About Vince Eager / Gigs & Other News

Vince Eager Gigs and Information

(in chronological order starting with the latest news.)

Latest Gig:
28.12.2019 UK-Radciffe on Trent, The Grange - Vince Eager and The Memphis Tones & many others, Xmas Show at The Grange

Earlier news and gigs:

Americana International at Prestwold Park Airfield, Loughborough.
10 - 13th July 2014.
A star studded line-up: Chas'n Dave, Chris Farlowe, Vince Eager & The Memphis Tones, The Jive Aces, Shawn Harvey & B57, New Amen Corner and many more, see poster.

British Rock'n Roll Legend Vince Eager & The Memphis Tones
plus other Rock'n Roll Legends - 20 June 2014 at Chambers, Darlington, 19:00h

The 2 i's Coffee Bar Veterans rock again - Reunion # 7!
Where: Borderline London, Manette St.
When:   27th January 2013, doors 5pm,
              live music from 5:15 - 10:30pm
Featuring Vince Eager, Mike Berry and more, see poster.

 

788 Years Of Rock 'n' Roll (2012) - Vince Eager
1950s British Rock 'n' Roll original Vince Eager presents his new album, featuring a host of guest rockers including Marty Wilde, Chas Hodges, Albert Lee and others.
Eager rose to stardom in the late 50s with release on the Decca, Parlophone and Top Rank labels, going on to become a favourite on national TV shows like Jack Good's Oh Boy! and Drumbeat.
Vince and his all-star line-up of rockin' legends sound great today, and this album will be a welcome release for his fans and collectors of Great British Rock 'n' Roll.

 

30 Jan 2010:
ONE of the earliest entries in Pete Clemons’s 50-year rock diary is January 28, 1960, when American stars Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent joined Britain’s Vince Eager in a rock ‘n’ roll package assembled by impresario Larry Parnes. Their show at the old Gaumont was part of a trail-blazing tour that ended in tragedy as Cochran, who had established himself with hits like Summetime Blues, C’mon Everybody and Somethin’ Else, was killed in a car crash in Chippenham on April 17.
January 30: a special anniversary concert just over the road from the original venue at the SQ Club, in Whitefriars Street. Vince Eager performed along others as stated on the poster.
 

2i's Coffee Bar, Reunion #3 - 19th April 2009
Famous 2i's coffee bar, cradle of so many musicians, celebrates Reunion #3 at 100Club London on. "Rockin' at the TV Hop" - 3rd Annual 2I's Celebration. Buddy Britten, Ray Duvale, Vince Eager, Wee Willie Harris, Russ Sainty 2I’s no3 band: Dick Middleton (lead guitar), Brian 'Licorice' Locking (bass), Clem Cattini (drums), Chas McDevitt, Mark Goodwin, Hylda Sims, John Pilgrim, Simon Prager, Kevin Stenson, Pete Stanley.

2008 Eddie Cochran Memorial Chippenham
Vince Eager with Rockola on the bill.

Vince Eager @ 100Club London, January 2007,
2 I's Reunion Gig # 1 

In 1958, the Vagabonds (Brian 'Liquorice' Locking on bass, Roy Clark on guitar and vocals, Mick Fretwell on washboard and drums and Roy Taylor (later Vince Eager) on guitar and lead vocal) entered the grandly-named World Skiffle Championships which saw them reach the televised final on BBC Television's "Come Dancing". A disappointing second place did not deter the boys and they were offered a residency at the famous 2 I's Coffee Bar in London's West End. It was not long before they were booked by pop Svengali Larry Parnes, manager of Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, for a Sunday concert in Coventry. According to common consent, Vince was the star of the show! Photos by Shanghai Fred who was lucky to attend, thanks for letting me use.

Vince Eager and Albert Lee, 2007,
met up after 45 years. I saw Vince Eager also on a Hogan's Heroes gig in summer 2008 at The Stetson, Ravenshead, when he came to see the band. Albert dedicated one song to him.

