1966 And All That

The autumn of 1966 marked a momentous time in British history.  Never mind that England had just won football's World Cup and the Swinging Sixties were getting underway.  This period, which occurred fifty years ago, also saw the retirement from live performance of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the two biggest acts in Britain and, in the case of The Beatles, the world.

For The Beatles, stepping out of the live spotlight following their performance at Candlestick Park, San Francisco on 28 August 1966 was also inevitable and was to be permanent.  Amplification was unable to drown out the screaming of the crowds they faced night after night, making their performances unlistenable.  Even when audience members wanted to just enjoy to the music, they could barely hear a word.  Accounts of the time, including those in my book The Beatles - I Was There, suggest that the noise would abate briefly to hear the between song announcements and then rise again once the next song began.

Abandoning live performance, when the songs they were recording were increasingly complex and not capable of being reproduced by a four piece group onstage, was an almost inevitable progression for The Beatles.  But the inability to make themselves heard was the primary driver.

The Stones' musical journey from blues and R&B enthusiasts, slavishly and successfully remodelling the music of their heroes, to pop pioneers in their own right also entered a cul de sac in the autumn of 1966.  The distractions of drugs and unhealthy police interest in the group's off stage activities caused them to quit the stage in early 1967.

So it was that on 23 September 1966, the Rolling Stones embarked upon their final British tour with founding member Brian Jones.  Apart from a cameo appearance at an NME Pollwinners event in 1968, it was to be Brian's last appearances on a British stage in front of a live audience.  Less than three years later, Brian would be ousted from the Stones and, tragically, drown in a swimming pool at his Sussex home in an incident that many now believe to have been murder.  Despite the energies put into reexamining other historic cases, Brian's death is one that the police have yet to reopen.

The screaming had abated slightly for the Stones, and Mick Jagger was able to tell audiences to calm down so that the group could play quieter songs like Lady Jane, but there were still stage invasions and hysterical female - and male - fans to deal with.  The band had grown up.  Their audiences?  Perhaps not so much.

So 1966 was a momentous year. It certainly marked a pivotal one for two of the most influential acts in popular music.  British fans never got the chance to buy a ticket to see the boys from Liverpool or the London blues enthusiasts led by Brian again.

The Beatles - I Was There and You Had To Be There - The Rolling Stones Live by Richard Houghton chronicle the live histories of these iconic bands and are both available from Amazon.

Exhibitionism, Saatchi Gallery, London

I've been to Exhibitionism again today and taken a few sneaky pics, which you're not supposed to do.  But the Stones weren't averse to breaking the rules so I'm not going to apologise for it.

If you haven't already seen the blurb/hype, this is a romp through the 50 plus years the Rolling Stones have been making music and headlines and an absolute 'must see' for any Rolling Stones fan.  From the opening multi screen video montage, which you could never recreate on a TV or cinema screen, through to the 3D screening of the band tearing through (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction at Hyde Park in 2013, this is an unmissable experience.

There are criticisms.  There's too little credit given to Brian's role in the early days of the band, and not a great deal about the drug busts that have littered the Stones career either.  And a couple of the rooms have plenty to see but are not laid out well enough to allow people to see things easily.  (On both the occasions I went, there were bottlenecks at the display cases showing Keith's 1960s diaries, one of the few truly personal items on display, contrasting with The Jam exhibition currently on in Liverpool, which is crammed with stuff from the Weller family loft).

But it's a chance to see the biggest band in the world in a way you've never seen them before, and at £23.50 it's money well spent.

Exhibitionism runs at the Saatchi Gallery until 4 September.

The Rolling Stones, Beira Rio Stadium, Porto Alegre, 2 March 2016

This show was the last of the Brazilian leg of the Rolling Stones 2016 Ole tour and, if I understood Mick Jagger's Portuguese correctly, the first time they had played Porto Alegre.  60,000 Brazilians turned out to see them play this magnificent stadium on an absolute dog of a night.  You might imagine Brazil is all sun kissed beaches, but this was more like a Tuesday night away game at Accrington Stanley.  It rained from start to finish and there wasn't a lot to be cheerful about, weather wise.

But the spirits of the crowd were not dampened by the rain and neither did the Stones treat this fixture lightly.  They put out a full strength team and, all told, played eleven top ten hits plus Gimme Shelter, an extended Midnight Rambler, Sympathy For The Devil and You Can't Always Get What You Want.  There was plenty for a boisterous crowd to sing along to, and sing along they did.

From the opener Jumping Jack Flash through It's Only Rock'n'Roll, Tumbling Dice, Let's Spend The Night Together, Ruby Tuesday, Paint It Black and Honky Tonk Women, the Stones opened their treasure chest of a back catalogue and rolled out hit after hit.

Only Out Of Control, the fourth song in and (for me) still an inappropriately placed slow song this early on, didn't have the crowd singing along as fervently, but they cheered Mick when he stood toe to toe with Keith and riffed on harmonica.

