CHINA CRISIS – ROPETACKLE ARTS CENTRE, SHOREHAM-BY- SEA 14.10.23
China Crisis made a welcome return to the Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham this evening. I first became aware of China Crisis when I heard their debut single ‘African & White’ which I snapped up on Virgin 12” and still have to this very day! It was a 1982 remix of their 7” 1981 release on Inevitable Records. I honestly don’t think that it sounds dated at all unlike many of the contemporary tunes of the time. The B-side of my 12” is fab too as it contains the totally dreamy ‘Red Sails’ which, for me, is quite possibly their best ever composition.
I was fortunate to have seen China Crisis play live back in the day on at least a couple of occasions, maybe even more, but without a ticket for every concert I have been to, I don’t have the 100% confirmation that I was there! What I do know is that I attended the Simple Minds concert at Brighton Dome on 3rd December 1982 and China Crisis were the support act. I had actually forgotten that they were the support until this evening’s concert when vocalist Gary Daly referenced their Simple Minds support slots. China Crisis returned to Brighton to play at the Top Rank Suite on 6th June 1983 along with Howard Jones who I have never been a fan of so chose not to attend that show, but I was back seeing China Crisis on the outskirts of Brighton when they played the Mandela Hall at the University of Sussex on 26th January 1984. This was the last time I chose to see them live until four years ago when they popped up at tonight’s venue, the multi-award winning Ropetackle Arts Centre which is situated on the banks of the River Adur in Shoreham-by-Sea.
Like their previous appearance here, the event this evening has sold out. The Shoreham faithful feel it a duty to patronise this impressive building, one I have to add that is mainly run by around eighty volunteers and that speaks volumes about how proud they are of the towering structure erected immediately next door to The Norfolk Bridge.
Tonight’s show is essentially split into two halves, thus allowing time to top up the liquid refreshment and/or queue for the respective toilets in the 26 minute interval. The first half runs to 66 minutes and the second half comes in at 64 minutes, so plenty of time to get plenty of hits in then! Errr actually no! Anyone who has witnessed China Crisis headline sets over the past few years will already be aware of why, but for those of you who are currently unaware, the culprit is Gary Daly!
If you imagine that a China Crisis performance is something in the region of 50% music and 50% banter, some of which jovially flies very close to the wind, then you get the drift. Gary loves to gas, but that part of the enjoyment of the shows, you never quite know what he is going to say next. Tonight we are reminded on more than one occasion that he and his best chum, guitarist Eddie Lundon, formed China Crisis way back in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside and that they were part of a wave of new Liverpool acts in the late 1970s and early 1980s that were led by Wirral based ‘posh boys’ Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark; the Score brothers, Mike and Ali with Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, namely A Flock Of Seagulls; Julian Cope and his pals in The Teardrop Explodes; Ian McCulloch and the Echo & The Bunnymen lads; Pete Wylie’s Wah! Heat; and of course Holly Johnson’s controversial Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Liverpool was really buzzing!
Gary, who incidentally reminds me of Holly Johnson, as he sounds just like him when he talks, is a likeable fellow and it seems anything is game between tracks, whether it’s taking the pee out of themselves, us (the audience) or even other music artists. It’s fair to say that like men’s stag do’s, as in what goes on during the stag weekend stays on the stag weekend, tonight’s observations regarding others in the music industry must stay imprinted on the inside of the Ropetackle walls only! So that just leaves us to discuss the music…..
The current band lineup is the aforementioned Gary Daly (vocals) and Eddie Lundon (guitar/vocals), with newish band members Jack Hymers (synths) and Eric Animan (sax). They are stationed in a straight line with Swiss born Eric to our left (stage right), then to his left is Eddie, then Gary, and with Jack, who is clearly fighting a cold, on the far side (our right). The sound quality inside this box-shaped room, which I believe is seating a tight 200 people (although they can go up to 350 when standing), is crisp clear as you would expect a venue of this calibre to be, even though it is a registered charity.