Links:

Book: Rockin' at The 2 i's Coffee Bar

Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds

Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds wurden in den Szenen von Hamburg und London immer bekannter. Die Gefolgschaft der Thunderbirds wuchs, und es wurde die erste Single aufgenommen, Air Travel. Durch Air Travel wurde Columbia Records aufmerksam, und es entstanden fünf weitere Scheiben, allerdings ohne den verdienten Verkaufserfolg. Buzz The Fuzz wurde bei den Mods beliebt und beim Stormy Monday Blues glaubte jeder an einen schwarzen Bluesman. 'Little Joe Cook' war kein anderer als Chris.

Albert Lee hatte eine hohe Meinung von der Qualität der damaligen Band, aber das brachte kein Geld. Die Wende kam 1966 in Gestalt von Andrew Loog Oldham. Oldham war damals noch Manager der Rolling Stones und Gründer des neuen Labels „Immediate". Was lag näher, als die Songs der Rolling Stones zu covern und sich Mick Jagger als Produzenten zu holen? Die Rolling Stones arbeiteten zu dieser Zeit an „Aftermath". Chris erzählt bei seinen Gigs davon, dass Mick Jagger und Keith Richards „Out Of Time" speziell für ihn geschrieben hatten.

Older photos:

Albert: "In May 1964, I joined Chris Farlowe and I stayed with him 4 years. I thought it was a great band - the best in Britain at what we did... but we never got much in the way of recognition or public acclaim. It was very frustrating; we'd support bands like The Animals, who were terribly ragged in comparison, with very little feeling or finesse - and they'd go down a storm while we got a smattering of applause from the few punters who weren't in the bar. I've got tapes of some of our gigs and they still stand up - some of our stuff was killer! Farlowe was a dynamite singer! But there was practically no crowd reaction. We worked solidly for years ... tours, one nighters, all nighters, doubles, trips to Germany and Scandinavia - we went all over the place, but we never cracked it beyond a certain level."

Line up:

Chris Farlowe - vocals
(born John Henry Deighton, October 13th 1940, Essex)
Albert Lee - guitar
Dave Greenslade/Pete Solley - keyboards
Rick Charmon/Bugs Waddel - bass
Jerry Temple - congas
Johnny Wise/Ian Hague/Carl Palmer - drums

(photo left: Thunderbirds 1965)

"By the end of '67, Farlowe had decided to revamp the band - so it was him backed by a trio, with Pete Solley (aka Pete Shelley & Pete Sheridan) playing bass pedals as well as the usual stuff on his organ...but by this time I was getting a bit bored with R&B and the way the rock scene was going. Everyone was into huge Marshall stacks and maximum power, and that sort of thing held no appeal for me."

Some Links:
Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds in brief
The British Sound, Thunderbirds various line-ups


Recent photos:

Ocober 2010. With another former "Thunderbird",
Dave Greenslade at Berlin's Kesselhaus after a Colosseum Gig.

Albert and Chris Farlowe at St Veit Burgkultur Festival, Austria, Sep 2010 - two old mates smiling just for me: these two enjoyed each others company, sharing memories and having fun.

Chris Farlowe joining Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes
at St Veit Burgkultur Festival, Austria, Sep 2010
(STORMY MONDAY BLUES).

Chris Farlowe with Albert, Sep 2006,
at 100Club London. Chris showed up and joined the band for one song as a surprise guest.








Albert Lee Recordings w/Chris Farlowe/Thunderbirds:


1992 / 2013

Waiting In The Wings - Chris Farlowe (1992 / re-released 28 June 2013)
Zur Produktion holte man 1992 bekannte Namen der Rockszene. Alleine die Liste an Gitarristen ist beachtlich: Alvin Lee (ex Ten Years After), Albert Lee, Mickey Moody (ex Whitesnake), Clem Clempson (ex Humble Pie/Colosseum), Geoff Whitehorn (If, Roger Chapman) und die beiden Studio-/Sessiongitarristen Phil Palmer und Tony Crooks. Am Bass wirkten Boz Burrel (King Crimson, Bad Company), Leo Lyons (Ten Years After) und Sessionbassist Kuma Harada mit. Am Schlagzeug saß Charlie Morgan, an den Keyboards Tim Hinkley und Andy Nye. Sam Brown sang Backing Vocals ein.


