r
gg
July 2017 - p.19
THE
SLADE
ROOMS
MAY
30
JUSTIN
CURRIE
The fact that Justin Currie is not a ‘National
Treasure’ is a bit of a mystery to yours truly.
Blessed with striking looks and a distinctive voice
that can equally soothe or soar, he should be at
the forefront of the minds of anyone that
remembers the mid to late 80’s and early 90’s as
being anything but stagnant. The one time singer
& songwriter of del Amitri has now released 4
solo albums of equal quality (the most recent
being 2017’s ‘This Is My Kingdom Now’) which
have sold steadily to the faithful but truly deserve
to be listened to by a much wider audience.
Having reunited del Amitri in 2014 for a short tour
of arenas and Civic Hall size venues, it now
appears that it is back to business as usual –
smaller venues and audiences with ‘intimate’
performances. But, you know what? Some of us
like it that way, especially in the setting of The
Slade Rooms where one can never be too far
away from the stage. And whilst the reunion tour
offered very little in between song ‘banter’, solo
Justin can be acerbic, amusing and engaging.
Indeed, the face pulling when hitting a ‘bum note’
is truly something to behold. Not that there were
any noticeable on this performance with his new
backing band The Pall Bearers in tow. Whether
this is a permanent move I’m not sure, but it
definitely added substantial weight to the back
catalogue and gave the whole set an urgency I’d
not seen previously.
Taking the stage with acoustic guitar,
accompanied by a slide guitarist, it’s straight into
Radio 2 staple (not a criticism!) ‘Always The Last
To Know’, one of del Amitri’s most successful
singles, this version shorn of the 80’s production
sheen (Justin describing the opening bars as like
being at “a country and western funeral”) and all
the better for the re-working. Then, another oldie
‘Tell Her This’ then the full band take over for two
solo album tracks before the surprisingly bright &
breezy ‘Hey Polly’ from the new album. ‘Out Of
My Control’ from debut ‘What Is Love For?’
follows before another dip into the del Amitri back
catalogue with ‘Just Like A Man’ and the sublime
‘This Side Of The Morning’, probably my
highlights of the evening.
The second half of the set featured a further five
songs from the new album, including the title
track (which I am still trying to understand the
timing of – give it a listen & you’ll understand …
), nods to albums two and three (‘The Great War’
and ‘Lower Reaches’), plus ‘If I Ever Loved You’
from the debut, a bona fide classic up there with
Justin’s greatest dels moments. There’s also time
for a few more of those dels moments with
‘Driving With The Breaks On’ and ‘Move Away
Jimmy Blue’ along with a real surprise, ‘Buttons
On My Clothes’ the single that should have been
from the final del Amitri album ‘Can You Do Me
Good’ which seemingly only a handful of people
recognised. After ‘I Love The Sea’ from ‘This Is
My Kingdom Now’ brings the set to a slowly
brooding close, there is the small matter of a four
song encore including the eerily prescient ‘No,
Surrender’ and another dels gem, ‘Be My
Downfall’ to close.
So, another winner for Mr. Currie. The warmth in
the room from audience to band was truly
reciprocated, Justin saying how much he always
enjoys playing in Wolverhampton and the
response he gets. If you went to this show, I’m
sure you’ll agree that the man is truly a master of
his craft. If you missed it then make sure you’re
there next time, you will not be disappointed.
Bongo Bryan.
