UK - Autumn - 1999

Reflections of the last four shows.        By Doug Treible, Denville, New Jersey USA

Doug Treible

The Apollo, Oxford          Saturday 20 November By Simon Tordoff.

 The Hollies turned in another excellent performance at The Apollo in Oxford on a cold and damp Saturday night. This was my first visit to the Apollo, and it isn't the easiest of places to find. I made a few circuits of the Oxford streets before finally finding the theatre, perhaps not helped by a number of road closures and diversions. Indeed, Tony Hicks suggested this could well be the reason why a number of latecomers took their seats part way into the show. That said, I found the venue to be warm and inviting and certainly suited to the occasion. From my second row seat in the centre stalls, the sound quality was as good as I have heard at any venue.

Having seen The Hollies perform on numerous occasions throughout this Autumn Tour, I have to say that I was a little disappointed that the show remained essentially the same as their Spring Tour show, save for the addition of Tony Hicks' wonderful "Too Young To Be Married" which the band introduced part way through their Autumn dates. Renditions of this song in recent years have been done acoustically with just the 'front row' of Alan, Allan and Tony, but their latest arrangement now sees the 'back row' joining in, which certainly adds more depth and feeling to this great song, and provides, for me, one of the highlights of the show.

Whilst including virtually all of their 1960's hits, The Hollies also provided a generous sprinkling of other less well known songs. Using the same method adopted to great effect in "Peggy Sue Got Married" where The Hollies provide their backing to Buddy Holly's vocal, one such offering is the little known single from the mid-sixties "After The Fox" with narration from Peter Sellers.

Along the same lines as the excellent "When I'm Dead And Gone", with it's distinctive country feel and foot-tapping beat is the 1966 flip side "Running Through The Night".

The second half featured a lovely version of Paul McCartney's classic "Blackbird" with vocals provided by Tony, Alan and Ray, along with orchestration from Ian. Also of note is Graham Nash's "Butterfly", which Alan Coates has now made his own, but remaining among my personal favourites is the infectious version of "We're Through" which never fails to raise a cheer, no doubt helped by Allan Clarke's 'thoroughly convincing' keyboard skills, whilst lan Parker wanders around the auditorium with squeeze-box and head-mounted spotlight...

But it's the big hits which the audience obviously come to see, and there is no shortage of well known standards packed into the second half. The Apollo crowd seemed to take a while to 'warm up', as it were, but the closing flurry of hits, building up to the big ballads of "The Air That I Breathe" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", together with the rocking finale brought everyone to their feet.

Yet another great show.

Simon Tordoff

Glades Arena, Kidderminster        Saturday 13 November By Jeff and Barbara Bott

From the dramatic music and lights at the beginning to the last note of  Long Cool Woman, last nights show at KIDDERMINSTER played to a packed house was one of the best this tour, with the band seeming to enjoy it almost as much as the audience.

Their fantastic music was interspersed with plenty of laughing and joking, some of it at the expense of  Ian Parker concerning the result of the England - Scotland soccer game and yes Tony as you rightly said, we did end up with stiff necks after looking up at the stage for over two hours but the pleasure we got far outweighed the pain.

The show was packed with hit after hit, far too many to mention and some not so well known such as "Running Through The Night", "Not That Way At All" and "After The Fox".  Each one sounding as good if not better than the original recordings.

Allan Clarke even managed (with the help of modern technology) to 'dig up' Buddy Holly and Peter Sellers to help them out on a couple of songs and their cover versions of "When I'm Dead And Gone" and "Blackbird", the latter of which features just Ray, Alan and Tony, are in my opinion better than the originals and the rock and roll finale which featured "At The Hop", "Let's Dance" and  "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" had the audience on their feet dancing and showed what a great rock band  THE HOLLIES are.

