalls etc. and the atmosphere was like a fair – it reminded us of our own Goose Fair in Nottingham but without the fairground rides.

A support act was on before The Hollies – a percussionist who was very good and very loud. The tent was huge and there was a little raised seating right at the back, but the majority of people stood towards the front. The Hollies extended their show to about 90 minutes and again the audience were loud and appreciative right from the start. A lot were dancing and the atmosphere was electric. After they finished the applause, whistles and stamping of feet continued for ages. A brilliant show.

@@Tuesday saw us travelling south to Tuttlingen for the Honberg Sommer 2002 festival. It was set in the grounds of a ruined castle, very high up on a mountain. We had debated walking there but when we saw how high up it was, we were glad we caught the bus! It was similar to Gaffenberg with lots of beer tents and food stalls, but only The Hollies and one support act were playing. Again it was in a tent, like Munich, but it was smaller and consequently absolutely packed out inside with hundreds more listening and dancing outside. The Hollies went on at 9pm and played for 90 minutes – the audience was very vocal and very appreciative. The tent got extremely hot and a bit claustrophobic but it all added to the atmosphere. The sound was great and the audience even more so. Another super concert.

@@The Hollies now had a short break from performing as the final show wasn’t until Friday 12^th. It was a very long journey from Tuttlingen, which is very near the Swiss border up to Wiehl, which is just outside Cologne, almost 300 miles. We decided to travel up on Wednesday, which turned out to be a good decision - it rained all the way and was much cooler – ideal for driving. We did a bit of sightseeing before Friday night’s show, including a trip into Cologne, a lovely city and well worth a visit.

The show on Friday was held in the grounds of a Kolsch brewery in nearby Bielstein. It was open air and a support act was on when we arrived, so everything was in full swing. The stage was set on a hill with the audience about 8 feet lower on the flat and about 10 feet back from the stage, so the atmosphere was different from the previous three shows. The field wasn’t very deep but was wide and again it was very well attended.

They did a 90 minute show again and it came over very well. Everyone we saw or spoke to was having a great time. A few people shouted out requests for songs which happened to be in the show and were over the moon when they were performed. The weather remained glorious and all in all this show added the finishing touch to what had been a great week in Germany.

Singing "Yes I Will"

Some of the many fans at the Wiehl concert

Waving farewell after another great show.

All the shows were different in atmosphere but they all had one thing in common – each one was brilliant and the German audiences and several English fans who had travelled across the water had a wonderful time.

We left to drive home after the concert and arrived back early on Saturday afternoon tired and a bit poorer, but we can look back on a super week’s holiday with the highlights being 4 great concerts by The Hollies.

Lesley Haywood.

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