1977 and earlier

Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds Featuring Albert Lee (1977) - Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds
UK 12-track compilation






e

Live! (1975) - The Chris Farlowe Band
RECORDED AT THE MARQUEE (28/7/75) AND THE LYCEUM (6/8/75), POLYDOR, CD reissue Out Of Time CDEC 7 Tracks: We're Gonna Make It / Rhyme And Time* / Peace Of Mind* / After Midnight / Only Women Bleed / Mandy* / Hot Property / Handbags And Gladrags / Medley: You Haven't Done Nothin' - It Ain't No Use*, CD bonus track: We Can Work It Out
Chris Farlowe: vocals with Albert Lee, guitar; Jean Roussel, keyboards; Pat Donaldson, bass; Gerry Conway; Chris Mercer & Ron Carthy: The "Gonzales" horns; Madeline Bell & Joanne Williams: backing vocals

Moanin' (1967) - Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds
Line-up:
Chris Farlowe - vocals
Albert Lee - guitar
Ricky Chapman - Bass
Peter Solley - Organ
Carl Palmer - drums

CHRIS FARLOWE & THE THUNDERBIRDS Columbia SX 6034, February 1966; reissued as STORMY MONDAY, Music for Pleasure MFP1186, October, 1967; and under it's original title on Charly CR 30021, 1977.
All the tracks (+2) are also on Buzz With The Fuzz
Stormy Monday Blues (Parts 1 & 2) / Reelin' And Rockin' / Just A Dream / Hey Hey Hey Hey / Hound Dog / What You Gonna Do / I Remember / Itty Bitty Pieces / Girl Trouble / Push Push / Voodoo

Dig the Buzz: Complete Recordings 1962-1965 (1962) - Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds
Original Release Date: 1962
Audio CD (November 2, 2007)









Some newspaper snippets from the early days:

All nighters at legendary Flamingo Club, Soho/London

OUT OF TIME in the Top Twenty
- from zero to #23, and climbing up -











Chris Farlowe - A review from a UK newspaper, August 2000
(click on the picture to enlarge)

Legendary 100Club, London, Oxford Street Survives

Good News:  100 Club Survives

An unlikely source has stepped up to save London's historic 100 Club. After months of support from music's elite as the 68-year-old landmark faced foreclosure, the Converse athletic footwear company is buying in. Former Beatle Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones' Ron Wood and Mick Jagger and more lent their fame to raise publicity and cash for the club in efforts to keep it open. Now Converse is partnering with the famed destination to promote its brand. Right so!

(source U.J.Benson News) 

Newspaper articles, comments and other stuff concerning the campaign SAVE THE 100CLUB:

100 Club, London - to close at the end of the year!

by Mike Sanchez on Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 11:12

You may have seen an article in today's London Evening Standard:Closure Threat To 100 Club

ITS stage has seen the West End debuts of Oasis, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Buzzcocks, while Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Paul Weller can still sometimes be glimpsed in the audience.

Yet the 100 Club in Oxford Street - described by Aerosmith's Joe Perry as "the finest rock'n'roll club in the world" - could close within a few months because of soaring overheads unless it can find a buyer. Its rates bill has hit £4,000 a month and landlord Lazari Investments now charges rent, with VAT, of £166,000 a year.

The cellar club's owner, Jeff Horton, said: "It makes me so angry. The Government, Westminster council and even some of the commercial landlords say they want to help small businesses, they say they want to preserve London's uniqueness, they want to help multi-cultural venues.

"Yet we're all that and all these organisations have all dumped on us from a great height." His father started running the venue in 1964, but it opened in 1942 as a jazz club.

Mr Horton sees few alternatives to closure after Lazari raised the rent by 45 per cent. "In 1985, when I took over, the rent was barely £11,000 In the US the rents are frozen at certain venues that have a bit of heritage. Here it's a total free-for-all."