Walking back to the car after the show and listening to the other fans, both old and newly converted talking about the great contribution of 'new boys' Ray and Ian, the terrific skills of Alan and Tony, the brilliant drumming of Bobby and the incredible voice of Clarkey I heard one guy say to his partner "I don't care what you say, they must have been miming cause nobody is that good". Well I can assure him and anyone else that   THE HOLLIES are THAT GOOD  and if they're ever in your area don't miss them.

Jeff & Barbara Bott, Nottingham

St Davids Hall, Cardiff    November 12      By Rose Burridge and friend.

'Another night' to look forward to, my heroes "The Hollies" were at St Davids Hall again.

Myself and a few friends left our small Welsh Village up at the top of the Rhymney Valley. We were looking forward to our night out and we knew we would have a good time. We had no doubt about re-living our teenage years.

Sitting in our seats we could hardly contain ourselves, then the lights went down and the music started to play. Then the array of lights flashed all around the theatre, at last my idols appeared on stage. The songs came one after another, "JUST ONE LOOK" "HERE I GO AGAIN", "I'M ALIVE" In between songs, we had a laugh with some chat from Tony and Allan about various things.

Great songs from albums like "SANDY" and the beautiful haunting "BUTTERFLY".

The Hollies rolled back the years, good memories of days gone by.

All to soon it was the end of the first half, they finished off with McGuinnes Flints "WHEN I'M DEAD AND GONE", a real foot stamping song followed by "CAROUSEL".

It wasn't too long before they were back on stage for the second half, again all the hits were there, "YES I WILL" and a re-worked "LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW".

During "WERE THROUGH", Ian Parker left the stage and went walk about and when he didn't return in time for his solo, Allan Clarke took over on keyboards - what a fine group of musicians and so professional.

Ray is a great Bass guitarist, Bobby is the greatest rock drummer of his day, lan must also be the envy of many a young musician of today, Alan Coates too showed what a good all round musician he his, and how well he uses the harmonies which is The Hollies famous trademark.

Tony Hicks who stills doesn't look his age (wonder what soap he uses) is a master on guitar and banjo, he is very under-rated. He must have worn his fingers down to the bone. Allan Clark sounds good too, but did struggle a few times.

They played songs which other groups and artists recorded, the BEATLES "BLACKBIRD" and of course BUDDY HOLLY'S "PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED" which-Tony told us was arranged by Ray.

Then before we knew it, the ever familiar chords of "THE AIR THAT I BREATHE" were played, we knew that the night was nearly over. "HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER", which must be their Anthem had the audience standing, the air was electric.

Once again they showed what a brilliant group they are. We all had a night to remember already but more was come for me.

The real highlight for me was actually meeting Tony Hicks. He was lovely, even nicer than he is on stage, such a lovely person, he actually stopped to chat to us while we were waiting for our taxi.

Such a wonderful night I will not forget it in a hurry.

Thanks to:-  TONY, BOBBY, ALLAN, RAY, IAN and ALAN

Looking forward to the next HOLLIES concert in Cardiff.

 Rose Burridge and a friend.

The Grand Theatre, Blackpool     Saturday 6th November  By Sune Eriksson

After a 4 hour drive by car, me , my wife and our two sons who are 19 and 21 years old entered the ferry in Gothenburg to go to Newcastle.
We came to Newcastle Friday morning after 24 hours of stormy weather and set course for Blackpool. The concert was to take place Saturday evening
the 6 of November so we had the whole day to enjoy ourselves on the pleasure beach.

We went to the grand theatre in good time before the concert to get in the right mood.

They started up with "Here I Go Again" and during the show they played all the big hits from the sixties. Sadly in my opinion not "The Very Last Day" which is my favorite and was a big hit in Sweden. The best songs were sang by the King of the stage, Tony Hicks.  When he sang "Running Through The Night" and "When I´m Dead And Gone"  it was fantastic.   I can only agree with my sons   when they said that he is really cool.

