Concert Review: Leeds, UK - August 30, 1998
Douglas Smith:
Just got back !
The following is brain-to-disk stuff so please forgive the spelling and song titles at this time of the morning :-)
What was good :
It was a CdeB concert
It was a UK bank holiday weekend and it didn't rain!
I finally met ( briefly ) the Doohan, the Lady Jay, Steve Bourike and
others who's names I've forgotten - I'm very sorry :-( - hope to meet
you all again for a longer time :-) I was the fat balding person with
glasses and an over-bushy red beard !
Steve and Jay ( and the others ) seemed to be doing very well at
collecting for the Child charity ( the other charity for the night was
something called Crocus but I'm not sure what it was about )
CdeB was in good spirits and happy with the Formula 1 results for
Eddie Jordan and with the Liverpool soccer result :-( Several comments
about Harewood House having de Burgh connections and the audience
being the recovery army!
The CdeB list gang were front row - I was 3-5 rows back in front of
the speaker stack
Plenty of friendly people - the mother and daughter next to me were
from Liverpool and hadn't heard about the Liverpool concert. ( which
is why I came back to Dave and co at the interval to try and find out
something about the Liverpool concert for them ! The daughter is
getting married in 4 weeks but couldn't get a mention ) The ladies
next to them I'd seen before at Alton Towers and Tatton Park
Especially good renditions of Spaceman (I'm biased ! ), Revolution,
Brother John ( OK I DO dislike the song but it was a good footstamping
version ), Snows of New York and Ferryman
The Karaoke slot was done by a man from Lincolnshire called Alan James
who had sent a tape in to CdeB. For most of the song he sounded
uncannily like CdeB - and CdeB made a joke about Alan being his
pension fund :-) Alan was excellent ! I thougn I heard that Alan
was planning to do the same for CdeB as say the Bootleg Beatles or
Bjorn Again :-)
It was a CdeB concert
What was not so good :
My wife couldn't make it - stomach bug
The AA road signs from Leeds were fine UNTIL
a sign saying Concert
Traffic left turn by a locked gate...the traffic jam went on for a few
miles before the error was realised but it meant cars that got there
before 4 were delayed getting into the car park/field
A security "person" who told anyone with an SLR camera that they would
not be allowed to use it. This was while I'm trying to put money in
the collecting bucket !!!
The same security "person" who kept telling people to sit down - he
stopped only after one lady lost her temper and said exactly what she
thought about trestle tables and high-backed chais blocking the view
for everyone!
The exit route from the car park was as bad as usual but even less
well lit than previous concerts
2 chemical toilets for how many thousand people ?????
Merchandise
Polo shirt
Baseball caps
White T-shirt XL only
Black T-shirt different design ( L or XL )
No brochures
T-shirts were 12 pounds sterling!
What was played :
Carry On ( CdeB on piano )
Here is your paradise ( CdeB on piano )
In a country churchyard ( CdeB on guitar )
Transmission Ends ( CdeB on guitar )
Head and the Heart ( CdeB on piano )
Seperate Tables ( Audience request - CdeB on piano )
Moonlight and Vodka ( with a shortened version of the Yeltsin anecdote
- don't ask please :-) )
Danny Boy ( Voice only )
Borderline ( CdeB on piano )
Spanish Train ( CdeB on guitar )
I'm not scared anymore
Karaoke bit - Missing You
A Spaceman came travelling
( Band joins him on stage )
Always on my mind ( after bits of Heartbreak Hotel and In the Ghetto)
Lonely Sky
Sailing Away
Loves got a hold on me
Oh my brave hearts
Brither John ( including a verse from House of the Rising Sun ! )
Hotel California ( about here one generator failed )
( after the interval the Orchestra and choir came on )
Missing You
Carry me like a fire in your heart
So beautiful
( Peter Oxendale then played sections of the Blue Danube and Fur Elise
badly for laughs )
( CdeB sang the opening line from Whan a man loves a woman then
did a chorus with the audience of Day-o )
Lady in Red
It's Me and I'm ready to go
Revolution trilogy with firework rockets !
One more mile to go
( Orchestra, Choir and Band introduced here )
Snows of New York
Don't pay the Ferryman
First encore
Say goodbye to it all
High on emotion
Second encore
Patricia the Stripper
Where Peaceful waters flow
...
At this point I left - after the Alton Towers queue for the exit I have avoided the very end where possible - life is too short for 3 hour traffic jams to get out of a car park
The band were :
Neil Taylor - Guitar
Alan Vosper - Guitar
David Levy - Bass Guitar
Tony Kiley - Drums
Peter Oxendale - keyboards
As always an excellent night...now to catch a few hours sleep before going to the Eyam Wells Dressings ( its a Derbyshire custom ) later this morning - I don't need my voice for that 'cos it a teeny bit hoarse at the moment