THE HOLLIES – BRIGHTON CENTRE 28.5.22
The Hollies are probably one of the most iconic bands of the 1960s and are up there with the likes of The Beatles. Their string of hits represents an extraordinary legacy of 1960s and 70s music. Since the Hollies released their first single on 17 May 1963, the group has had 30 charting singles on the UK Singles Chart. The have released 21 studio albums, 24 compilation albums, two tribute/covers albums, seven extended plays, and 67 singles.
In 2010, the Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band members inducted were Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Eric Haydock, Bobby Elliott, Bernie Calvert, and Terry Sylvester.
The current line-up includes Tony Hicks, singer/songwriter and lead guitarist, Bobby Elliott drummer, both of whom are original band members. The lead singer Peter Howarth, of the last 18 plus years, Ray Stiles (former member of Mud) on bass, Ian Parker (member of the Tom Robinson band in the 70s) on Keyboard and Steve Lauri, rhythm guitar, who joined the band in 2004. All of the band providing harmony singing in the style for which The Hollies are known.
They opened with a brief version of ‘King Midas in Reverse’ which ran into ‘I Can’t Let Go‘, followed by hit after hit, ‘Jennifer Eccles’, ‘Sorry Suzanne’, ‘On A Carousel‘ with Tony Hicks on electric banjo. Peter in between each hit talked to the loyal fans and recalled how the tour was postponed and how fantastic it was to be back playing to audiences again. ‘Gasoline Alley Bred’, ‘Magic Woman Touch’, ‘Weakness’ then Peter did a solo on acoustic guitar with ‘Priceless’. The last track before the interval was ‘Look Through Any Window‘ with Tony and Steve having a guitar solo duel!
The next set started with another string of hits including ‘Here I Go Again’, ‘Yes I Will’, ‘Bus Stop’, ‘I’m Alive’, with audience singing along with every song. Tony strapped on an ‘electric guitar sitar’ for ‘The Baby’. Peter then introduce ‘4th Of July, Asbury Park’ a song originally penned by Bruce Springsteen which The Hollies called ‘Sandy’.
Original band member Bobby Elliott came down off the drum riser to talk to the audience about some of the bands early experiences, in the 60’s including a tie cutting incident in Shoreham Airport!
Then the last leg before the encore ‘Carrie Anne’, ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!‘ (with Tony on electric banjo again), time for the iconic number one re-released 1987 ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’. The encore included another big hit ‘The Air That I Breathe’. The last number had everyone up, ‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’. It was a top gig with everyone leaving after having a great evening and many with sore throats!
1st Set:
‘King Midas In Reverse’
‘I Can’t Let Go’
‘Jennifer Eccles’
‘Sorry Suzanne’
‘On A Carousel’
‘Gasoline Alley Bred’
‘Magic Woman Touch’ (The Greatest Show on Earth cover)
‘Weakness’
‘Priceless’
‘I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top’
‘Just One Look’ (Doris Troy cover)
‘Stay’ (Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs cover)
‘Look Through Any Window’
2nd Set:
‘Here I Go Again’
‘Yes I Will’
‘Bus Stop’ (Graham Gouldman cover)
‘I’m Alive’
‘The Baby’
‘4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)‘ (Bruce Springsteen cover)
‘Carrie Anne’
‘Stop, Stop, Stop’
‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ (Kelly Gordon cover)
(encore)
‘The Air That I Breathe’ (Albert Hammond cover)
‘Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress’
For further information, visit TheHolliesOfficial.com