He added: "What the 100 Club needs is a buyer or major sponsor to step forward. Barring that, we're closing at Christmas despite being as popular as ever. It really is insane."

I believe the closure threat is very real. So this could be your last chance to buy tickets for this small, intimate and historic club..

Me and my band will be performing our last show there on Saturday 2nd October 2010.

Mike: I've probably played the 100 Club 300 times since 1984.

______________________________________________

Kommentare von Ulle Bayer aus der Schweiz:
Hallo Gudrun,
dies ist auch für mich eine ganz schlechte Nachricht, weil viele Erinnerungen wieder wach wurden und nun bald "kein Zuhause" mehr haben. Ich wünsche Dir eine schöne Woche.
Grüess
Ulle

26 Sep 2010
Liebe Gudrun,
wir haben heute innerhalb unserer Internetradiosendung (Memoryhits FM Heartbeat Radio) " UK-CHARTS September 1961 + 1962" dieses Thema aufgegriffen und über die bevorstehende Schliessung berichtet und dabei auch auf Deine Seite hingewiesen. Ich hoffe, dass wir alle gemeinsam zusammen eine Lösung finden um die Schliessung abwenden zu können.
Grüess
Ulle


Antwort G.S. 26 Sep 2010
Lieber Ulle,
das finde ich ja fantastisch & herzlichen Dank !!! Es geht leider zur Zeit vielen Clubs ähnlich, aber dies ist sicher ein besonderer Fall, da viel Historie dranhängt. Im Frühjahr wollte man auch den "Half Moon" in Putney/London (ebenfalls historisch, die Stones, U2 u. viele andere haben dort gespielt) schließen, dort ist es jedoch gelungen, ihn zu erhalten. Die Resonanz bei den Musikfreunden war überwältigend; ich habe das damals auch mit verfolgt

Ein Internet-Freund und ständiger Gast im 100Club hat in UK eine Kampagne gestartet und alle möglichen einflussreichen Stellen angeschrieben; ich werde ihm von deiner Aktion berichten.
Ganz lieben Dank nochmals und einen schönen Sonntag,
_______________________________________



Below: Save the 100 Club campaign Robert Elms interview
BBC Radio London 94.9
Robert Elms Show with Clem Cattini & Tony Morrison

Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes at 100Club London - 03 Dec 2010

100Club London - 03 Dec 2010

After the great 'Save the 100 Club gig' feat.Ronnie Wood, Stephen Dale Petit, Chris Barber, Dick Taylor and many others two days earlier, I went to pay the Club a second visit, this time to see Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes.

Line-Up:
Albert Lee, git, voc, keyb.
Gerry Hogan, steel guitar, git
Peter Baron, drums, voc
Brian Hodgson, bass, backgr voc
Gavin Povey, key, voc

About the gig: 3rd Dec 2010
Last gigs for this year, hopefully not the last one at legendary 100Club. forever ... It was so nice meeting up with old and new friends, Karen from London, Sarah & Dave, Anja from Belgium and others from the UK which I hadn't seen for quite some time. There were no changes to the setlist, Albert dedicated the Heads Hands & Feet title SONG AND DANCE to an old friend of his who came to see him after 10 years. Gerry's excellent steel guitar work on RUNAWAY TRAIN was received with extra applause, same goes for Gavin with GLORY BOUND.

Despite of his cold, Peter did an excellent job on I'LL NEVER GET OVER YOU, also his OH DARLING got extra cheers, obviously many Beatles fans among the audience! To quote my friend Babs 'it's hard to get the drummer on a photo' ;-), indeed, I hardly managed to get a proper pic of Peter!

Albert also referred to the threatening closure of the club and said he hopes that this wasn't their last gig at the legendary venue. I thought the club wasn't sold out but there were many latecomers due to the bad weather conditions and eventually it got really packed.

Karen Edlin and I saving the 100Club - or at least trying .. ;-)
(Albert & Hogan's Heroes 100Club gig on 3rd December 2010).

Albert joined the campaign.

