The Hollies - Concert Review

Preston Guild Hall, 25^th April 2003 - by Anne Bingham

After waiting for almost two years for the Hollies to appear again in Preston, their fans finally got their wish, when the band played their rescheduled November 2002 concert on Saturday, 26^th April. We had good seats, at the front, third row, just to the right of Tony, so we were well able to appreciate the music!

The concert was excellent and the fans were certainly not disappointed. The audience really warmed to the group from the very first moment that they appeared on stage and I think that they really appreciated this and responded in kind. My husband commented that he thought they were better now than they had been when we saw them at the Guild Hall in March 2001. They really seem to have come together as a group with Carl as their lead singer. Perhaps the last time we saw them, they were a little apprehensive, wondering if Carl would be well received. It was good to see Carl back and he sounded great, so let’s hope that his health is better now.

I shall not go into detail about the set list, as it was the same as the other concerts they have played but I shall just mention the songs which I particularly enjoyed, although all the songs were extremely well done. I really enjoyed the ‘Soldier’s Song’, which was dedicated to the forces in Iraq, it is a very emotive song and suits Carl’s voice perfectly. I especially enjoyed hearing ‘The Baby’ performed, this is not one of the Hollies’ most famous songs but it is good to hear it and my husband enjoyed ’Sandy’ as he is a great Bruce Springsteen fan. It is very difficult to pick out one particular song as being the ‘best’ but I must say that I always enjoy hearing ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ and the one that the Hollies finish their concerts with: ‘It’s In Everyone Of Us’. Before they performed this song, Carl spoke of people having some traumatic or life-changing experience, which makes them appreciate life more, he had had this experience with his recent illness. He commented that health is the greatest thing you can have in life and left us with the thoughts that you should enjoy every day of your life. I am sure that the audience agreed with him and many people must have been able to empathise with him, as I am sure that everyone has had some difficult times in their lives!

However, it was not all serious stuff! As usual, there was plenty of humour and the audience found Carl’s comments about the birthplace of Bob Dylan being in Bamber Bridge and his reference to him as being ‘Bamber Bob’ pretty hilarious. He was so convincing that, for a moment, I almost found myself believing him, until I reminded myself that really it is ‘Blackburn Bob!’

Another funny and surely unscripted moment came when one of Alan’s guitar strings broke and Tony commented that if that had happened to him, he would be ‘petrified’. Alan responded that it would not matter as Tony had five guitars and he, Alan, has only one! For me, a big part of a Hollies’ concert is the humour, I think they are great!

The two hours passed very quickly and the audience was very reluctant to let them go at the end. Even after the ‘encore’, the audience still wanted them to stay, they are so well liked in Preston.

As for me, my lasting memories of that night are of good music and even more than that, of the true warmth of feeling which was so apparent between the Hollies and their audience in Preston. Let’s hope that we shall not have to wait another two years before they return and Carl did say at one point, that they would still be around in another ten years! Let’s hope so.

Anne Bingham, Cherry Tree, Blackburn

Setlist

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