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Friday 2nd August, Westbury music Fair, New York by Alan Stefanowicz

Last night I attended the Hollies Westbury Music Fair (Long Island, NY) concert.  To date, I've seen the Hollies 5-6 times (both here and in the UK) but this was to be my first time seeing them with Carl Wayne. 

The band performed for approximately 1 hour and 15 mins.

The Hollies commanded the stage (rotating variety) and it was immediately apparent that everyone was in for a great evening of music. The lads remain true professionals and ultimate crowd pleasers. 

At times the thunderous applause was deafening. Carl did a splendid job as frontman. 

Allan will surely be missed but Carl's presence breathes new life into the band. 

It was great to see Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott looking so good and of course Alan, Ian, and Ray continue to be great contributors to the band's overall success. 

I was extremely moved with the band's acapella version of "It's Everyone One Of Us".  In my humble opinion this acapella version should be added to any future album/box set as the finale. 

At the conclusion of the concert, the band received a 5 minute standing ovation as they waved and bowed to the crowd.

I'm convinced that the band made some "new" friends this memorable night in Long Island.

Alan Stefanowicz

Friday 2nd August, Westbury music Fair, New York by Ron King

My wife and I attended the Hollies' show at Westbury Music Fair on August 2 and it was one of the best shows we have ever seen. 

The Hollies' performance was absolutely brilliant. 

We have always loved their music but after all these years this was our first opportunity to see them perform live. And, boy, are we glad we did. 

The rich vocals and harmonies, the level of musicianship, the quality of the material and the incredible spirit and conviction in which their program was performed made it all that more remarkable. 

It was an unforgettable and outstanding performance. 

We were not the only ones who felt this way as there was, indeed, a 5 minute standing ovation. 

Their rendition of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" was relevant, moving and poignant since this song was adopted by the New York City Firefighters and Police Officers and the other heroes of 9/11 as their official song. It was absolutely incredible. 

The Hollies are truly great musical performers and, not surprisingly, they are nearing their 40 year anniversary. Congratulations to the Hollies!!! 

Do Not miss this show. 

Best wishes. Ron King

Friday 2nd August,  Hyannis, Massachusetts by Wally Welch

Just got back from the show in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Ma...   We had a great time....LOVED IT!!! 

Tony Hicks was outstanding on guitar and Carl Wayne is one GREAT frontman, the best I have ever seen, great voice and he was so much fun

They played all my favorites except Long Dark Road.

Would love to see them again...and hopefully I will!!!

If they ever need a band to open up for them next year in Hyannis or Cohasset.....my band will gladly do it!!!! We are The McMurphy's......a
three-piece, Jimmy Buffett style Happy-Hour Band...but we can rock....especially when we do "Long Cool Woman"

Love The Hollies........Don't miss them!

Wally Welch

Tuesday 30th July, Kearney Nebraska USA by Joe Gallagher

Kearney, Nebraska is directly in the middle of the US, equidistant, 1733 miles from Boston and San Francisco. It is a college town and while less than 30,000 in population, there are two nearby communities, Hastings and Grand Island of similar size. Hence the venue name, the Tri-city Arena, which is really a hockey rink. 

People from all three of those towns, plus many from smaller communities nearby were there, with my estimate being 2500 to 3000, about what I expected. 

The midwest is not a hot-bed of Hollie-mania- to 95% of the audience they were here to see and hear the current incarnations of a couple of groups responsible for a fair number of radio hits from the past and the concert was promoted by the local radio station. 

The Lovin' Spoonful took the stage shortly after 7:30 and played about 40 minutes of their hits, and 15 minutes of other's hits. Vocals were handled by Joe Butler, original drummer, and Jerry Yester, a member since 1967. They were pretty good and the crowd was clearly enjoying themselves. 

After a 40 minute break The Hollies hit the stage running, playing four songs, flawlessly before the crowd knew what hit them-I Can't Let Go, Here I Go Again, Jennifer Eccles and Just One Look.

They played just over 75 minutes, probably 18-20 songs, and sounded virtually perfect all show. I must admit that I am a middle-aged veteran of hundreds of concerts, and while I have been a serious Hollies fan since their first US album (of which I still have a scratchy copy). The album is quite different from the UK release. 

However I have never ever come close to seeing The Hollies, and like many, I was curious/sceptical of Carl Wayne.  I mean,  how can you replace Allan Clarke? 

Of course, how you do it is to just be yourself, and sing the hell out of the songs, with five of the best rock musicians around. You don't replace Allan, you just move on, professionally.  Sing the songs, be yourself Ok, they sang a lot of hits, and I have no idea what the normal setlist looks like. I would have liked to have heard "I'm Alive", a big hit in McCook, Nebraska, because my friend Gary Housley, a local DJ, and I loved it, and "Stop in the Name of Love" was unusual, according to Tony Hicks, the apparently ageless lead guitarist. 

Bobby Elliott was his flawless self on the drums, while Alan Coates and Ray Stiles proved themselves worthy "new" Hollies.  The acoustic "Blackbird" showed their mettle as they joined Tony for the McCartney cover. 