Other highlights were Alan Coates singing "Butterfly" and  a top version of the Beatle song "Blackbird" and when they played "He Ain´t Heavy, He´s My Brother", Allan Clarke showed the audience that he is one of the best singers in the rock´n roll history.

I also must give a big credit to Alan Coates, Ian Parker and Ray Stiles. Thank´s to them the band sounds like we want them to do, only much better
and with a drummer like Bobby Elliot it can not be much better.

Of course the concert ended much too soon and the next time I hope to see them in Sweden. I have a lot of friends who also would like to see them.

Sune Eriksson  Hölö   Sweden

The Grand Theatre, Blackpool     Saturday 6th November  By Linda Beadle

 A cold and windy night Saturday night in Blackpool may not seem the best place to be, but it was definitely warm and cosy in The Grand. The Hollies came on stage and gave the audience three of the best, "Here I Go Again", "Jennifer Eccles" and "Just One Look" to get us all going and there was no turning back now. Old favourites were enthusiastically received, some less well known ones equally enjoyed by the near capacity crowd. Lots of anecdotes from Allan and Tony kept the crowd amused, as did Ian's walkabouts with his accordion. Alan Coates mesmerised us with his version of "Butterfly" and some lovely close harmonies with Coatsie, Tony and Ray on "Blackbird" was another treat.

Sadly, the familiar harmonica heralds rapturous applause from the audience as Allan breaks into "He Ain't Heavy". It brings the house to it's feet - but then again it always does.

Just time now for a Rock & Roll finish and a final bow. Over 25 songs and over 2 hours have gone by far too quickly, but they'll be back and so will I, after all I've been going to Hollies concerts since 1963 and while ever they give everything they've got on stage like this, I'll keep coming back for more.

Linda Beadle, Sheffield

The Victoria Theatre, Halifax        Thursday 4th November  By Gordon Sampson

After 36 years in the business, The Hollies are still going strong and the changes they have made to the line-up over the years have improved the group musically.

A number of songs like "Look Through Any Window" have been given new arrangements. But hits like the frantic-paced "Stay", "Bus Stop", "Just One Look" and "King Midas In Reverse" are similar to original recordings.

Taking a different approach to parts of the act would not please all of those who expected everything to be similar to the '60s but they try to avoid being just a nostalgia band while at the same time retaining integrity.

They remain a fully fledged concert band, still clearly getting a "buzz" from playing live. And they do the whole of the show with more than two hours of music, representing good value.

Allen Clarke was outstanding on "He Ain't Heavy - He's My Brother"- the revival of which became their second number one. "The Air That 1 Breathe" remained pretty close to the original, too.

Multi-talented lead guitarist and vocalist Tony Hicks retains his youthful looks and enthusiasm. He provides some excellent harmonies and uses the banjo to full effect on one of the songs he made his own. --- "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Drummer Bobby Elliott, also with the band from the early days, pounds out the beat.

A cover version of "Peggy Sue Got Married" featured a tape of Buddy Holly with just his guitar while they played the backing then joined in vocally. They also used Peter Sellers's voice on tape during "After The Fox".

Alan Coates makes a major contribution on vocals and guitar, his singing including "Carousel" and album title track "Butterfly".

Ray Stiles, formerly with Mud, does an excellent job on bass and lan Parker is a wizard on the keyboards and accordion.

They also featured material by others including Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and McGuinness Flint.

The Victoria reverberated to a rock 'n' roll session to finish with. Clarke picking up a guitar and encouraging people to stand up and move to "Let's Dance", "At The Hop" and "Long Cool Woman (in A Black Dress)".

The Hollies show no signs of letting up like many other bands have done and look set to enter the new millennium still pulling in the crowds.

Although the attendance last night was not as big as on previous visits, probably because of the number of times they have been to this area in recent years, the attendance of about 800 was one of the best of the autumn season at the Victoria.

