The Hollies - Concert Review

Malvern, Forum Theatre, 5^th March 2004 - by Peej

It had been about 11 years since I was last in Malvern and the town hadn’t changed very much, but what better place to see your favourite band than in the town you first ever heard them? This gig was going to be very special for me.

The Forum Theatre had changed a lot since I’d last been there but with the back of the theatre opening onto the beautiful Winter Gardens, as Carl remarked this was an amazing venue to play.

I arrived at the Forum to huge queues of people trying to get to their seats; if this show wasn’t a sell-out then it was very close! As the lights dimmed the audience went quiet and cheered the guys as they entered and burst into a very energetic ‘I’m Alive’; a hit that was well received by the audience. The guys kept rolling on with the wall-to-wall hits like; ‘Here I Go Again’, ‘Jennifer Eccles’, (Carl’s favourite) ‘Yes I will’ and ‘On A Carousel’ before Carl said he was off to find a throat sweet- the first indication I had that Carl was having any problems with his throat or singing. The ever-beautiful 3 voice acoustic ‘Listen to Me’ was followed by Alan Coates’ amazing ‘I Can’t Tell the Bottom from the Top’, definitely my favourite new inclusion to the set list!

The video screen was out for ‘I Can’t Let Go’ before the band treated us to ‘We’re Through’ where Carl’s vocals were (as usual) impeccable and his piano skills wowed the crowd as he took Ian Parker’s spot at the keyboards while Parker donned his accordion delighting the crowd as he walked around. The first Move song of the night, ‘Fire Brigade’, also had the Malvern audience clapping along. Birmingham isn’t that far away so perhaps the Move was more likely to be remembered here. Although Tony remarked that the Hollies hadn’t played in Malvern since 1964 (although the guy I was sitting next to reckoned it was more like 1968) although I read that December 1965 was their last visit to Malvern in the 60s. Alan, Carl and Tony were left on the stage after the Move classic and the three voices combined with the new laid back version of ‘Look Through Any Window’ left you crying out for more. Alan and Tony were busy with some amazing guitar solos it was purely magic! The end of the first set was rounded off with Carl’s fantastic opening to ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’- he’s got a good set of lungs on him!

It was good to see the entertaining video for the opening of the second set. The guys came on stage and burst into ‘Long Cool Woman’ followed by ‘Sorry Suzanne’ and ‘Just One Look’ before Carl announced the two European hits that his vocals suit so wonderfully; ‘the Baby’ and also ‘Soldier’s Song’, which I still find hard listening to as Carl’s vocals, Bobby’s drumming and the eerie video projections and lighting just send shivers up and down my spine. Always an amazing performance of this song! A hard song to follow but Alan, Ray and Tony followed with an acoustic ‘Gasoline Alley Bred’ and Tony’s beautiful ‘Too Young to be Married’ with Alan performing a lovely guitar solo intro before Tony sang. Carl, Bob and Ian returned to the stage for a fun Bus Stop and the brilliant ‘Blackberry Way’, which brought back memories to me (I can still remember singing and dancing along to this song in my former house here).

As the boys followed with ‘Carrie Anne’, ‘Stop Stop Stop’ and ‘Air That I Breathe’ as the audience joined in more and more and the boys deserved the standing ovation they received. The crowd were calling out for more and were obliged with ‘I Can Hear the Grass Grow’ and ‘Tiger Feet’ (sadly not many people danced to these) and I believe it was just before ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ that Carl announced he’d been suffering from a bit of laryngitis- you couldn’t hear it! The boys sang their final song then their beautiful verse of ‘It’s in Everyone of Us’ and the crowd was ecstatic, everyone had a great time.

A successful return to Malvern for both the lads and me!! Keep it going boys!

Peej

Setlist