Ian Parker played solidly throughout, adding "strings" to "Air That I Breathe" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". 

What really struck me, the concert veteran, was how well these guys played and sang. I have seen too many groups who can no longer sound anywhere like they did years ago, and we're left with mixed memories. 

With The Hollies, I'm praying that it isn't another 19 years before they return to the US.  

I just want to say that if you love 60s rock and roll, and if you love fine musicianship, you owe it to yourselves to see this group if you have a chance. You will not be disappointed. 

 Joe Gallagher

4-13 July,   Eight days - four shows in Germany By Lesley Haywood 

Rob & I arrived in Germany on Thursday 4^th July for the start of 8 days holiday that was to include 4 Hollies concerts in 4 different areas and venues.  After collecting Andy, our son, from his school trip in Oberfell we set off on Friday for Heilbronn where the Gaffenberg festival was to take place on Saturday 6^th July.

The venue was in the middle of a forest, just outside the town.  The Hollies were one of several acts there and weren’t due to go on stage until 11pm.  By the time we got there things were in full swing – lots of beer tents and food stalls and packed with people.  The weather was glorious, very warm and dry.  There was limited seating on benches under a white tent-like canopy and this, not surprisingly, was full to bursting.  There were also tables and seats around about and plenty of standing room.  The Hollies started on time and performed a one hour show.  Right from the start the audience were very vocal and loved it.  All the regular hits were performed and most of the audience sang along.  They finished with their now trademark “Prayer” – a section of “It’s In Every One Of Us”, sung by Carl, Alan, Tony & Ray all standing around the centre mike.  You could have heard a pin drop while it was being sung, but at the end the audience erupted and the noise and applause were amazing.

On Sunday we moved on to Munich where they were to perform in the Olympiapark at the Tollwood festival on Monday 8^th.  This park is the home of the stadiums, pools and arenas where the 1972 Olympics were held and is very impressive.  The weather was red hot, but we managed a tour of Munich on an open-topped bus, along with a tour of the Olympiapark which included the football ground and changing rooms where Bayern Munich play.  While we were there we saw where the festival was to be held.  The Hollies were due on stage at 8.15 and we got there at about 7pm.  It was a lovely venue, the central feature being a large circus-like Big Top where The Hollies were to perform.  All around it were craft stalls, food & drink stalls etc. and the atmosphere was like a fair – it reminded us of our own Goose Fair in Nottingham but without the fairground rides.

A support act was on before The Hollies – a percussionist who was very good and very loud.  The tent was huge and there was a little raised seating right at the back, but the majority of people stood towards the front.  The Hollies extended their show to about 90 minutes and again the audience were loud and appreciative right from the start.  A lot were dancing and the atmosphere was electric.  After they finished the applause, whistles and stamping of feet continued for ages.  A brilliant show.

Tuesday saw us travelling south to Tuttlingen for the Honberg Sommer 2002 festival.  It was set in the grounds of a ruined castle, very high up on a mountain.  We had debated walking there but when we saw how high up it was, we were glad we caught the bus!  It was similar to Gaffenberg with lots of beer tents and food stalls, but only The Hollies and one support act were playing.  Again it was in a tent, like Munich, but it was smaller and consequently absolutely packed out inside with hundreds more listening and dancing outside.  The Hollies went on at 9pm and played for 90 minutes – the audience was very vocal and very appreciative.  The tent got extremely hot and a bit claustrophobic but it all added to the atmosphere.  The sound was great and the audience even more so.  Another super concert.

The Hollies now had a short break from performing as the final show wasn’t until Friday 12^th.  It was a very long journey from Tuttlingen, which is very near the Swiss border up to Wiehl, which is just outside Cologne, almost 300 miles.  We decided to travel up on Wednesday, which turned out to be a good decision - it rained all the way and was much cooler – ideal for driving.  We did a bit of sightseeing before Friday night’s show, including a trip into Cologne, a lovely city and well worth a visit.

The show on Friday was held in the grounds of a Kolsch brewery in nearby Bielstein.  It was open air and a support act was on when we arrived, so everything was in full swing.  The stage was set on a hill with the audience about 8 feet lower on the flat and about 10 feet back from the stage, so the atmosphere was different from the previous three shows.  The field wasn’t very deep but was wide and again it was very well attended.

They did a 90 minute show again and it came over very well.  Everyone we saw or spoke to was having a great time.  A few people shouted out requests for songs which happened to be in the show and were over the moon when they were performed.  The weather remained glorious and all in all this show added the finishing touch to what had been a great week in Germany.

Singing "Yes I Will"
Some of the many fans at the Wiehl concert	Waving farewell after another great show.

All the shows were different in atmosphere but they all had one thing in common – each one was brilliant and the German audiences and several English fans who had travelled across the water had a wonderful time.

We left to drive home after the concert and arrived back early on Saturday afternoon tired and a bit poorer, but we can look back on a super week’s holiday with the highlights being 4 great concerts by The Hollies.

Lesley Haywood.