Gordon Sampson

Hexagon, Reading        Saturday 30 October  By Christine Brown, Henley On Thames

Set the scene - Saturday 30 October 1999 at an expectant Hexagon Theatre, Reading. The atmosphere was electric and not an occasion to be disappointed. As an ardent "Hollies" fan they only seem to get better with age. Never complacent with being a unique collection of musicians that I find perform to 110%.

The opening filled us with anticipation, the beams of dancing lights, smoke and mysterious silhouettes led to an inevitable appearance of "The Hollies".

From the opening song, "Here I Go Again" through to the finale of "Long Cool Woman", the audience were filled with joy, along with a remarkable trip down memory lane which always seems to be timeless. Although a very tight and professional group "The Hollies" seem to enjoy the gigs they perform and it never seems to be a chore, the result being a very enjoyable and entertaining evening.

Never phased by the big occasion, even when Alan's guitar string broke, the sensational six just stopped and started all over again as if nothing had happened, complete with a smile and a laugh.

I would like to thank the band for what was a fantastic evening of music and entertainment that I would recommend to any of the unconverted.

Thank you all again.

Christine Brown

The Hexagon, Reading        Saturday, 30th October 1999  By Neil Slater, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen The Hollies live in concert. It is always a thoroughly entertaining night out, and my latest visit was no exception.

It was at The Hexagon, Reading on October 30th, mid-way through their latest UK Tour. As ever, The Hexagon was packed, and The Hollies went down a storm with standing ovations and dancing at the front during the Rock & Roll finale.

There are always subtle changes to their repertoire on each tour, and on this one Alan Coates, Ray Stiles and Ian Parker have more individual involvement. Alan's beautiful interpretation of Graham Nash's "Butterfly", Ray's 'up front' harmony during the acoustic section and Ian's introduction on a couple of occasions as well as his accordion 'walk about' into the audience.

Tony Hicks handles a couple of lead vocals, and Allan Clarke contributes some fine harmonica playing in an instrumental.

"After The Fox", with Peter Sellars providing some vocal warbling is a welcome addition to the set, as are other less well known songs like "Running Through The Night". Although all the songs that you would expect to be in there, are there.

I particularly like their new treatment of "Look Through Any Window" with the marvellous guitar playing form Tony and Alan. The atmosphere builds and builds. I always look forward to this one.

My friend Tom prefers "The Air That I Breathe", I prefer "He Ain't Heavy". What does it matter? They are both great and always go down well with the audience, as almost fever pitch is reached, prior to the Rock & Roll section.

After the loud atmospheric "Long Cool Woman" finishes in a crashing finale and The Hollies take their final bow, we reflect on yet another enjoyable night with the greatest group around.

True, there were a couple of technical hitches during the first half. Some of Bobby's drums were close to collapse, but were patched up by one of the back-stage crew, and did not halt the performance as Bobby carried on regardless. A string broke on Allan's acoustic guitar a minute into a song, but a change to electric guitar and the re-start of the song meant we didn't miss a thing. "Tony's guitar solo was too good to miss", was Allan's comment before the re-start. These were minor problems and dealt with in their usual professional manner.

My mate Tom's comment at the end summed it up. "GOOD VALUE", he said. He was right, they were, as always.

Our enjoyable evening was completed with a short chat with bobby at the Stage Door afterwards. As ever, he finds time to chat with the fans and appreciates the loyalty of the regulars. As long as we continue to support the band by turning up in large numbers I reckon they will entertain us for a good while yet, and maintain their "GOOD VALUE".

Neil Slater

Alban Arena, St Albans         Friday 29th October  By Dick Evans

We may only be a couple of months away from the next Millennium but for a couple of hours on Friday 29 October the Alban Arena in St Albans was transported back several decades in time courtesy of "evergreen" band the Hollies.

Right from the opening number, the appropriately named Here I Go Again, the hundreds of fans, which seemed to span at least three generations (good old mum), were left in no doubt as to the quality of what was to follow right through to the customary Long Cool Woman finalé.

