The Hollies - Concert Review

Bournemouth Pavilion, 12^th November 2004 - by John Truman

Helen and I were very much looking forward to this concert as it meant seeing The Hollies on stage again on their own for over 2 hours, as opposed to them sharing the stage with other groups at recent concerts we had attended at Clumber Park and Munich.

We had already seen Peter fronting the band at Munich and we had been most impressed but The Hollies were only on stage for 45 minutes then. How would he perform for over 2 hours? We were also saddened to see in the programme that Alan Coates had left the band after 23 years of outstanding service. How would his replacement, Steve Lauri, fit in?

These questions were about to be answered as the time neared 8pm and the show began.

The opening song was Stop In The Name Of Love which made a pleasant change. Here I Go Again was next, quickly followed by Jennifer Eccles. Peter, wearing a leopard skin jacket (complete with spots!), was doing a great job so far.

Steve sang the high notes superbly on Just One Look but Peter did the vocals on the next song, On a Carousel. Tony reminisced that he remembered performing this song for the first time at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth, appearing on the same bill as Bert Weedon and Billy Fury! Tony then did an impromptu version of Bert Weedon’s Guitar Boogie Shuffle!

Next up was the Acoustic section. First was Sandy for which Peter picked up his guitar and was joined by Tony and Ray as they sang about chasing all those "Bournemouth virgins". On Gasoline Alley Bred, Peter, Tony and Ray sang a verse each. This was followed by the alternate version of Look Through Any Window. Steve joined the other three to produce fantastic harmonies which the audience loved.

Tony then explained that the last time they were in Bournemouth (which incidentally was the venue of the last convention), Carl was with them. Tony went on to inform the audience about Carl’s illness coming back with a vengeance so quickly and sadly Carl passing away at the end of August. Then, as a tribute to Carl, Ray took centre stage and sang Flowers In The Rain quite superbly. A large picture of Carl appeared on the backdrop behind the band. Well done, Ray and The Hollies. That must have been emotional. The audience showed their appreciation with a long round of applause.

Next was Soldier’s Song with Peter saying that war is still around today and nobody has learned anything over all these years. An old film of men going to war was played in the background as Peter sang the song with much feeling.

We’re Through followed, getting everyone’s feet tapping and it was the first time that I had seen pictures of the band in action shown in the background. Fantastic! Ian came up front with his accordion, Bobby’s drumwork and Tony’s and Steve’s guitars make this song so much better than the original record.

Peter then explained that he very much appreciated how Tony and Bobby had kept the band together for more than 40 years and that Ray had been with the Hollies for about 20 years with Ian not far behind with 15 years.

Blowin’ In The Wind closed the first half with Peter putting in a brilliant performance on vocals.

There was an interval of 19 minutes (according to the sign next to the stage), taken up by reading the excellent programme which included more photos and press cuttings from Bobby’s archives.

The second half started with Peter wearing a cowboy hat for Curly Billy, a song that I hadn’t seen them sing for a very long time. Tony’s guitar playing was amazing.

Tony then played the intro (almost like that on the original recording) to I Can’t Let Go – one of my all-time favourites - with Steve and Ray singing the high bits very capably. Sorry Suzanne followed, then Peter told the audience that he was no longer the new boy, Steve was. Apparently, Steve took a phone call from Tony, asking if he wanted to join The Hollies. Steve took all of 5 seconds and said Yes I Will – cue the next song!

Then came Bus Stop, with Ian playing his accordion again. Peter told the audience that he had heard from a fan that Tony and Graham owned a boutique in the mid-sixties, outside where she used to wait for the bus to work and that was the first single she had bought.

I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top had Steve taking the lead vocals and he did a great job, earning a good round of applause from the audience.
Tony introduced Too Young To Be Married as ‘a little ditty of mine’ and he sang the lead vocals.

Tony then told us that Peter had toured with Cliff Richard and he asked Peter if he had to call him ‘Sir Cliff’? Then Tony mentioned that Peter had played Roy Orbison in the stage version of Only The Lonely. A talented man indeed, and that talent shone through in the next song when Peter sang a wonderful solo acoustic version of Here I Go Again. What a great version of the song.

I’m Alive was next, followed by Carrie Anne, when the action shots of the band were shown on the backdrop again. Peter then explained how Stop Stop Stop was written after the band had visited a belly dancing club in New York, Peter wishing he had been there! There were great shots in the background of an American theatre where the Hollies were appearing all those years ago.

The Air That I Breathe was sung superbly, as was Tony’s guitar playing. Then came Long Cool Woman quickly followed by Ray’s Tiger Feet, which got most of the audience on their feet.

The show ended with He Ain’t Heavy, with Peter playing the harmonica and singing his heart out.

I was surprised that It’s In Everyone Of Us was not featured as the finale but it wasn’t sung tonight.

To sum up then, what a fantastic night it was! Another brilliant performance by all 6 of the Hollies. Peter looked liked he’d been with the band for years. What a find! Steve fitted in well. Ian was superb as usual and Ray was tremendous. What else can you say about Bobby and Tony that hasn’t been said already? They all seemed to enjoy the night, as did the audience judging by the comments we overheard on the way out.

Happy Hollies indeed!

Setlist

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