Artists: Quireboys/Willie Dowling/The Continental Lovers
Venue: London: Islington Assembly Rooms
Date: 24 November 2024
"The show has gone quickly and is over too soon, always the sign of a good gig."
Quireboys have always cheered me up when I see them. Despite the cost of living crisis, the crowd are here to have a good time, knowing that, no matter what, there will be a party atmosphere and a chance to forget about what’s going on in the rest of the world.
Openers Continental Lovers have Rocked up their usual set, knowing that Quireboys set the bar high. I enjoyed them delivering all three-minute Punky numbers with full on Rock ‘n’ Roll guitar, rather than some of their more sentimental Poppy tunes. They also seem to have cranked up their image in all quarters to suit. Nice to see them upping their game.
Willie Dowling and The Invisible Band were next. Willie Dowling is currently playing live with the Quireboys and used to be in The Grip. His set is not really Rock ‘n’Roll, more singer/songwriter a la Elton John and not really my cup of tea. He is aware that he is not a usual Quireboys support act and preps the crowd by saying “If you don’t like it, just don’t shit on my dreams”. He tells the crowd when to applaud when he puts his hand up. It works! He introduces ‘F*ck You Goodbye’ by saying it was a song he wrote when Donald Trump went out of office thinking he would never come back, as he himself said “Wrong!”.
The Quireboys are looking to the future and this is a set almost half full of new songs from their latest ‘Wardour Street’ album. They kick off with ‘Jeeze Louise’, their first single since the split with Guy Griffin & Co. It’s fifties Rock ‘n’ Roll inspired fun and, true to form, ever the uplifting frontman, Spike comes on with a glass half full. The line-up with original member lively Nigel Mogg on bass and Thunder guitarist Luke Morley, never short of a classy guitar solo, is a well oiled machine. Tonight it’s Harry James on drums, back again as The Quireboys’ 30th drummer, and Willie Dowling on keys: they slot right in having been in and around The Quireboys for a while. After ‘Can’t Park Here’ and two much loved older tracks ‘Misled’ and ‘Sweet Maryann’, it’s time for ‘Raining Whiskey’, another honky-tonk, piano-rockin’ single from the new album. It’s a Frankie Miller tune and Spike does not forget to pay tribute to him at the end.
Spike spends a lot of the set introducing and hugging the band and introduces Willie Dowling before ‘Whipping Boy’ and “my friend from Terraplane Luke Morley!” (Terraplane being the band in the eighties that morphed into Thunder) before ‘Tramps And Thieves’. The family atmosphere on stage is real and had sadly disappeared from the old Quireboys line-up before they split. It’s great to see it back again just like the old days with the original line-up.
After big hit ‘Hey You’ there’s two new songs. ‘You And I’, more of a ballad-y song on the album, is rocked up live, but being somewhat sentimental Moggy and Spike sing the song to each other, hamming it up at the front. Before the song Spike sets the humorous tone by throwing out his carnation to the crowd. “There ya go love. Sorry it fell short…bit like my life”. He also observes that the men in the crowd are probably on their second or third marriage. “The one you’re with now you’ll be with for the rest of your life” he spouts with a big grin on his face. Afterwards he says “who would have back in the day that members of Terraplane, Quireboys and The Grip would have ended up on stage together”. He is right, it would have been a novel thought at the time. But it works very well, as more new tracks ‘I Think I Got It Wrong Again’ and ‘Happy’ show. Between those new ones they do ‘King Of New York’ which family and friend orientated Spike explains was his dad’s favourite song. Asking Morley what’s the next song again a few times, Spike’s spontaneity is one of his most endearing qualities.
A suite of older tracks takes us to the end; ‘There She Goes Again’, ‘Roses And Rings’ and ‘7 O’clock’ - the chorus of which the crowd sings along with, without a prompt. Cheered on for the encore we got new track ‘Like It Or Not’ and classic ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore’. The show has gone quickly and is over too soon, always the sign of a good gig. Even though I love to hear ‘Mayfair’ I still loved the set with the new songs. Contrary to recent comments from former Quireboys, tonight showed that along with Rock ‘n’ Roll the Quireboys are not only alive, but thriving as a new band with a new line-up. Not merely a heritage act, but definitely a great band with a heritage!
Review & Photos: Dawn Osborne
Gallery: All photos © Dawn Osborne (used with kind permission)
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