In between we were treated to an endless list of hits, some hardly noticeable from the original version, some with a different arrangement and some borrowed from other bands and given the Hollies sound, but all played with sheer enthusiasm and true professionalism.

With the impeccable drumming of Bobby Elliott and the pounding bass of Ray Stiles aided by the "cheap orchestra" of Ian Parker on keyboards providing the backing for the unmistakable harmony of Allan Clarke and guitarists Tony Hicks and Alan Coates, mixed in with some humorous banter and the odd snippet of knowledge (as provided by a waffling HICKSY) it all adds up to entertainment of the highest calibre. Ian even had time to wander around playing the "squeeze box" and sit among the audience while CLARKEY played keyboards.

With the usual array of standards, I’m Alive, Stop Stop Stop, Carrie Anne and the like along with classic numbers He Ain’t Heavy and The Air That I Breathe, through to the ELECTRONIC link up with the late Peter Sellers on After The Fox and the even later Buddy Holly on Peggy Sue Got Married, there is never enough time to include everyone’s favourite track, so it’s a shame it only lasted a couple of hours. But then people might get bored if it went on too long! By God! What am I saying? What true fan of music could ever get fed up of listening to one of the truly great bands of all time?

And so finally as we head into the aforementioned Millennium I’m sure I echo the thoughts of the many thousands that have followed you LEGENDARY HEROES over the years in hoping that you carry on for many more to come. See you next Century.

DICK EVANS

Princess Theatre, Torquay        Saturday 23rd October    By Vicki Clark & Sally Gurney

Whilst the rest of Torquay settled down to a wet and wind lashed Saturday night, a packed Princess Theatre were looking forward to an evening of nostalgia and musical excellence, and the fans were not disappointed.

From the opening bars of their first number to the last chords of the now famous rock and roll medley, the fans were singing along and bopping in their seats.

The theatre was soon ringing to the close harmonies of all the 60s favourites such as 'Carrie Anne', 'Bus Stop' and 'Stay' but special mention must be made of Ian Parker's keyboard virtuosity and Alan Coats vocal prowess on 'Butterfly' which is now becoming a firm favourite with the fans.

Ray Stiles taking centre stage with 'Blackbird' was a joy. Although Allan, Tony and Bobby are the heart of The Hollies, the "new boys" have now served their apprenticeship and are true Hollies in every sense.

We missed some of our old favourites such as Gasoline Alley and Soldiers Song but the boys more than made up for this with gems such as 'When I'm Dead and Gone', their backing of 'Peggy Sue Got Married' and the brilliant 'After the Fox.'.

What a wonderful evening. The boys still have the ability to make our skin tingle as they did on our first concert back in 1964 at the Regal in Gloucester. Considering they have been around for 37yrs they still have a rapport and chemistry between them that is both comical and entertaining.

Here's hoping they will be around for many more years to come.

Vicki Clark / Sally Gurney

By this time the front 2 rows are on their feet front of stage joined by members from other parts of the audience. It's impossible to stay in your seat. 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' is the last song of the evening and after a lot of hand clapping and foot stomping from us, Allan introduces the band and Tony Introduces Allan giving us all a chance to express our thanks and show our appreciation. Thanks guys for yet another great show, another chance to meet up with fellow HOLLIES fans and, in general, a great life as a proud HOLLIES fan!!

Liz Dewar, Reading

Sands Centre, Carlisle        Friday 8 October    By Knut Skyberg (Oslo)

Now why, may you ask, does a Norwegian travel all the way from Oslo to Manchester, and up through England to the border of Scotland, to watch a Hollies concert? The short answer is that the following day the second UK Carousel Fan Club convention was to take place, and no true Hollies fan would let the chance to reach a concert before and after that event pass by. The long answer you’ll have another time, but that’s a story about the 60’s, the quality of music, choice of material, consistency, etc.

