The Hollies - Concert Review

Lewisham Theatre, 24^th April 1999 - by Jacqui Thallon

Mindful of last night’s fiasco on Catford’s Roundabout from Hell (major road-works) I set out in good time for my short journey from Greenwich and arrived with time to spare for the obligatory G & T before taking my seat.

The lighting on this tour is nothing short of spectacular, starting the show with stunning purple search lights criss-crossing the stage, coupled with the dramatic music it sets the tone perfectly. On came the boys and I was delighted to see that Coatsie was out of his "breast-feeding" chair and on to a stool. He had an enigmatic smile on his face for much of the time and I began to wonder just what his doctor had given him to kill the back pain!

Everyone was on good form and they appeared to be enjoying themselves as much as the fans. It was a warm but lively audience as usual and Carousel Fan Club members were out in force.

They launched into Here I Go Again and followed up with hit after hit interspersed with other gems. Worthy of special note in the first set were:

After the Fox -This tour was the first time I had seen this performed live and I loved it.

Butterfly - Missing from last nights show, an enchanting performance as usual.

Tony admitted to having indulged in a banana "butty" prior to coming on stage, he then launched into the merits of banana butties over Marmite butties ! Sorry Tony, Marmite does it for me every time.

More G & T’s and into the second set. Now for most of my favourites…….King Midas in Reverse……….Blackbird – another popular addition. even though Tony can’t remember all the words! A wistful McCartney number sung so beautifully it takes your breath away.

Carrie Anne, Stop, Stop, Stop, – no long intro tonight but awesome banjo playing all the same.

The Air That I Breathe – back to the search lights again only this time they also bathed the audience in purple , which helped to charge the atmosphere.

He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother - the audiences favourite and you can hear a collective sigh go up as they prepare to be mesmerised.

The end of "Heavy" is the cue for fans to go to the front of the stage. There was a vain attempt by the ushers to restrain us but they were seriously outnumbered and quickly gave up!

Only three numbers to go now so lets have some fun – guaranteed for me as I was standing next to Mark! He was on great form dancing, clapping and singing as if his life depended upon it.

Let’s Dance – I looked around and the audience had taken up the challenge and were indeed dancing in the aisles.

At The Hop – another new addition, and the perfect showcase for Hollies harmony.

Long Cool Woman – not your average Hollies number. This is a real favourite of mine and shows what versatile and talented musicians they really are.

Another awesome tour !

On the way out I heard one woman say to her friend "he looks just the same as he used to doesn’t he?". No prizes for guessing who they meant !

Well, that’s it now for me until the next tour, so back to Greenwich and to relative normality until the autumn.

By Jacqui Thallon

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