The Seahorses stormed the UK back in the nineties as one of the most influential Britpop bands in a post-Stone Roses genre. Since the split of The Seahorses in 1999, lead singer
Chris Helme has joined new group The Yards and also made a name for himself as a solo artist. Tonight Helme takes to the stage of Edinburgh’s GRV with just an acoustic guitar and his voice to thrill the unexpectedly sparse audience.
Supporting Chris Helme this evening is beautiful lady and powerful-voiced local
Kerrie Lynch. Kerrie’s voice is extremely loud and elegant, a fantastic round-up of all that is good about acoustic performances. Her guitar is simple, yet boldly effective when teamed with graceful lyrics. There are no musical complications to Kerrie’s act, just sweet music, cute lyrics and a tremendous vocal performance.
Chris Helme, voice of popular nineties act The Seahorses, takes to the stage with one stunning guitar and one stunning voice. Chris can hit the high notes with perfect precision, bewildering his audience who were expecting simply a past reflection of The Seahorses music. Chris’s vocals are simply divine, and playing in such a small hall means the sheer force of his sound is allowed time to cascade over the audience and drip down the walls.
Chris Helme talks about, or debates, whether he should sing songs from his days in The Seahorses, or if he should simply perform solo material. “At first I didn’t want to, I wanted to put the band behind me, but now I quite enjoy performing them”. Not only in the way he talks, but the angry pain lacing his voice as he sings denotes a slight sadness, a thick tension or regret that his band is a past exploration.
There is absolutely no chance The Seahorses will ever get together again, but with that voice, personality and stage presence, Chris Helme’s musical days are not yet numbered. Chris Helme’s solo work sounds promising and his new band The Yards are surely set for big things with Helme as their front man.
For more news, information and gig listings from Edinburgh’s GRV, visit:
www.myspace.com/thegrvlive