This was the first concert in England, after the first 3 shows in Scotland, at the beginning of the autumn leg of the 1999 tour. The Sands is a modern hall in a sports and culture centre, located just outside the town centre of Carlisle. Carlisle is an historic town, with a pleasant appearance, mostly low buildings, and the castle, a fortress tower and the cathedral all give that feeling of treading on historic ground.

At the start of the show, Tony said: "We’re gonna do all the hits and a few things that you’ve never heard before. Some of you have heard them. Some of these regulars at the front have heard them – probably more than they’d wish to." Of course he was wrong. The day we get tired of The Hollies we’ll stop coming, and so far it seems the number of loyal concert goers is just increasing. Some fans save up their holidays to attend most of the concerts, and some fans even come over from the US. That says a lot for The Hollies’ ability to engage people, using just the music, not relying on scandals to get in the limelight, like many other artists.

"Here I go again" started off the show, the good spirit of the 60’s is there from the first note. "Jennifer Eccles" follows, one of the most popular self-penned songs, written after the relative poor chart performance of "King Midas", getting them a 6^th and final no 1 hit in Sweden in the spring of 1968.

"Just one look" was given the pretty much original treatment, we were not treated to the acoustic version this time.

Before giving us the Bruce Springsteen song The Hollies have made their own, Sandy, Allan states "We taught Bruce everything when he was nothing". This song has been a part of the stage act for many years now.

"Stay" followed, and this track gives Bobby the opportunity to increase the tempo, he certainly is the backbone of the group.

The next song was very special, using the special playback vocal technique that Ray Stiles had developed for the Buddy Holly and The Hollies’ song on the BH tribute album (To be heard later in the show). This time we heard the voice of the late actor who once had a hit duet with Sophia Loren ("Goodness gracious me"), Peter Sellers, doing the title track from the film "After the fox", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The outcome today was very much up to the single, perhaps more dominant keyboards, by Ian Parker. Allan told us the single was a no. 1 hit in Canada!

Ian introduced the next song as The Hollies’ first international hit, which means we got "Bus stop". The accordion certainly makes the sound different from the 1966 version, but the harmonies are the way that we know them.

The banjo starts off the next track, with Tony on vocals. It’s the single B-side of "I’m alive", namely "Running through the night", it’s a vast improvement on the old version. As we know from the singles and the album "The other side of The Hollies", the group have had so many strong self-penned single B-sides, they have so many to choose from. My only hope is that they will play "So lonely", this song has always touched me deeply.

Having finished the tune, Tony remarked dryly: "You could have done a bit of line dancing there". At this point Allan and Tony gets the audience laughing, chatting about past experiences with a rocking horse.

Then we get another B-side "Not that way at all" with acoustic guitars. This was on the flip side of " Sorry Suzanne", recently re-released as a bonus track on the French "Hollies sing Hollies". (If this one is too expensive for you, you can have it on The Hollies at Abbey Road 1966-1970.)

The most loyal fans really enjoy these b-sides, as they provide a fine break from the usual string of hits. However, The Hollies would never be allowed not to play most of them, the occasional concert goer would be disappointed. And the group certainly seems to enjoy playing the hits, still after all these years.

Alan Coates then gives Butterfly the 1999 first class treatment, almost acapella, with a modest but effective orchestral backing from Ian Parker’s magic keyboards. Just beautiful. I got a lump in my throat that lasted for the rest of the concert. I just had to walk up to Alan in the hotel bar after the concert and thank him for this performance!

Then we have the synthetic "dub-de-ru-ru" intro to I’m alive, and this song shows us that Allan’s voice may have become more low-key, but still suits the song very well. The high harmony is supplied by Tony, Alan and Ray, in a way that we no longer miss Graham.

Next is the happy-go-lucky banjo with Tony also providing nice vocals on "When I'm dead and gone", and Allan does the harmonica better than ever and Ian is on the accordion.