Set List London, 100 Club
Set 1
YOUR BOYS (Gerry acoustic guitar)
RESTLESS
SONG AND DANCE
TRAVELIN' PRAYER
RUNAWAY TRAIN
GLORY BOUND (Gavin Povey voc)
I'M COMING HOME
WHEELS
I'LL NEVER GET OVER YOU (Peter Baron voc)
THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR THE SUNRISE (mainly instrumental, Gav voc)
RAD GUMBO
HIGHWAYMAN  (Albert on piano)
BREATHLESS  (Albert on piano, Gerry on guitar))

Set 2
BARNYARD BOOGIE
TWO STEP TOO
YOU'RE ONLY LONELY (Gerry Hogan & AL acoustic guitars)
LEAVE THE CANDLE (Peter Baron voc)
ON THE VERGE
LET IT BE ME (piano time for Albert)
OH DARLING  (Peter Baron voc)
LEAVE MY WOMAN ALONE
TILL I GAIN CONTROL AGAIN (Albert on piano)
COUNTRY BOY

Encore
SKIP ROPE SONG (Albert & Gav on piano)
TEAR IT UP

SAVE THE 100 CLUB - A Very Special Benefit Gig on 01 Dec 2010

SAVE THE 100 CLUB, Benefit Gig on 01 Dec 2010
featuring Stephen Dale Petit & His Band
Special Guests: Ronnie Wood, Mick Taylor, Chris Barber and Dick Taylor
with
Jack Greenwood, drums
Laurenzo Mouflier, harmonica
Damon Wilson, drums
Sam Odiwe, bass

My photos are posted in a Flickr album, just click on the Ronnie photo to the right and you are there !

I added a press review (link below) which says it all, so no further comments needed. It was one of the gigs you don't see every day, full of emotions, fun and excellent music.
Let's all hope for the best, long live the 100 Club.






Preview by MUSIC NEWS:

100 Club campaign

added: 7 Nov 2010 // by: Andy Snipper

 

London's iconic but beleaguered Temple to Music, Oxford Street's 100 Club,continues to receive increasingly high profile pledges of support from the worlds of rock and blues.
New Blues pioneer Stephen Dale Petit has announced the donation of all proceeds from the forthcoming single taken from his new album 'The Crave', the appropriately titled 'Need Your Love So Bad', to the Save The 100 Club campaign. The single, now officially titled 'Need Your Love So Bad (Save The 100 Club)' is released on December 6th and is expected to sell heavily to an enthusiastic, fast-growing and proactive grassroots movement which includes nearly 20,000 Facebook supporters.

This follows Stephen Dale Petit's December 1st 100 Club Benefit gig at the club featuring Special Guests, Rolling Stones' guitarists Ronnie Wood and Mick Taylor and (exclusively confirmed here) a rare live appearance from octogenarian British Blues Boom architect, jazz trombonist Chris Barber.

In the early 1960s, Barber (along with blues trailblazers Alexis Korner and John Mayall) was directly responsible for encouraging young hopeful musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and members of The Rolling Stones and helped to foment the British Blues explosion that in turn resulted in the British Blues Invasion exported back to the US in the mid to late 1960s.

Organizer Petit enthuses 't's fantastic that Chris Barber's coming down to play ' he's the Godfather of modern British music and his connections to the 100 Club are deep and longstanding'.

PRO 7 NEWS WROTE:
Ronnie Wood und Mick Taylor waren gestern Teil einer Rettungsaktion
für den legendären Londoner 100 Club.
Dem Club droht wegen der ständig steigenden Mieten und explodierenden Kosten die Schließung. Mit einer Reihe von Benefizkonzerten wollen inzwischen etablierte Stars helfen, wieder Geld in die Kassen zu spülen. Wood ist schon lange ein Unterstützer des 100 Club und hatte sich laut BBC 6 Music für die Veranstaltung mit Mick Taylor, dem Gitarristen, den er bei den Rolling Stones ersetzt hatte und Jazz-Musiker Chris Barber zusammengetan. Besitzer Jeff Horton wäre gezwungen den Club Weihnachten zu schließen, wenn er keine finanzielle Unterstützung erhält. Angeblich hat Frank Black von den Pixies dem Club inzwischen 150.000 US-Dollar gespendet.
Author WENN

