I saw Squeeze at a free festival in Leeds in 1995. I have no memory at all of Squeeze themselves. However, I have lots of memories of that weekend. I remember watching Mike + The Mechanics draped in a German flag. The friends I went with were big Manchester City fans and their star striker, Uwe Rosler, was German so they always took a flag with them on their travels. It was a two day festival so I also remember the three of us sleeping in the car overnight in readiness for the next day. I remember jumping the fence so that I could smuggle my own beer into the grounds. But most of all, I remember Pulp.
Pulp at this time were at the peak of their powers. They were riding high in the charts with 'Common People'. The 'Different Class' album hadn't yet been released and only the week before, they had triumphantly headlined Glastonbury (as a last minute replacement for The Stone Roses). Roundhay Park is a bit of a bowl shape from what I remember and I watched Pulp's set from the top of a hill, sat with a crate of beer and a great view of the stage. This was the first opportunity for me to hear much of 'Different Class' and it was obvious even on first listen that it was going to be a classic. It was first time they'd played 'Live Bed Show' live and the sordid bedsit drama really intrigued me. 'Disco 2000' sounded like it would be a massive hit and 'Common People' was a triumphant crowning glory. It felt like a special time and a special gig and it was. It remains one of the best gigs I've ever seen.
Glenn plays a solo set tonight with just a guitar. His voice is comfortingly familiar but the sparse set up means that lots of the material sounds quite pedestrian. 'Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)' and closing number 'Goodbye Girl' at least have a bit more energy and attitude but on the whole, this is fairly lacklustre. There are a couple of covers included in the set. Try as he might, Glenn can't stop 'My Boy Lollypop' (a song I've never liked) from sounding twee while The Human League's 'Don't You Want Me' is just serviceable, although the crowd seem to enjoy singing the second verse back to him. The guitar and vocal combination becomes tiresome rather quickly and even classics like 'Up The Junction' sound lethargic. Glenn's vocals are still pretty good and although I haven't been impressed tonight, I think I'd probably quite enjoy him with a full band behind him.
The crowd is more sparse than the previous times I've seen King King in the same venue and it's probably half full by the time they take the stage. Maybe it's because of the crowd but something seems lacking for the first couple of numbers. It isn't really the band's fault though as they are committed right from the start but the atmosphere seems flat. Funnily enough, it picks up on the ballad, 'By Your Side'. Vocalist Alan Nimmo is in fine voice throughout but he particularly shines on the slower material. He really is one of the great voices in British classic rock, up alongside Danny Bowes and Steve Overland. The epic and emotional 'A Brief History Of Love' features fantastic Hammond and guitar solos. 'Waking Up's poppy blues is great fun whilst 'Whatever It Takes To Survive' is a fine bluesy power ballad. 'You Stopped The Rain' and 'Rush Hour' both get the crowd involved, with them singing the 'oh oh' and 'woah oh' parts. 'Rush Hour' is played slower yet more powerfully than on record and sounds much less commercial as a result. The Whitesnake-esque 'A Stranger To Love' is slowed down and the volume is brought down to a whisper for Alan's spine tingling (and incredibly quiet) guitar solo. It amazes me how people are unable to keep quiet though. One of the most consistent live acts around.
King King ****
Glenn Tilbrook **
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