The quartet kick off at 8:08pm with 1983’s ‘Here Come A Raincloud’ and you can immediately see what a fabulous musician Eric is as he blows into his electronic flute, which was possibly manufactured by Roland. Throughout the performance Eric switches between the flute and his saxophone and when on the latter and performing a leading break in the respective tunes, he is rewarded by in song applause! I can also recall him on the shakers for one of the tracks as well. Jack is in charge of the Yamaha keyboard as well as an M-Audio unit with knobs to tweak, and there’s a laptop by his side as well. He also offers up backing vocals as does Eddie who switches between his two guitars. You already know what Gary gets up to, but on the penultimate track of the night, ‘Christian’, he unveils his melodica to duet with Eric on his flute.
We learned some interesting facts this evening including that Gary and Eddie had written most of the songs when they were living in their mums houses at the ages of 18 and 19 and their musical tastes were absorbed from their eldest sisters who were into artists that included David Bowie and Stevie Wonder. We also learned that they weren’t staying in a hotel in Shoreham, but actually up in Horsham.
Although the first set was 66 minutes in length we were given just eight tunes within that period. The second being ‘The Soul Awakening’ which has a lovely Summer breeze feel to it and reminds me of the work of Dream Academy. The third selection was a rare tune in the form of ‘It’s Never Too Late’ which was released back in 1985 as the B-side of the 12” edition of the ‘Black Man Ray’ single. Although I thought that Gary had stated that keyboardist Jack had put together a new working of it and that it would be out some time next year. Selection four tonight was ‘Temptation’s Big Blue Eyes’ and this segued straight into ‘Red Sails’, which meant that I could go home a happy man!
The lads saw out part one with 1985’s reggae vibed ‘Strength Of Character’, which was one of the tunes that Eric got applauded for. After this came ‘Bigger The Punch I’m Feeling’ from the same ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album, and they rounded off with Eddie on lead vocals for ‘Fool’ from 2015’s ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ album, which if anyone had purchased during lockdown and had signed then the cat was let out of the bag tonight! It’s 9:14pm and time for a break.
The band returned at 9:40pm and got right down to 1986’s ‘Arizona Sky’ and went straight into ‘Best Kept Secret’ from the same ‘What Price Paradise’ album. The absolute classic ‘African And White’ followed and I merrily sang along. The mood was increased as Gary suggested that we all stand up for the next hit track ‘Black Man Ray’ and indeed those that could remained standing for the rest of the set until its conclusion at 10:44pm. I noted that Eric was utilising a tambourine for this number, and Eddie was back on lead vocals for ‘Wishful Thinking’. The upbeat ‘King In A Catholic Style’ followed, which is another of my favourites.
Their penultimate selection was the slower vibed ‘Christian’ which saw Gary on the melodica, and the quartet bailed out with the title track of their 1989 album ‘Diary Of A Hollow Horse’, which somewhat bemused me as it was easily the weakest tune of the evening and taken from a lesser album. They would have been better off finishing with a boppy number such as ‘Working With Fire And Steel’ or ‘Some People I Know To Lead Fantastic Lives’. And that was it! Another enjoyable night out in the Ropetackle!
China Crisis:
Gary Daly – vocals
Eddie Lundon – guitars/vocals
Jack Hymers – synths/laptop
Eric Animan – sax/flute
China Crisis setlist:
Set One:
‘Here Come A Raincloud’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘The Soul Awakening’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘It’s Never Too Late’ (from 1985 12” release of ‘Black Man Ray’ single)
‘Temptation’s Big Blue Eyes’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms..’ album)
‘Red Sails’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms..’ album)
‘Strength Of Character’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Bigger The Punch I’m Feeling’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Fool’ (from 2015 ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ album)
Set Two:
‘Arizona Sky’ (from 1986 ‘What Price’ Paradise’ album)
‘Best Kept Secret’ (from 1986 ‘What Price Paradise’ album)
‘African And White’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms..’ album)
‘Black Man Ray’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Wishful Thinking’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘King In A Catholic Style’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Christian’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms..’ album)
‘Diary Of A Hollow Horse’ (from 1989 ‘Diary Of A Hollow Horse’ album)
More info on China Crisis HERE.
