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. “ '. .. ' N B DEBORAH HARRY v - ROCK "WW INTERNATIONAL JAZZ Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, 17July. . FESTIVAL 17-35 Aug,
Again
King Tut's. Glasgow. 1() July . The last train from Trancentral loitered at the platform. but we we re
I having none ofit. Hang
the bleep-besotted DJ; down the unfashionable end of town. the kidsare alright with their own particular kind ofsweat release. lfit's Wednesday. it mUst be the ABBA revival. . .
Bjorn Again are onstage. and boy are they Swedish. Well. no actually: Bjorn Again are four rum coves from Melbourne. a sun-soaked joint not a million (just a
few thousand) miles from
snow-clad Stockholm. But here they are tonight. in the flesh and in the plastic thigh boots and shiny lip gloss. For those damn fool enough not to have caught the joke yet. Bjorn Again are bfj )orn mimics. Four harmonised souls who fell asleep one night only mfind themselves. come the morrow reincarnated as the greatest living Swedes. And no. we're not talking Rosette or turnips.
And. by Volvo. they’re rocktastic! Bjorn Again.
as faultless look- and
sound-alikes. offer the best sensational
experience this side ofa
‘ megamixorgasm. Song
details areirrelevancies. obvious as they all are to
' every single person the
world over — we‘re talking heretheanthemsthat
‘ spawned a ‘68 spawned
kid's sexuality. psychology and vocabulary (‘Andante
Andante'. ‘Mama Mia'. ‘Chiquitita’ — pop
Esperanto for
1 Eurodudes). Mininga
repertoire as impeccable and fulsome as ABBA's. how could they fail‘.’
As it is. our 02 heroes steal the Scandic crown
; from their source gurus.
In a kind of post-coital delirium we danced and sang and swayed and clapped. With spurious accents and naff patter. blondy wigs and spookily uncanny impersonations. Bjorn
Again converted us. road-to-Damascus-like. to the glories of our 70s youth.
But where the flip was
- “Thank You For The Music“? (Craig McLean)
L____ ._ -
44 The List 26 July — 8 August 19615
When all’s said and done, no matter how good the performance is, Deborah Harry live is a nostalgia trip. Despite the inclusion of the solo successes — ‘I Want That Man‘ and ‘French Kissin“ — she is living off her former glories. For the audience, unbothered by trivialities like artistic integrity, it‘s no bad thing. A bullwhip-brandishing Harry going through a set of Blondie singles is infinitely more enjoyable than most other contemporary live attractions. After all, it is impossible ever to have heard the likes of ‘Call Me’, ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ or ‘Heart Of Glass’ too often.
Despite tabloid attention to her shape, on stage she is still a star, kicking her shoes into the audience and encoring with a caustic ‘Hip HerTo Shreds‘ and covers of 22 Top and Led Zepplin tracks. That much of the show would probably not look out of place as Las Vegas cabaret only slightly dampens the enthusiasm for reliving
IGLASGOW BARROWLAND (226 4679) De La Soul. 11) Aug: All About Eve. 8 Sep: Level ~12. 3 Oct; Billy Bragg. 18 ,j Oct:Stiff1.ittleliingers. .; l9()ct:(‘arter—'l‘he % L'nstoppable Sex Machine. 2 Noyzlames.6 ’ Nov: The Farm: 1 Dec. I IGLASGOW CONCERT
HALL(3323123)('hesnev llawkes.22()ct;Neil ' I. Sedaka.24 ()ct;'1'aniinv Wynette. 12 Nov; Deacon Blue. 27—28 [)ec. y; IGLASGOW SECC(557
" 6969) Dire Straits. 11--l-l I Sep: Whitney 1 Iotlsloli.
1 l7~~19Sep1Sting.23Nov:
I (‘hris Rea. 2‘) Nov; New
i Kids()n'1'heBlock.S
. Dec;(iary(ilitter.23--24
ouryouth. The going-throughthe- I i motions indifference of last year’s shows has been replaced by what
seems like a genuine lust for live I)“. SIIOWS and SUQQBSIS Harry Will be I EDINBURGH CASTLE I belting out all the old favourites well 5 ESPLANADE (557 5959) Van ' into the next century. (James Morrison. 29 Aug. Haliburton) I EDINBURGH PLAYHDUSE
(557259”)Marillion.22
S.E.C.C., Glasgow, 16 July. Great. Dur seats are so far back that the performers resemble Subbuteo models and I'd have had a betterview from my Edinburgh flat. Still, at leastwe journos didn’t fork out £14 for the privilege like the poor sods in the wilderness around us. Criminal. However. . .
God knows why Jesus Jones are supporting INXS (mickey-take, crossover-appeal, record company buy-on?) but their acid-rock megabites sound massive tonight. A frenzied, miserly short set, consistently exuding both original style and stunning aural ferocity. A hard act to follow.