When Mick introduced the band, the crowd began a chant of 'Rich-ards! Rich-ards!' which was only ended by Keith reminding the audience 'I have a show to do.'  He then gave them You Got The Silver and a heartfelt Before They Make Me Run.  In the pouring rain I was particularly affected by the line 'only a crowd can make you feel so alone.'  Keith, who increasingly seems to relish his fifteen minutes in the spotlight, is all smiles during this spot and throughout the evening.

The 'warhorses' inevitably conclude a Stones set and we get Midnight Rambler, Miss You ('do you feel like singing?'), Gimme Shelter with Sasha Allen escorting Mick to the end of the thrust stage to wail like a banshee and invoke the spirit of Merry Clayton, a pumped Start Me Up and a rousing Sympathy For The Devil. Before the gig there were around one hundred Jehovah's Witnesses outside the stadium.  From the mass singalong to Sympathy, with the crowd enthusiastically 'woo wooing' along to the chorus, I doubt there were many in the audience who were going to be walking out of the stadium to sign up for a subscription to Watchtower.

They finished with You Can't Always Get What You Want and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, but I must admit to missing these numbers.  Soaked to the skin and unable to see without my rain splattered specs, I left the stadium to the opening riff from Brown Sugar to grab a cab back to my hotel.  Porto Alegreans were still bouncing up and down to Mick Jagger as he led them through the chorus of 'yeah, yeah, yeah - whoo!' as I collapsed into the warm cocoon of my taxi.  The Stones first performance in Porto Alegre and one that will stick in the mind - once I've dried out.

The Rolling Stones, Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo, 24 February 2016

This gig was never going to disappoint, as the band which pioneered stadium gigs and which (still) has the best front man in the business has been doing this for over fifty years and knows how to put on a show. Throw in a buzzing South American crowd, a slightly delayed start while the water was mopped from the stage after the early evening rain, a support band that was clearly well known to large sections of the audience and had them fist pumping along to several tunes (even if your correspondent had never heard of them) and throw in a warm and humid evening, and the sense of anticipation was palpable.  This one was nailed on from the start.  From the opening chords, we were off and running with 60,000 Paulistas singing along to Start Me Up.  The band were wreathed in smiles, clearly glad to be here (or, as Keith would have it, 'glad to be anywhere') and the atmosphere was unlike any I've ever experienced at a stadium gig.  

It's Only Rock'n'Roll and Tumbling Dice followed, and then we entered a bit of a cul-de-sac in terms of maintaining audience enthusiasm, as Out Of Control, Bitch, Beast of Burden and Worried About You follow, the last sung by Mick in a faltering falsetto that makes me Worried About Mick, so frail did he sound.

Things kicked back into gear with Honky Tonk Women.  Then Keith sang You Got The Silver and Happy.  The latter sounds a little threadbare without Mick on backing vocals, as that was part of the original song's charm.

But the Stones always unveil their nuclear weapons in the second half of the set.  The undoubted highlights are Gimme Shelter and Sympathy For The Devil.  Sasha Allen has replaced Lisa Fischer for this tour and whilst she may lack Lisa's physical presence she certainly has the pipes and duets with Mick on the thrust stage, bringing Gimme Shelter to a steamy climax. The latter, which was dropped from the Stones set list for a while, is now firmly entrenched as a centrepiece, with Mick in his L'Wrenn Scott cape and a new visual on the video screens to accompany the number.

The crowd sang heartily along to Miss You, responding to Mick's calls, and joined in on the chorus for You Can't Always Get What You Want.  Then it was the traditional romp to the finish line with Satisfaction.  Satisfied?  60,000 Brazilian fans certainly were.

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, The Muni, Colne, 28 October 2015

Paul Heaton must be one of the least spotlight hogging front men in music.  For most of this show in front of a packed crowd at the delightful 'Muni' (Colne's former town hall) he performed with his coat zipped up and with the stage lit in such a way that he was hard to see.  Granted, the lighting display was of the type you'd expect at an arena sized show, but he still managed to stay in the shadows for the bulk of this 100 minute appearance.

Jacqui Abbott is equally unassuming as a front person.  She arrives on stage waving furiously to her audience and taking selfies on her phone, looking for all the world like she's starting a holiday in Magaluf and wants to post pictures of the beach on Facebook.  Throughout the show she waves to fans dancing up in the balcony as though she's spotted a long lost friend.  This is hardly Van Morrison type behaviour.

Their non rock star image is part of Heaton and Abbott's charm of course, but what has drawn the crowds is a back catalogue of hit songs penned by Heaton in various guises and the chance to hear two of the most beautifully blended voices in modern music.  They harmonise so well that it really is as if they were meant for each other.

Drawing heavily on the recently released Wisdom, Laughter and Lines (which Heaton explains has dropped from 3 to 4 in the album charts) the pair, backed by a four piece band, run through several songs that are getting their first live outing plus a gamut of hits.  The key to Heaton's success - from The Housemartins and The Beautiful South through to now - is his ability to lace the sweetest of melodies with the most acerbic of lyrics.  So we get When Love For Woman Stops and I Don't See Them, both on the themes of love changing as people age, as well as the joyous Caravan of Love, the Isley Brothers cover and a number one hit from almost thirty years ago.

