The Hollies - Concert Review

Brighton Dome, 7^th March 1998 - by Sue Kelly

After our lovely afternoon at the Corn Exchange, we were all very excited about this concert. Obviously, everyone who had attended the Convention had also got tickets for the concert, so a good third or more of the audience were Carousel club members. Most of us were still wearing our Convention badges. This was always going to be a very special concert for us.

The first three songs were the usual Stay, Here I Go Again and Yes I Will. We were all waiting to see if Tony would refer to the afternoon's events....and he did. He welcomed everyone to the show then asked rather sheepishly:

"Have you all had a nice day?"

He might just have well said "Let the cheering commence"! such was the response. He said he was glad we'd enjoyed ourselves because it had cost them a fortune!

The party atmosphere grew with the stirring I Can't Let Go, before Allan thought he ought to explain Tony's comments, for the benefit of the people who hadn't been there. He put it beautifully, saying it had been their way of saying thank you "to everyone who wants to be part of The Hollies' lives". They hinted that, as it had been such a success, they might do it again.

Man With No Expression came across brilliantly, with the superb harmonies. Alan Coates was a real star, seemingly effortlessly hitting the high notes. Don't Let Me Down was equally lovely, Allan Clarke pouring emotion into the lyrics. This was the first concert of the tour for many of the fans and they left the group in no doubt about their approval of these choices.

Tony had said at the Convention that Long Dark Road had been dropped because they felt they needed another hit in the show at the point. The hit in question was to be Sorry Suzanne, performed in the original style.

I don't think I've ever heard Butterfly go down as well as it did there. Coatsie got a huge and well deserved cheer at the end, from all sections of the audience. I'm Alive followed before they, once again, tried to confuse us by swapping When I'm Dead And Gone and On A Carousel round, ending the first half with Carousel.

The second half got underway with Stop In The Name Of Love and Jennifer Eccles, once again featuring some lovely slide guitar from Coatsie. I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that Just One Look had been changed back to the original version - none of that delicious bass playing. However, the other 999+ people there loved it. And, if I'm honest - so did I!

Tony put in some absolutely fabulous acoustic guitar on We're Through but of course it was Ian who stole the show with his walkabout. Bus Stop was yet another song done in the original style. Judging by the response of the audience, this is undoubtedly how the majority of them like their hits.

Peggy Sue Got Married was also a popular choice, and Maybe Baby and Rave On were superb. So much so that Allan said they would be doing more songs by dead people in the future..."Eddie Cochran...Ritchie Valens...The Big Bopper". He told Ray that he could be The Big Bopper with that deep voice of his.

"Yes!" squeaked Ray in as high a voice as he could manage.

John Pratt appeared on stage with a bouquet and a bottle of champagne for Allan to present to Chris and Sheila Bowen. Allan described them as fans who had become good friends of the group, before leaping down off the stage to do a presentation. Once again, the 'Conventioners' went wild.

The fantastic Look Through Any Window and Carrie Anne followed, and then Ian started playing snake charming-type music as Tony and Coatsie swapped places for Stop Stop Stop. There was much mirth all round until Tony said:

"I feel someone needs to take charge here!", before instantly going into the song.

The Air That I Breathe and He Ain't Heavy led to the rock and roll. I had asked the people to the side of us to be ready to make way for us to get out and the lady came with us to the edge of the stage. Johnny B. Goode was quite superb, with Ian whizzing up and down his keyboards to great effect. It was obvious that the group were all enjoying the extra special atmosphere as much as we were. Let's Dance set the place jumping, and Tony's guitar solo in Long Cool Woman seemed longer and faster than ever. The space between the stage and the front row of seats was jammed with dancers and there were people dancing in the aisles. It was simply an unforgettable experience.

As the music ended and the group took their final bows, the woman who had come down with us shouted in vain for more. "Will they come back?" she kept asking. Sadly, no, not even on this very special night, was to be the answer.

Sue Kelly

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