The Boomtown Rats with Eddie and the Hotrods Blackheath Halls Nov 2012

 

When I got asked if I wanted to attend the gig at the weekend I jumped at the chance. I have always loved the Boomtown Rats and although I can already here the cries of ‘But its not the Boomtown Rats without Geldof’  having weathered the storm and seen Slade without Noddy and The Sweet without, well, most of them and still managed to enjoy myself  , I went along with an open mind.

The Boomtown Rats are currently gigging with two of the original members , Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe  (guitarist and drummer) I have to confess, that although I had all the Boomtown Rats music back in the day, I wouldnt have been able to have been able to pick them out in a line up and the only members that really stuck out in my mind were Mr. Geldof and Johnny Fingers (who was single handedly responsible for my habit in the late 70’s of wandering the streets in pin striped pyjamas !!)  but more on the line up in a moment ……

The Blackheath Halls is a very imposing venue, a 600 seater hall that boasts that it is Londons longest surviving purpose built cultural venue, built in 1895 and not your typical punk venue ! The first thing I spotted when I walked in to the hall was it had been laid out rather oddly, with tables and chairs half way up the hall , if this had been the 70’s they would have been surely flying through the air 5 minutes after the band took to the stage ( having the claim to fame of being one of the first 2 female bouncers ever used by Brummie punk legends GBH I know a bit about these things!)

Having met up with some friends in the bar and chatted for a bit we headed in just after Eddie and the Hotrods had started their set. I have to confess The Hotrods are one of those bands I dont know huge amounts about but knew I would know their songs once I heard them and I was right 🙂  Barrie Masters (vocals) is the only remaining original , funny, I always thought, given the name that he was Eddie ! Turns out that Eddie was actually a dummy that used to accompany the band on stage in the early days but was ditched quite early on ( great bit of trivia for a music quiz !)

They played a great, musically tight, energetic  set including their 1977 top ten hit Do Anything You Wanna do finishing up with a rocking version of Gloria .

Next up the Boomtown Rats with talented youngster Darren Beale on guitar and Bob Bradbury (Hello and The Bob Bradbury band) on bass and stepping in to the ‘other’ Bobs shoes on vocals.

Eagle eyed Rat fans would also have spotted original BR member Pete Briquette at the back of the hall (again I wouldnt have picked  him out in a line up!! Sorry Pete !! )

As with the recent gigs from other reformed bands I have attended, I was expecting to hear all my fave songs and have a bit of a nostalgia trip. What I got was a whole lot more than I had bargained for !

I have always been a fan of Hello so seeing Bob in action was great but what truly blew me away was how his vocals lent themselves to the Boomtown Rats tracks so effortlessly. He really did manage to maintain the original BR sound without sounding as if he was trying to imitate Mr.G. (Note to other replacement lead vocalists of bands, you dont HAVE to sound like you are doing a party piece of a very bad impression of the persons shoes you are filling …. mentioning no names !!)

The set started with Mary of the 4th form and continued with other classics such as Rat trap, She’s so Modern (the lyrics of which sound quite dated in 2012 come to think of it but stonking tune nonetheless) my personal favourite Like Clockwork and finishing the night with an updated-but-true – to- the-original I Don’t Like Mondays (I did wonder how they would manage THAT one without the classic sax sound but the guitars did a great imitation that REALLY worked!!) All in all musically VERY tight set 10 out of 10 chaps !!

Interestingly, Roberts and Crowe did all the talking in between the songs ……  ???

All in all a top night , what the other band members lacked in energy Mr.Bradbury more than made up for (those who know me know I like the visual look of the band as much as the music, there seem to be far too many ‘shoegazers’ out there these days, really doesnt  ‘do it’ for me, I’m afraid) It has to be said as well, I like my rock stars to LOOK like Rock stars, with his blonde spikey hair and tight turquoise jeans, Mr. B didnt disappoint , the rest of the band take note ! It is NOT cool as a punk band to stroll on stage like you have just come from a wedding !!

As a footnote , I would like to add it was lovely to see young Darren being approached for autographs after the gig and he chatted in a really friendly manner to everyone and was a real pro , HOWEVER (if you are reading this young man!) whilst being treated like a rock star, wear that mantle and dont suddenly slip your day job into the conversation, it kind of bursts the image bubble and we, the punter, like to imagine our rock stars are out there living the dream 24/7 !!

All in all a top night out and well worth a night out if they are in a town anywhere near you soon. 🙂

For up to date info go to :-

http://www.boomtownrats.co.uk

for info on Bob Bradbury head to :-

http://www.helloband.co.uk

and

http://www.bobbradburyband.co.uk

The link below is from a gig the week before I DONT LIKE MONDAYS