The INXS sound is as crisp (surprise surprise!) as JJ‘s was muddy, and opening volleys, particularly New Sensation, impress. But the set flounders thereafter, rapidly becoming a one-dimensional, rockist dirge. ‘Aaaalriiiight Glaaaaasgow?!!’ Well, it‘s only rock’n'roll, but. . . Call me a
1 prude, but Mick Hutchence strikes me
Sep: Lloyd (ole. lS()ct; (‘hesney 1 lawkes. 21 ()ct: Kylie Minogue. -l Nov '. .lames. 9 Nov; Deacon Blue. 29-31) Nov: Fish. 31 [)ec.
I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S HALL(661s' 2lll9) Martin Stephenson. 12-13Aug; Billy Bragg. 2(l()ct.
JAZZ & FOLK
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(332 3123) ('ricket Number. 13- 15 Aug; .lohn 'l‘aylor 'l‘rio. 2(L-22 Aug: Whistle Stop Jazz Tour. 26 Nov. I GLASGOW PAVILION
(33218-16)(‘ourtneyl’ine. 12 Aug: Branford
1 Marsalis. 6 Sep.
; IEDINBURGH QUEEN‘S
’ HALL(6682()19)1iric
Bogle. 14 Aug; Dick
(iaughan. 15 Aug:
Battlefield Band. 16—18
Aug: (‘irand I'nion Band.
16—17 Aug; Joe Pass. 1‘)
Aug: Barney
Kessell ()liverJones. 20 Aug: Boys of the [.ough. 23~25 Aug: (‘arol Kidd ck
‘ ()rchestra.26.»\ug:
Tommy Smith. 27 Aug;
Carol Kidd & (ieorgie
; Fame.27—28Aug;
EgbertoUismonti.2S
' Aug: Clusone Trio. 29
: Aug:
i Blcy Swallow Sheppard.
: 3(1Aug; Tam White Band.
1:5. . l,
l as a bloke with marginally less charisma than a rabid stoat. There’s a rotten smugness about his sex-god antics which triggers off much silliness in the womanfolk present but leaves us chaps scratching our heads in bewilderment. Tonight, he (con)fuses Jim Morrison's lazy stage-slithering with various sub-Jaggerisms — a ham, but able frontman, strong of voice and leather oftrouser, almost convincing. The Antipodean rock-funk almost is, too: INXS songs are grossly uneven of ; quality (here, as elsewhere, they . resemble Iatterday Stones) and some , are outrightplodders, sounding cruelly A 5 pedestrian besidethejuicyintegrity of . . Disappear, Mystify and By My Side. : Disappointing and, ultimately, tedious. Hock concert ‘rules‘ decree 1 a that, to be worth their (£14) salt, a band i mustplayfor90 minutes. Halfan ' hour's highlights would have been i champion-the extra hour stretched it I 5 all into mundanity. Notbadfor ‘ I
Subbuteo modelsthough. (Paulw. Hullah)
Programme dctailsand tickets are available from
the El.lF.116(‘anongate. Edinburgh. E118 SDD
(11315571642).
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT
HALL (332 3123) Rebecca Storm. 19 Aug.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (557 259(1) Marti Webb & Mark Battray . 7 ()ct: Rebecca Storm. ll()ct; lohn Denver. 2(l()ct; Iilkic Brooks. 2 Nov; lingelbert llumperdinck. 2| Nov.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL1332 3133) Nigel Kennedy. 26‘ Aug; ('in oI (ilasgow l’hil. 3llAug. 1.6 Sep: .lamcs ( ialway. 31 Aug; Mozart l-‘estiv al ()rchestra. 2—3 Sep; S('(). 4 Sep: llalle Orchestra. 5 Sep: BB('SS(). lllSep: Scottish ()pera ()rch & (horns. 11 Sep; (1ch) Philharmonic. 12-«14 Sep: Scottish Fantasia. 15 Sep; (icorgian State ()rchestra. 23 Sep: 'l'okyo S( ). 8 ()ct; Leningrad l’hil. 21 Nov. I GLASGOW SECC(557 6969) Jose ('arreras. 9 )ec. I EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL AND FRINGE lllAug—l Sep. Programme details and tickets are as ailablc from the Festival Box Office. 21 Market Street. lidinburgh Ell] lBW ((131225 5756). The Fringe Box Office is at 180 Iligh Street. Iidinburgh [£11110Slfl312265138). (‘oncerts at the Queen’s Hall can also be booked at the venue (6682019). I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (226’ 1155)(ieorgian State ()rchestra. 25 Sep.
I SUBSCRIPTION SEASONS Subscription booking only is now open for the Winter Seasons featuring the Royal Scottish Orchestra. the Scottish (‘hamber Orchestra. and Scottish ()pera.1.eaf1etsare available from the organisations concerned. or from major venues.