The Hollies - Concert Review

Zurich Hallenstadion, 9^th May 2003 - by John Truman

We left for Luton early on Friday morning and checked in our hotel in Zurich about lunchtime. We spent the rest of Friday and Saturday morning sightseeing. Zurich is a very pretty place complete with trams, cobbled streets, rivers and many designer shops along the main street called Bahnhoffstrasse which eventually leads to a big lake called Zurichsee.

As well as Hollies fans, we are Nottingham Forest supporters as well, so on Saturday afternoon we found a sports bar which showed the first leg of the First Division play-off game on TV. We only managed a one-all draw but we were hoping for more excitement as the evening’s entertainment drew closer.

@@We arrived at the Hallenstadion at 5.30pm (wearing our Hollies shirts purchased at last month’s convention) just as the doors were opening. We did not know what to expect, as it was our first time at one of these events. The ‘Oldie Night’, so called by the organisers, is an annual event and a full house was expected. The stadium apparently hosts sporting events and concerts and reminded me of the NEC indoor arena, with the stage at one end, seats around the sides and far end, with standing room in the centre.

After showing our tickets and having our bags searched, a lady was giving out earplugs to everyone. Obviously a loud night was in store!

The show started at 6.30pm and by that time the stadium was full. It is hard to say how many people were there but my guess is there must have been about 5,000 people inside the stadium. The compere announced in German that we were in for over 6 hours of music. And he was right!

First on the bill was Desmond Decker. He sang just 3 songs, the final one being ‘The Israelites’. Even after all these years, it still sounds like he is singing ‘Me Ears Are Alight!!

After each artist, the stage crew took about 10-15 minutes to get the stage ready for the next one.

Next on were The Searchers who did a 30 minute slot. They did most of their big hits including Sweets For My Sweet, When You Walk In The Room, Love Potion Number 9 and Needles & Pins but also did versions of Mr Tambourine Man, Twist and Shout, Young Girl and Rockin’ All Over The World which got the audience on their feet.

Off went the Searchers and on came the stage crew. The time was now approaching 7.45pm and I saw the familiar figure of John Pratt on the stage checking that everything was in the right place. Then the compere introduced The Hollies, who came on stage to a terrific round of applause.

@@Long Cool Woman was the first song, quickly followed by Sorry Suzanne, Jennifer Eccles and Bus Stop. There wasn’t much time for talking although Carl did try out his German and French to the audience. (I think most of the audience were German speaking although I did hear some French. We did not hear much English spoken at all). On A Carousel was next with Alan Coates’ vocals ringing around the stadium, then back to Carl with Blowin’ In The Wind. I was half-expecting Carl to say that Bob Dylan lived in Switzerland and was called ‘Basel Bob’ but he didn’t! The next song was Carrie Anne and Carl mentioned the Caribbean influence of the steel drums and did an impromptu Desmond Dekker impersonation. (And it still sounded like His Ears Are Alight!!). I could hear some of the crowd near us gasp with amazement when Ian Parker ‘played’ his steel drums! Next came the magnificent Air That I Breathe which went down extremely well with the crowd, who brought out lighters and even sparklers in some cases. Carl encouraged everyone to join in the chorus, which we all did. Tony then reached for his banjo so we knew what was to come. He did his solo which the crowd appreciated then it was straight into Stop, Stop, Stop which the crowd loved. Carl then asked the audience if his German was crap. I couldn’t understand the replies! He Ain’t Heavy was next and this went down a storm with the audience. Out came the lighters and sparklers again as Carl’s harmonica and his powerful voice echoed round the stadium. The lads got a terrific and well-deserved standing ovation. Finally they sang the first verse of It’s In Everyone Of Us. The harmonies wowed the audience then Bobby thanked the audience and said goodbye. It was now 8.30pm.

The Hollies had, once again, put on a very professional performance and the audience loved them. My only disappointment was that they were not on long enough but with 4 more artists still to appear, every act must have been limited to 45 minutes. I couldn’t help thinking that Ray’s Tiger Feet and Carl's I Can Hear The Grass Grow would have gone down extremely well with that crowd. Oh for another 15 minutes!

Leo Sayer was next up and he did most of his well known songs like Thunder In My Heart, More Than I Can Say, The Show Must Go On, Orchard Road, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, Raining In My Heart, When I Need You and Long Tall Glasses.

His 45 minutes were up then it was the turn of Suzi Quatro who soon got the crowd on their feet with her brand of rock and roll. The Wild One, 48 Crash, Can The Can and Devil Gate Drive were all included and she had the courage to perform some new songs from her forthcoming album. She played the piano, did a bass solo and also played the drums. So much energy for a little lady! She finished with You Can’t Give Me Love and the audience loved her.

The time now was almost 11.00pm and it was the turn of Smokie. I’m not sure how many originals are left in the band but they did well. Apparently they appear quite regularly on the continent. They sang all their hits including Meet Me At Midnight, Lay Back In The Arms of Someone, then a medley of It’s Your Life/Take Good Care of My Baby/Mexican Girl/For A Few Dollars More. They also sang Don’t Play Your Rock and Roll, Oh Carol and a good version of Creedence Clearwater’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain. They finished off with Living Next Door To Alice and the crowd joined in with the rude Chubby Brown version (which sounded funny in a German accent!!).

It was now midnight and the turn of the final act – Slade. So that’s why the lady was handing out earplugs! Noddy Holder was no longer in the line up but they still made a lot of noise. They sang Come On Feel The Noise, Far Far Away, Every Day and Cos I Love You. We had to leave them to it as it was now 12.30 (six hours on) and time to catch the tram to take us back to Zurich City Centre.

@@Unfortunately we discovered that the last tram had already left and we had to walk to the nearest railway station to catch the last train to Zurich Hauptbahnhoff. After an early breakfast at our hotel, we checked out and made our way to the airport to catch the plane to Luton. Who should we bump in to but Suzi Quatro who quite happily chatted and posed for a photo at the terminal in Luton.

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in Zurich and experienced for the first time seeing The Hollies perform outside the UK.

Next stop is Newmarket in August – a bit closer to home!

JOHN AND HELEN TRUMAN

Back to Review Index