A sad omission from the set is Song For Whoever but other than that, and Heatongrad from the new album which Paul introduces as 'my Imagine' despite being one of the weaker new songs, it's hard to complain about the choice of material.  A highlight both of the album and on the night is Sundial in the Shade.

The encores include Keep It All In, Perfect 10 and Housemartins fave Happy Hour.  

Colne Muni normally plays host to C list bands and tribute acts (the Rollin' Clones were scheduled to appear two days later) but on this occasion it provided a showcase for two unassuming stars and a reminder that Heaton has produced some of the brightest and sharpest pop songs of the past thirty years.

Faces, Hurtwood Polo Park, Surrey, 5 September 2015

Was this a Faces reunion?  Can you even have a Faces reunion without Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan?  Well, Mac thought so and spent a good bit of time in recent years trying to get Rod Stewart to rejoin his old muckers on stage.  Sadly, Mac died before this could come to pass and maybe Rod finally agreed to Kenney Jones' suggestion that they and Ronnie Wood perform live together out of a sense of guilt that he hadn't made the effort before.

Whatever the motivation, the three surviving Faces appeared at a chilly Hurtwood Park polo club in Surrey to perform a 45 minute set in front of an eager audience of 5,000.  They were augmented on stage by two keyboard players, backing vocalists, a horn second and a bass guitarist and second guitar.

But the stars of the show were Rod and Ronnie.  They stumbled on stage, the wrinkles deeper but the hairstyles still firmly rooted in the early 1970s, like a couple of overgrown schoolboys bunking off class early to go and hang around the bus stop in order to meet some girls and cadge a cigarette or two.  They joked about the lack of rehearsal time before launching into Big Bill Broonzy's I Feel So Good, a song which sounds like it could have been written for the Faces.

They followed this with You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything, introduced by Ron as one of his favourite songs and with Rod looking to the heavens to thank Lane and McLagan.  There might only have been three Faces physically on stage but the spirit of all five were present.  The opening bars of You Can Make Me Dance was a real hairs on the back of the neck moment for me - I never thought I'd get to hear this song live.

Ooh La La followed and then I'd Rather Go Blind, the Etta James song that appeared on a Rod solo album as recorded by the Faces.

Then it was (I Know) I'm Losing You, the Temptations song which tonight featured an unduly long Kenney Jones drum solo.  But in Kenney's defence he pulled the event together and so could perhaps be permitted his three or four minutes in the spotlight.

They finished with a glorious Stay With Me, the audience singing along, and Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller including a false start and then they were gone.  Only seven songs but forty five minutes of rock'n'roll magic.

Was it a Faces reunion?  I don't know, but a good time was had by all.  Will they do it again?  Well, Rod seemed keen to get off that stage as soon as it was over so I wouldn't put money on it.  Were they worth the price of admission?  Absolutely.  Ronnie Wood looked like he was having far more fun that he ever does playing with the Rolling Stones.

Sing it again, Rod'n'Ron.  Sing it again.

Ron Sexsmith, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 27 June 2015

When a performer draws heavily on material from his or her new album, that's often a signal for a mass exodus to the bar.  But Ron Sexsmith's latest CD, Carousel One, adds a fine selection of songs to a twenty year recording history and no one was rushing to leave their seats as Canada's finest singer songwriter under the age of 60 (I have to be careful not to upset Neil Young fans here) trotted out Getaway Car, Lucky Penny, Sun's Coming Out and Nothing Feels The Same Any More.

Saint Bernard also gets an airing and Ron has a giant cardboard cut out of a Saint Bernard on stage with him whilst his drummer sports the face of another such dog on his bass drum.

The band is tight and muscular and handles Ron fluffing the lyrics to one song and wanting to restart it mid intro without any fuss.

But the show takes a particularly poignant turn when Ron performs unaccompanied firstly on the acoustic guitar and then at the piano.  He doesn't look like a rock star and at times his delivery of songs he has himself written, such as Tomorrow In Her Eyes, Gold In Them Hills and Brandy Alexander, makes him sound as though everything's about to fall apart.  This vulnerability is part of his charm and the reason why the audience brings him back for two encores when Ron and the band want to get away for their Glastonbury appearance the next day.

Other highlights are Strawberry Blonde and Sneak Out The Back Door.  Ron finishes with a stunning Can't Get My Act Together from Carousel

One and Lebanon, Tennessee from his debut album, bookends to his career.  The audience is loud in its appreciation.  Ron is amongst friends and the crowd knows it is in the company of a rare and self effacing talent.

Support was provided by singer songwriter Sam Palladio, who hails from Cornwall by way of Nashville.  He's in the TV show Nashville, which he managed to reference three times.  He could have done with giving the audience fewer mentions of the TV career and allowed his songs to do more of the talking.  There were a couple of beauties in his set which will hopefully feature on his soon to be recorded first album.  Think Peter Case with additional twang.