• This review names it:
  The Daily Telegraph - Save the 100 Club, London

  "It was Ronnie Wood's remarkably youthful performance which transformed this benefit gig to save the venue into a rock 'n’ roll concert. Rating: * * * * " (full article under above link)

   

Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes at the 100Club London - 18 Dec 2009

Last HHs gig in 2009 and the last gig for Elio with Hogan's Heroes before he left the band. Due to bad weather conditions (heavy snow storm over here) my flight was cancelled, and I unfortunately had to miss this gig    :-(

Elio Pace leaving Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes

We've been knowing this already for quite a while but as it hadn't been announced officially, there was no way to post it earlier. Here's Elio's official statement (www.eliopace.com): Although I'm a bit sad I'm wishing Elio every success and hope to see him touring Germany one day and was flattered that he asked me for assistance on his project "Conquering Germany" (even if I contributed only bits and pieces). Me, Jilly and lots of other friends will be at 100Club tomorrow at Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes last gig of this year - which will also be Elio's farewell gig with this brilliant band.


December 11th 2009
"At the beginning of this year and with the release of my debut album coming up, I made a decision to devote all of my professional time to my own music from hereon in. And when I informed Albert Lee in June that the gig at the 100 Club in London, on December 18th would be my last with him and Hogan's Heroes, it was with the very intention that I was going to concentrate on my band, my tours and my music.

But when Sir Terry Wogan specifically asked me if I would like to be his Musical Director and my band be his House Band for his forthcoming new radio show in 2010, there was no way I was going to turn down that sort of incredible, once-in-a-lifetime offer.

And so, this morning Terry announced the news to the nation on 'Wake Up To Wogan'. It is the biggest honour to have been asked and a duty that I can't wait to fulfill.

And yes, December 18th is not only significant because it will be Terry Wogan's last ever breakfast show but also that same evening will be my last gig with the great Albert Lee and his band, Hogan's Heroes." 

ABCD of Boogie Woogie, The 100Club London, feat. Charlie Watts & Special Guests - 13 June 2009

HOT PIANOS - LONDON - 100CLUB Boogie Woogie mit Starbesetzung !
ABC&D of Boogie Woogie feat. Charlie Watts and very special guests

with BEN WATERS, AXEL ZWINGENBERGER & CHARLIE WATTS !!!
... and very special guests
(Willie Garnett and Julian Webster Greaves on Sax, Chris Jagger and Hamish Maxwell on vocals, Jeremy (Jez) Rowe on guitar)

Fantastic time at the legendary 100Club, ! Queuing at the door for almost 2 hrs (or longer?). We were number 3 or 4 in the row, and this secured us fantastic seats at the very front. Although there was a great line-up, most of the people were waiting for Charlie Watts! When he finally entered the club, there was pure excitement in the air. Ben Waters kicked off with a solo of "Down the Road Apiece". Axel Zwingenberger introduced himself, said a few words of his collaboration with Ben Waters and Charlie and started his set with "Boogie in the barrelhouse" and the "Suitcase Blues". The band consisted of Dave Green on bass, Willie Garnett and Julian Webster Greaves on Sax. First guest musician was Bridport based blues singer Hamish Maxwell being introduced as someone who'd sung at Ian Stewart's wedding. Then Chris Jagger was on bringing his "own" special guest ... Atcha band member Charlie Hart who played the accordion.
Needless to say that this was one hell of a gig. Someone said about Charlie: "His smiles and range of other amazing facial expressions were hilarious" and I can only confirm this. 

The icing on the cake was that I shook Charlie's hand and thanked him after the show. Thanks also to Axel Zwingenberger for his kind words and the personalized autograph for me.

