Thomas Edison at the Brighton Roundhouse
The 160 year old man tottered around the stage, his crude (though effective) homemade life-prolonging apparatus strapped to his back. Pausing between halting, half-remembered anecdotes about his childhood and early career, he took continual gasping breaths from his krypton-ether inhaler and appeared somewhat confused. "Do Mary!" cried a voice from the audience. "I'm getting to that, young man," replied Edison. "Everything in its place. Cut me some slack here. I invented the fucking lightbulb fer chrissakes." But eventually, he could deprive the crowd of the hit single no longer and launched into a breathtaking performance of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" that had every last man, woman and child cheering and stampeding towards the merch stall to buy reproductions of the legendary wax cylinder recording. Seeing the crowd migrate thus, Edison smiled a tight, secret smile to himself and exited through the skylight astride a flying velocipede of his own design.
GIG GUIDE:
10 June: Cook, cook, cook, cookability - The Skanky Mermaid, Bridlington
15 June: Polystyrene Ankles - Heathers, Shrewsbury
26 June: Raised by Robots - Pick n Fresh, Mundesley
31 June: Voodoo Pastries - The Valiant Combover, Stoke Newington
2 July: Butterflies Eat People - The Life Laundry Centre, Worthing
4 July: Musical Ruth (The Musical Youth / Ruth Langsford reggae extravaganza) - Oppenheimers Nightclub, Barry Island.
9 July: Once I was A Swan - The Health and Safety, Jersey
16 July: Listening to Apples - World of Leather, Plymouth
20 July: Vench - The Abacus, Lincoln
FEATURE REVIEW:
Leo Sayer tribute evening, G-mex, Manchester.
Leo Sayer's stock has rarely been higher. What with a successful run in last year's Celebrity Big Brother, and top new hip bands like The Scissor Sisters, Mika and some other ones like that echoing his trademark smooth "disco king" falsetto, it is little wonder that his name seems to be everywhere these days (if you look in the right places). So when an all star tribute to Leo Sayer was announced the whole world raised a cheer, and held their respective breaths, and on a beautiful Sunday evening in May me, and seventy thousand other people, skipped along to G-mex for an evening's royal entertainment.
The performance kicked off in some style with Hot Hot Heat who did an amazingly powerful explosive Punky version of When I Need You. This was immediately followed by The Arcade Fire's version of Grandmas Party (originally a Sayer produced hit for Paul Nicholas). They were then joined by Sal Solo (lead singer of eighties new wavers Cabaret Voltaire) for a spine tingling version of More Than I Can Say.
One of the surprises of the night followed when The Chemicals Brothers gave an absolutely extraordinary performance of their legendary extended remix version of Giving It All Away draughting in Midge Ure and Hazel O'Connor for the vocodered harmony vocals.
A huge cheer went up shortly after when a slight, familiarly tousled dark-haired singer walked onto the stage, followed by a groan when it was realised that it wasn't Leo Sayer - it was actually Anita Dobson. Then another roof lifting cheer went up when a further familiarly tousled dark-haired singer in trademark seventies clothes walked onto the stage, followed by an even bigger groan when it could be seen it was actually Queen Guitarist Brian May. They proceeded to play a rather good version of May's solo hit Driven by You - later explained as the backing music to Leo Sayers favourite TV commercial.
Glitterballs were sent spinning above the crowds, and as a frisson of excitement rippled through the arena The Polyphonic Spree came on for their choral disco re-reading of the classic Sayer hit One Man Band.
With the excitement at fever pitch Leo Sayer took to the stage and received an 8 minute standing ovation and then proceeded to introduce Brian Eno. Eno treated the audience to his 27 minute minimalist, ambient reworking of You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, whilst Sayer stood to one side looking enthusiastic, and occasionally tapping his foot.
Then it was all over. Leo Sayer left the stage and the crowd left the auditorium safe in the knowledge that the memories of such a night can never die.