JOHN OTWAY & WILD WILLY BARRETT – ROPETACKLE ARTS CENTRE, SHOREHAM 8.7.23
I have seen John Otway perform many times over the years in various guises since my teenage years, but I had never had the pleasure to see him play a gig with Wild Willy Barrett.
Tonight was set to put things right and the excellent Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham was the venue in which it would all take place. We got to Shoreham pretty early via choo-choo train on this warmest of days, and headed to ‘The Old Star’ beforehand to get ourselves watered (a real ale pub that is definitely worth checking out on your travels). Shoreham was buzzing today as they were hosting an annual boat race, Toyah Wilcox was in town and loud dance music was being blasted out on the waterfront. The atmosphere was lively and it seemed like the place to be, especially as John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett were also in attendance.
John Otway is a regular fixture at Lancing’s very own ‘Glastonwick‘ festival, so he is no stranger to playing around this part of the country. Born in Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire), he released his first single in 1972, but achieved most notoriety during the early Punk years when he performed a legendary ball-busting performance on the BBC’s ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’ (once seen, never forgotten). ‘Really Free’ was his big breakthrough hit which reached No.27 in the UK charts and his first album was recorded with Wild Willy Barrett and was produced by Pete Townsend. John Otway even had the pleasure of appearing on the very last episode of the classic anarchic 1980’s TV comedy show by the name of ‘The Young Ones’. He has also written a biography and had a film made about him, named appropriately ‘Otway : The Movie (Rock n Roll’s Greatest Failure)’ which is a very fun watch. He has also toured with Southwick’s very own Atilla The Stockbroker on many occasions and they wrote a rock opera called ‘Cheryl’ together.
Wild Willy Barrett also hails from Aylesbury and is perhaps normally known as Roger John Barrett, which I think you will agree is not quite as catchy. He is an experimental musician and multi instrumentalist who is probably best known for his Otway collaborations. He plays music in the style of Folk/Blues/Psychedelia and Punk Rock with dashings of humour and wit sprinkled on the top. He is recognised as a great fiddle player and is also known to play slide guitar with an egg (also known as ‘egg-necking’). He has also recently introduced a ‘Wah-Wah Wheelie Bin’ to his repertoire so I’m hoping I’ll get to see that tonight. He has toured with the likes of Madness and Squeeze over the years and has even played steel guitar on a renowned Reggae album. As if that wasn’t interesting enough, he is a skilled carpenter and even released his ‘Organic Bondage’ record in a wooden sleeve. Not many people can say that.
We got to The Ropetackle Arts Centre at 8pm for doors opening time but as we walked over the threshold, we noticed straight away that Otway and Barrett were already on stage (very prompt, I must say), John Otway was stage right, barely wearing his trademark white shirt and Wild Willy Barrett was on the left, surrounded by an interesting array of musical instruments.
Their first song of the night was ‘Louisa On A Horse’ followed by ‘Gypsy’ which featured Wild Willy Barrett on slide guitar (I couldn’t make out if he was using an egg or not). By song three, it was ‘hit song’ time in the form of 1977 Punk Rock classic ‘Really Free’ which is always a highlight of any John Otway set, and tonight was no exception. These two performers definitely had a good rapport with each other and there was much comical banter coming from the stage that can only come from spending many years in friendship together.
They played a song called ‘Bluey Green’ and I couldn’t get a classic ‘Tomorrow People’ story out of my mind (70’s kids sci-fi TV show for the benefit of the younger readers). That particular story is called ‘Blue And The Green’ and I do believe, totally unrelated. The last song of this particular set was an old one by the name of ‘Body Talk’. I had forgotten about this song and hadn’t seen Otway perform this in many years. He basically straps various bits of electronic body percussion to his body and sings the song while he plays the beat, and at the same time, beating himself up in the process. It was a very entertaining watch, which put a big smile on my face (The funniest song they’ve written since ‘Headbutts’).
We were then treated to a twenty minute interval before heading swiftly back to our seats for round two of the night’s proceedings. Otway and Barrett quickly assumed their positions on the stage and explained that they never really got to ‘Jam’ together nowadays. We witnessed tonight’s rare ‘jam’ though, in the form of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, accompanied by John Otway’s famous theremin. The second song choice was a bit of a strange one, being a cover of ‘Two Little Boys’ which they followed up with one of their own ditty’s (‘Real Tears From Both Eyes’). Another favourite of mine was up next, by the name of ‘Beware Of The Flowers (‘Cause I’m Sure They’re Gonna Get You, Yeh)’. This bonkers but catchy little number always goes down well and is one of their more Punk Rock sounding songs. John Otway was in full flow at this point as he ripped open his shirt, sending buttons flying into the audience.
I must also mention that Wild Willy Barrett did indeed have his Wah-Wah Wheelie Bin onstage and was using it to great effect throughout the performance. This particular sound effect seemed to be operated by him opening and closing the lid (definitely something you don’t see everyday). Throughout the set, Willy swapped around with his instruments, proving what a versatile musician he is. At one point he dug out his banjo and they both played the intro to the classic scene in the film ‘Deliverance’ (also from the 1970’s). He also played his guitar whilst sawing into it mid song and hitting it with a large hammer. He announced that they would be auctioning it off at the end of the gig (a snip at £30.00) and assured us that none of the money would be going to charity. The last song of the second set was ‘Cheryl’ which is a key song from John Otway and Atilla The Stockbroker’s rock opera, which went down really well with the crowd.
John Otway explained that Wild Willy Barrett did not believe in encores, but somehow hoodwinked him into playing another couple of numbers before the curtain was down. The first song was ‘Racing Cars’ in which Barrett was playing a slide instrument in such a way that it did indeed sound like lots of racing cars speeding around a racetrack. The last song of the night was ‘Geneve’ which featured Wild Willy Barrett’s very own and unique ‘Bagpuss’ bagpipes which I was really looking forward to seeing him put into action (I wasn’t disappointed). Then sadly, it was time for them both to bid us farewell.
Otway and Barrett joined us all in the foyer afterwards and they had their photo taken with the new owner of the coveted broken guitar from earlier in the night. The owner seemed very happy with his new purchase too, and who could blame him? A very amusing and entertaining time was had by all tonight and my giggling face muscles were certainly put through their paces. The Ropetackle Centre is a great venue and it was a perfect setting for tonight’s music and hilarity. Otway & Barrett are currently on tour together, so check them out at a town/city near you (or the flowers will get you, yeh).
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett setlist:
Part One:
‘Louisa On A Horse’
‘Gypsy’
‘Really Free’
‘If I Did’
‘Separated’
‘Misty Mountain’
‘Bluey Green’
‘Body Talk’
Part Two:
“Jam”
‘Two Little Boys’
‘Real Tears From Both Eyes’
‘Beware Of The Flowers (‘Cause I’m Sure They’re Gonna Get You, Yeh)’
‘Snowflake’
‘21 Days’
‘Come Back Darling’
‘Cheryl’
(encore)
‘Racing Cars’
‘Geneve’
www.johnotway.com
www.wildwillybarrett.com