The ABCD of Boogie Woogie are:
Axel Zwingenberger
Ben Waters
Charlie Watts
Dave Green


The Finale of the 100Club gig on Saturday June 13th 2009 starring Ben Waters and Axel Zwingenberger with a band consisting of Dave Green on bass, Willie Garnett and Julian Webster Greaves on Sax, Chris Jagger and Hamish Maxwell on vocals, and Charlie Watts on drums.

About Dave Green (source NME):
Born 5 March 1942, London, England. Surprisingly for a bass player of such skill and prestige, Green is self-taught. His first important engagement as a professional musician was with the Don Rendell-Ian Carr band which he joined in the early 60s. By the end of the decade he had established himself as a major figure, having worked with musicians as diverse as Stan Tracey and Humphrey Lyttelton. He also played and recorded with many front-rank visiting Americans who counted themselves fortunate in having his solidity and flair behind them. For a while in the early 80s he led his own group, Fingers, which featured Lol Coxhill, Bruce Turner and Michael Garrick. Throughout the 80s and into the following decades, Green remained at the forefront of British jazz, working with Peter King, Didier Lockwood, Spike Robinson and a host of other British and visiting jazzmen. A superb timekeeper and exceptional soloist, Green is the essence of the international jazz musician.

Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes at 100Club London - 30 May 2008

100Club London - 30 May 2008
Band:
Albert Lee, git, voc, key
Gerry Hogan, steel guitar, git
Peter Baron, drums, voc
Brian Hodgson, bass, backgr voc
Elio Pace, key, acc, voc

Special Guests:  The EP Horns


Jim Driver announced in his latest newsletter "don't panic, Albert will show up for the gig". So I booked a last-minute-flight to London, although it was only for one gig. But having seen the band for almost 8 weeks, I decided to do the trip. And it turned out to be worth every effort ....

Arrived from tropical Berlin (30°C) to misty Luton and took the bus to Oxford Street as my hotel was in walking distance to 100Club. Weather in London left to be desired but fortunately it didn't rain. Met up with Sarah in the afternoon and both being so excited, we decided to treat us with a meal in Chinatown, a drink or two in a pub in Wardour Street and then headed for the club. Luckily we arrived early enough to be the first ones in the queue which got longer and longer. Everybody was excited to see Albert after his unfortunate accident and we killed time having nice chats with the waiting crowd. The band were already downstairs and did their warm-up, I could hear bits and pieces from some songs. Downstairs in the club, temps were high, a good excuse to immediately get us drinks from the bar. After a while Albert and the boys were there, rubbing shoulders with the crowd. Everybody wanted to shake hands and say hello to him. I had a few words with him and Wayne who was there as well. Albert told me about his accident and said he was feeling ok now.

The band took to the stage not too late and from the first minute it turned out that Albert was in great shape as were the others. I stood at the side behind Gerry and could watch him operating his steel, which is amazing, also had a good view at Albert, too. From the start, the ice was broken and they went through their set with their usual raving speed. The setlist was slightly changed and the last song before the break was "Rad Gumbo" from the new album. As a surprise, Elio had brought along his horn players, the EP horns ! As this song deals with New Orleans, I felt being in the James Bond movie with the famous Jazz funeral. The sousaphone player was awesome and knocked our socks off. That band rocked, the horns fitted in 100 %, people went totally crazy. I took a photo, but as the horn section were standing at the far end, it didn't come out too well.

Albert and Hogan's Heroes smiled broadly and enjoyed this special feature to the full as everyone could see ! The rest of the show went off without a hitch, Albert's warhorse Country Boy was done perfectly and left some boys in the front row staring at his flying fingers with mouths wide open. The horns came in again and did a great job on "Grandpa" as well. What a show ! Sarah and I enjoyed every minute, a lot of Jack D's involved and so much fun.

Later nice chats to everyone, getting stuff signed until it was time to say goodbye. Thanks to Albert and everybody else for the great show. They are back WITH A BANG, thumbs up and a big THANK YOU !! Now looking forward to next week at Chiddingfold Club.

