It’s hard to imagine a time when Steve Harley could ever be out of favour with the music establishment and not be received well by critics and some of the general public alike but the last few years has seen resurgence in the popularity of the man behind some of the most memorable songs of the seventies.

Now touring on the back of his latest solo album “Stranger Comes to Town”, Steve and his band playfully teased the vocally strong sell out audience with songs from his new collection and delving into his enormous back catalogue whilst reminding people why the audience loved him then and continue to love him today. His demeanour on stage reminds you of an aging gun fighter, a sheriff nearing the end of his time in charge of the town but who will not let anyone get away with leaving the cells just yet, not until he has berated them just one more time.  

Steve was accompanied by the multi talented Barry Wickens on violin and guitar, James Lascelles on keyboards, his long time friend Stuart Elliott on drums and the wonderful Lincoln Anderson on bass. Together they gave an outstanding gig that was kicked off with the first track of the new album “Faith and Virtue” and “Judy Teen”. This incredible start was accentuated by the addition of some gems during the set which included the Beatles cover “Here Comes the Sun”, “Mr Raffles” and the quirky “Mr Soft”.

In between them Steve thrilled the crowd with new songs such as the haunting “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn”, the Daniel Johnston song “True Love Will Find You in the End”  and the title track “Stranger Comes to Town”.

Steve finished a gripping main set with the wonderful “Tumbling Down” and one of the most frustratingly brilliant songs of all time, the classic “Sebastian”.

As Steve had said earlier “As far as the world and his gran knew, he had only ever made one song” of course the gran is wrong but if you are going to play one song as the finale of the evening then surely nothing beats the song that everybody who doesn’t know the story behind it believes is cheery and upbeat, nothing could be further from the truth with the sensational hit “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)”.

Steve and the band left the stage to applause rarely heard in this day and age, spontaneous, full of genuine love for the born entertainer and bizarrely for the audience themselves who left Steve speechless at times during the gig with their own close harmony singing.     

A night out that entertained everybody there.

Ian D. Hall

Original article