"On a carousel" once again gives Alan the opportunity to take Graham’s part. This song has been given a different treatment a few years ago, but here is the original. Another song to make you feel good, you almost feel present at the fair, "up down up down up down, too".

After the break, we are urged to take our seats with the usual orchestral prologue. As the band returns to the stage, the audience is clapping their hands, and we have "I can’t let go" in original form. The instrumental break is almost as we know it, maybe a little more organ, but the lead guitar is certainly there.

"Sorry Suzanne" is another hit they seldom leave out of the playing list these days, going down so well. Bobby’s drumming is once again very energetic.

"Yes I will", the classic Carol King (and co-writer Goffin) song that also was a world-wide hit, sounds better than ever. This is another song requiring harmonies, and we get them in near perfection as always. One of the songs receiving the most hand-claps.

Tony threatens to play another Carol King song, the "Locomotion", and we get a few bars, but instead "King Midas in reverse" follows. A small hit for The Hollies in the good old days, it sounds fresh, and represents a rather sophisticated break today, as it did then.

"Let’s go back to Carol King", Allan says, then talking about the Indian girl who went away with Kris Kristofferson, eventually with the help of Tony, remembering the name of Rita Coolidge, who also was a girlfriend of Graham’s." But we get no American tune this time, instead the late 90’s version of "We’re through" featuring Ian walking around the audience with the accordion and a headlight. Once again we get a laugh. Allan saves Ian, by playing the keyboards, since Ian doesn’t get back to his keyboards in time. We learn that Allan is not only a good vocalist and harmonica player, but also is a qualified organ player!!

"A few years ago we took part in a tribute album dedicated to Buddy Holly, and thanks to Ray Stiles’ expertise we were able to back Buddy Holly" says Ian, and we get "Peggy Sue got married", which is the latest recording done by The Hollies. The voice of Buddy Holly is taken from an original demo tape, the backing guitars were removed, and tempo digitally reprocessed without altering the pitch, and here we have The Hollies backing the legend after all these years. Thanks to Ray, who told me all about the recording technique on the train to London the day after the Harrogate event.

"Now we’d like to do our version of the Octopuses garden", says Tony, but instead we get "Blackbird" in 3-part harmony by Alan, Tony and Ray. So much better than the original Beatles version! "Into the light of the dark black night" Alan sings, and we are taken away in time and space.

Some noise from the guitar of Alan makes Tony joke about the importance of sound checks before shows, but I do believe Alan takes this part of the job as serious as all the others!

The long and winding string of continuous hits goes on, this time we have the acoustic version of "Look through any window", with Tony singing the vocal break. This was one of several hits Graham Gouldman (later 10CC) penned for others. The Hollies’ harmony is once again up to a high standard. Halfway through we leave the acoustic version, for the heavy rock version, with an electric lead guitar playing by Tony and Coatsy, easily envied by Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore.

"Carrie Anne" gets a near Mediterranean sounding acoustic guitar break, otherwise it’s very much up to the original. "Stop Stop Stop starts with a long banjo intro, then everyone gets hand-clapping as Allan sings "there she’s goes with cymbals on her fingers".

With the first notes of "The air that I breathe" we get that awful "the show is soon coming to an end" feeling, and anyone who hasn’t come along with a date or partner wishes he or she had. Allan’s vocals and Tony’s guitar really makes this the highlight it is. No wonder it was a hit in so many countries.

The groups latest UK no.1, "He Ain’t heavy" follows, moving us all. We all have strong memories connected to this song. I once translated the lyrics at a 60^th birthday party for a cousin. And the following night in Harrogate, when this tune was played, the girl second next to me starts crying, because she lost her brother this year.

The rock section is opened with another Buddy Holly tune, "Maybe baby", and those who want to get up and dance get an excuse. Next rocker is the Chris Montez hit, "Let’s dance", a song I used to practise the limbo twist to, standing on the carpet in the living room. I guess I don’t get that far down today, at least not without suffering knee pain for weeks after. To conclude, Allan leads the band into "Long cool woman", the US smash hit that brought Allan back to The Hollies way back. We’re thankful. Here Allan shows us that he is an able guitar player, too.