Set List  (not complete and not always in the right order)
I'm Ready
Restless
Two Step Too
Tiger Rag
I'll never get over you
Why me
Breathless
Rad Gumbo  (special guests: The EP Horns)
Barnyard Boogie
Crying in the Rain
Can your grandpa rock'n roll like this   (special guests: The EP Horns)
Leave my woman alone
Till I gain control again 
Country Boy

Encore:
Don't
Hound Dog
Tear it up

Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes, 100Club London - 22 Sep 2006

100Club London - 22 Sep 2006

Band:
Albert Lee, git, voc, key
Gerry Hogan, steel guitar, git
Peter Baron, drums, voc
Brian Hodgson, bass, backgr voc
Elio Pace, key, acc, voc

Surprise guests:  Chris Farlowe and Wayne Lee.

100Club London Oxford Street. Great gigs at 100Club over the years, always a pleasure to be here. I didn't know that this time it would turn into a special event!

My brief review: Arrived in the UK in heavy rain but as I was in good mood, it didn't really affect me. 100Club was packed with people, the support wasn' t too bad however the name escaped me. I spotted a couple of familiar faces in the crowd, the 'usual suspects' also Chris Farlowe was strolling around. Thought by myself, that could probably give a nice surprise later  ....

Albert & Hogans were on around 9 pm and they really tore the house down. People were dancing like mad. The piano player sitting in was a certain Elio Pace who reminded me a bit of Pete Wingfield but also of 'Our Mike' as he jumped around while playing, hammering on the keys like mad, laughing all the time and obviously enjoying himself. As the band said, they didn't rehearse with him and played out of the cold but it was simply breathtaking.

The 2nd set was even more neckbreaking. One of my all time favourites "One way rider" caused applause already in the middle as it was so good. I was pleased that they did the Elvis stuff again which I missed at the last gigs. "Country boy" was a killer.

For the encore, Wayne Lee joined in doing "Mean woman blues"  and they all enjoyed it to the full. Wayne did the singing which was great as he has a fine singing voice. Finally Albert asked Chris Farlowe onstage, and they alltogether did "Tear it up" with Chris on vocals. What a reunion ! The Sixties came back. So I was finally lucky to see Chris Farlowe as I always missed him for one reason or another when he played in my neck of the woods. What a surprise, briefly talked to him later and took a fine photo of him and Albert.


Set List - only bits and pieces
I'm ready
One Way Rider 
Two more bottles of wine
Tiger Rag
Back in the USA
Man of constant sorrow
Brandnew heartache
Real Wild Child
Sleepless Nights
Country Boy
Encore:
Don't 
Hounddog
Mean Woman Blues  - with Wayne Lee
Tear it up - with Wayne Lee and Chris Farlowe

Comments:

From: thisisjuanitatoo - originally sent: 25/09/2006

WOW...can't wait to see that Chris Farlowe photo Gudrun, have a great time in the UK and sorry that the weather has changed for the worse.

From: jillydesmo350 - originally sent: 26/09/2006

Great to hear you had a fab time, Gudrun, and Chris Farlowe joining in too bet that was awsome.

Das Foto von Chris und Albert habe ich nach der Show im 100Club London gemacht. Albert hat einen Stapel CDs unterm Arm, dies ist das neue Album der Rolling Drunks 'PUKKA BLOKES', auf dem er bei einigen Stücken mitgespielt hat. Die CDs habe ich quasi 'im Auftrag' unseres gemeinsamen Freundes Georg Grimm (Bassgitarrist der Rolling Drunks) für Albert mit nach UK genommen.

Das Foto habe ich mir zwei Jahre später von Chris F bei einem Berliner Konzert signieren lassen. Dieser Mann hat ein Super-Gedächtnis, denn er konnte sich noch genau erinnern, wann und wo es gemacht wurde !

Mike Sanchez, 100Club London - 09 Jan 2005

Band:
Mike Sanchez,  key, voc
Andy Sylvester, guitar
Mark Morgan, drums
Horn section

Guest:
Imelda May (then Clabby)
The Extraordinaires

 Great gig at the 100Club London - full house. Mike and Band created an incredible atmosphere. Unfortunately my camera skills were only low-key, so just a handful of poor mobile photos here.