29 November 2014 (gig)
06 December 2014
Cairns on the left sets up Page through the middle and he hits the spot with an icy cool. The crowd goes wild and the Bridge is rocking.
“Coz we’re the Glory Boys, so scared of getting old…...”
Glory Boys, the title track of their 1979 debut album opened the show sounding as fresh and vibrant as if we were 35 years younger. And instantly lyrics that lay dormant for much of that time were sung out around the tasty little venue like we’d forgotten we’d forgotten them! The words spilled off the tongue like the beer splashing the floor by clumsy, middle-aged ex Mods not quite remembering the dance steps of their youth. And I should know, I was one of them! I tried to shimmy and shake but my hip wouldn’t let me. It didn’t stop me trying!
Shake and Shout quickly followed with its brassy chirpiness and Quadraphonic stomp, before the rasping classic Time for Action made the first of two appearances. It was no more than we deserved. New Dance, the infectious Days of Change and epic I’m not Free But I’m Cheap were further confirmation that the songs had more maturity in the tank than even I gave them credit. Sound of Confusion and My World, both tidy pop songs, were belted out against a delicious horn backdrop. Dave Cairns’ grimacing six string trickery and Ian Page’s time defining vocals were underpinned by Andy Fairclough’s swirling Hammond skills.
The Temptations classic, Get Ready, and Frank Wilson’s northern soul corker, Do I Love You (Indeed I Do), kept the dose of soul high and the hipsters of yesterday risking backaches in the morning. The Ray Charles 1966 hit, I Don’t Need No Doctor was the perfect remedy.
And when Time for Action made its show closing reprisal, Secret Affair had re-established their place back in our not so new-hearts, and sent hundreds of modernistas on their way thankful that nostalgia is here and now, and hopefully for tomorrow.
The Lambrettas before them delighted the crowd with tracks from Beat Boys in the Jet Age. Perhaps another band held back by their strong association with the retro youth movement, but nonetheless armed with a memorable album. The sad passing of frontman, Jez Bird, in 2008, has elevated original guitarist Doug Sanders to lead the vocal line. And with original drummer Paul Wincer providing the backbeat, we happily enjoyed Page Three, Face to Face, the album title track (vocals courtesy of the popular Dave Walker), and chart smasher Poison Ivy.
Did we love it? Indeed we did!
