A Night to Remember with The Hollies

By Shells (Rochelle) Manson

Glasgow Pavilion Theatre 11 March 2004

At last my wishes and prayers were answered! The Hollies were returning to Glasgow for the first time since October 1999! I couldn’t wait to get my tickets and because of a glitch last year I decided just to get tickets for me and Raymond… he’s always been a Hollies fan, although not as mad as me! I had seen the Hollies with Carl Wayne and whilst they’d appeared in other parts of the UK, Scotland was missed out, but BOY did they make up for that last night!

I thought Wayne was a wee bit off at the start, but then I remembered he’d recently had laryngitis, although as the night progressed I was smitten! They sprang onto the stage to tumultuous applause and kicked off I’m Alive and worked their way through their hits from long ago. “Yes I Will” had been rearranged to the last time I’d heard it but it was superb. Then, Wayne had a break to let Alan Coates sing On a Carousel, ably helped by Tony and Ray …..Boy can that guy sing! This was followed by “Listen to Me”, “I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top”, “I Can't Let Go”, a song from the Move sung of course by Carl called “Fire Brigade” and by this time the lads had the audience singing along and doing the chorus lines for them. I was amazed at the talent of every one the Hollies but during “I’m through” we got some insight into just how clever they are. Carl started off singing and Ian played his accordion doing his little walkabout in amongst the audience.

By this time, the screen was showing shots of all the lads but when Ian came back on stage, Carl demonstrated his expertise on the keyboard with the shots on screen of him playing. Whilst he was doing that, IAN took over the lead vocals. Ian’s mum and dad were in the audience and how proud they must be of him and well deserved pride too! They are the most versatile group around… why aren’t they mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame? Carl’s bubbly personality really shone through and they all interacted well with the audience. Somehow they seemed to be a lot more relaxed than they had been the last time they were here and although I miss Allan Clarke (well, he was my favourite in those days gone by) I think Carl was the right guy for the job. Then followed, “We’re through” and “Look Through Any Window”, in a new arrangement for this tour. Of course Tony had to show off his new Sitar Guitar and kept Carl waiting till he did a wee solo! They are definitely comfortable as a band now, more so than ever! Then, the 1st half ended with a fantastic rendition of “Blowin’ in the Wind” which had left us asking for more.

Then after being treated to information on how to contact The Hollies and the websites, emails etc, the band leapt back onto the stage to rapturous applause and cheering! Carl even gave us the football score cos Celtic were playing Barcelona! Beginning with “Long Cool Woman” sung exuberantly by Carl whose voice was fully warmed up.

Through all the songs the crowd got more excited and we were all singing along to “Sorry Suzanne” & “Just One Look”,. Then Carl announced that he was going to sing “The Baby”, which I normally dislike. Remember Mikael Rikfors? That was the song he sung the first time Allan Clarke left. Carl sang it really well because it’s not an easy tune. I find it a bit flat but that’s the way it’s written but Carl has again put his signature on it. He also sang a brilliant version of “Soldier’s Song”, after that. The video wall was incredible with the flames flickering in the background. When they showed the house being blown up, I felt shivers down my spine… The technical crew they have are really amazing.

The only thing about the video wall, and I am sure it wasn’t intentional, was that there was no warning beforehand about the “flower power” type graphics could cause problems with epileptics. OOPS, there I go again, with my disability rights! “Gasoline Alley Bred” & “Too Young to Be Married” are another couple of classics, and even though Carl has a deeper voice than Allan, his rendition was amazing… and what do I say about Tony’s skills as a musician? Wow he is amazing and still looks younger than his years. I thought the guitar break in the middle of “Too Young” was fantastic… he almost makes that guitar talk! Wonder if he can get it to make him a cuppa? Then came “our song” (Raymond and mine”) that timeless classic “Bus Stop”. In the background they had the video screen showing different bus shelters but maybe “they” were actually only one. Whatever it’s still one of the nicest songs of all…Raymond always had an umbrella so that is why we call that song our OWN

When Carl started singing Blackberry way, he got us all singing along, nae…singing the chorus for him! I think that is when the audience really started to get really into the groove and start dancing. Next came “Carrie Anne” closely followed by that all time fave “Stop, Stop, Stop” again with an enthusiastic Tony on Banjo that left me totally breathless… more than usual I should say but not to worry, Carl announced the “last” song “The Air That I Breathe” and asked everyone to sit down quietly and listen…. The screen lit up and you could have heard a pin drop…. Until the chorus… all of us joining in! He couldn’t get us to shut up could he? Then “I Can Hear the Grass Grow” again encouraging us to sing along…by this time there were a lot of us dancing in the aisles…. ATMOSPHERE… it was jumping!

Gosh the only ones I haven’t mentioned are Bobby and Ray… it may make you think they weren’t there but what Hollies concert could ever be complete without Bobby on drums… the best drummer in the world … bar one… and that is my late cousin, Nat who passed away recently…. Sorry Bob but he was brilliant… Don’t worry you’re numero uno to me! Ray led us all into an energetic rendition of “Tiger Fee” and along with Alan did some great moves with the guitars… Yup, they appeared to be really enjoying themselves! By now there wasn’t one person sitting in their seats the music had us dancing… even me with me crutches! A sight to behold! We’d waited all night for it but as usual they kept the best till last… “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother! I was reserving my judgement on Carl till I heard him sing it and sing it well he did…. He’s most deffo a Hollie in my book! The evening finished with “It's In Everyone Of Us” which was beautifully sung by Carl, Alan, Tony, Ian and Ray, showing us once again what a talented harmonising group they are…. My evening didn’t end there.

 I had made up my mind before I went that after the show I’d go to the stage door, as usual. I’d chatted to Rob & Lesley Haywood over the evening as they were selling merchandise in the foyer, and I told him that he’d better get the guys out quickly so that I could say hi before going home.

I waited outside the theatre in my chariot whilst Raymond went to the car. Whilst there I met up with Gordon and Göran, two of my friends from the Hollies Forum. Göran came over from Sweden with his wife, son and a couple of friends specially to see the Hollies in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling. What a nice guy…. He even gave me a wee pressy…. a CD of Mikael Rikfors. We all chatted whilst waiting for the lads to appeared and that kept our minds off the cold weather At last some of the Hollies came out and we had a wee photo session… in it were Ray, Alan, Carl and Ian. I gave up waiting for Bobby and Tony which, was disappointing but it was such a good night, that I can forgive them..

All I want to say now to the Hollies is, please don’t leave it for another 4 or 5 years before you come back to Glasgow… think of the audience there and how much Glasgow loves you.

Come back soon!

Many Thanks to Shells