Once again, thank you to Allan, Tony, Bobby, Alan, Ray and Ian for a memorable night, this time near the ancient Roman wall of Hadrian. If The Hollies’ music may not stand the same length of time as that wall, (who knows?) they have certainly secured themselves a place in the history of British 20^th century rock.

Let’s be grateful that we are treated to great concerts year after year, 36 years after they started. No wonder they got a half page feature story with a large colour band picture in the local newspaper, The Cumberland News, on the day of the concert. Bobby was cited stating " Playing live is what we did before we started recording records and it is still one of the great thrills." That’s easy to see and hear. If you’ve ever been to a Hollies concert, you know for sure that these guys are so professional, and they really enjoy playing. Audiences are very sensitive to that, and that’s why people are filling the concert halls over and over, when The Hollies come around, even at the end of the millennium.

Knut Skyberg

Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow         Thursday 7 October   By Jana Horne

Why would someone fly "across the Pond" to see a band? 3 times?

A show like the one in Glasgow is why.

On October 7th in Glasgow, the first set went routinely and superbly as usual, with 'Here I Go Again', 'Bus Stop', Allan Clarke's 'Don't Let Me Down', etc. But the real magic happened after the interval when a man sitting in front of me shouted to Allan :- "Too Young To Be Married!" "No I'm not," was the humorous reply. After a brief discussion, the obliging band played the song almost intact. They genuinely seemed to be having fun, and it lifted the second set into another level.

For an American fan who thought she might never even get to see the band live, it was the kind of spontaneous moment that you treasure for your favourite band.

Hey, as long as you're taking requests, how about "You Need Love" or "Cos You Like To Love Me"???

And what am I doing Thanksgiving Holiday?  Grimsby Auditorium, I hope !

Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow         Thursday 7 October    By  Rochelle (Shells) Manson

What a night last night at the Concert Hall here in Glasgow.  Evergreen music, fantastic voices and harmonising!  Tony Hicks excelled himself as usual, playing even better than ever.  Bobby Elliot continues to make his mark as an excellent drummer, in my opinion the best in the business (maybe I am just prejudiced, but I stand by what I say).

Nice to have Alan Coates, Ray Stiles and Ian Parker doing a lot more than in previous tours.  They are extremely talented and they had a chance to shine last night.  Allan Clarke, my favourite of the group, was great as usual, belting out all their classics and more!

I was a bit disappointed that "Amazing Grace" wasn't re-introduced this time around, but maybe we can persuade them to bring it back for the next tour. Nor did they perform "Purple Rain" but they did the old favourites such as "I'm Alive", "The Air That I Breathe", "He Ain't Heavy", "Bus Stop"  "Stop Stop Stop" and many more classics.

Alan Coates' rendition of the Graham Nash number "Butterfly" was really excellent, even better then the original.  Alan has a wonderful voice and when he harmonises with Tony and Allan Clarke it is fantastic.   Their rendition of "After the Fox"  was superb and it took me a while to figure out where the deep voice was coming from,  Ray was hidden from my sight by Alan Coates.  Ian Parker is such a relaxed and talented performer, his keyboard work was as usual second to none and I enjoyed his little stroll around the audience whilst playing his accordion complete with his searchlight attached to his forehead.

The Hollies always seem to come up with surprises in their act and last night's version of "Peggy Sue Got Married"  with them 'backing'  the late, great Buddy Holly  due to Ray Stile's expertise was superb.

All in all it was yet another Golden Moment in the history of The Hollies.   I hope you keep on coming back to see us.So I would just like to add one final comment.  Which is "COME BACK SOON LADS. GLASGOW LOVES YOU" And so does Shells!!