Almost a year ago, I received a very nice email from the custodian of Charity Chic Towers alerting me to the fact that Teenage Fanclub would be playing at my local village hall in the new year. Ironically, this came at a time when I'd pretty much decided to retire from gigging because going out at night is far too much effort for the terminally knackered... but soon after I received a text from my long time gigging buddy Dave suggesting the same event. The fates conspired.
And so, last Saturday, I popped down the road to see original members Norman and Raymond (sadly Gerard left a few years back) and their pals (including former Gorkys' man Euros Childs on keyboards) arrive in Summer Wine territory... though nothing could have prepared me for how much these former fresh-faced Teenagers from the C86 scene now look more like they could pass for friends of Compo, Clegg and Foggy. Or, as I said to Dave when they came on stage, the bitter realisation that many of your favourite bands from 30-40 years ago now look like chemistry teachers. And with an emphasis on more recent songs such as Everything Falls Apart and a new album called Nothing Lasts Forever... well, mortality was definitely on the menu.
Despite this, the lads still know how to make a pleasingly Byrdsy indie racket, and the audience (clearly made up of hardcore Fanclub fans) were pleased with the eclectic selection. Afterwards Dave (who's a bigger fan that me) remarked he could have done with a few less "here's a song we haven't played since 1991" moments and a few more of the classics. Shockingly, neither of these got an airing on Saturday night...
Teenage Fanclub - Sparky's Dream
Teenage Fanclub - Ain't That Enough
It's at this point in proceedings I have to confess that I never quite connected with Teenage Fanclub in the way that many esteemed members of the blogeratti clearly have. Indeed, I far prefer another Scottish band of a similar era, one that's much derided by those same taste-makers. I think it comes down my obsession with lyrics - while the Fannies make a very pleasing sound, they never really say anything that sticks with me. That said, at least they closed the evening with one definite exception to that rule...
Glad you made it along.
ReplyDeleteThey don't play any songs written by Gerry Love which is disappointing as most are among the better ones.
Did they have a falling out? I knew he'd left, but didn't realise there was bad blood.
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