Good old Gaz! It was a cold bleak winter evening (my favourite sort) when my dear old pal Gaz called me on the blower & asked if I'd like to go with him to see the Only Ones in Leeds. The Only Ones? the bloody Only Ones? Is the pope a catholic? do bears shit in the woods? You're damn right I wanna go see 'em. It's been many a yonker since I witnessed these cats on stage. It was either Wakefield Unity Hall, or the Leeds Futurama or Sci-fi festivals & for the life of me I cannot remember which one was the last time.
This wasn't the only surprise heaped on me, for when I picked him up on the night of the gig I was reliably informed that we'd got guesty for the show. 'How the bloody hell did you manage that?' I quipped. Then with a sage tap of his nose with his forefinger, 'contacts,' quoth he.
You see our Gaz has a certain gift for survival when it comes to the wild & wacky world of rock'n'roll.
Gawd bless 'im.
So it was, we hit a couple of bars in Leeds & bumped into a few more like minded individuals who were making their way down to the Brudenell. It was here that I experienced the mother of all tragedies. As I was taking a few shots with my trusty old slr, the whole thing froze up.'Leaky capacitors a gogo!'
Absolutely devastated, I threw the offending slr in the boot of the jam jar & as luck would have it, found the compact camera I'd been using to take snapshots of my then 11 year old wallet draining skateboarder. I guess one must be thankful for small mercies.
Hence the reason, my fluffy little cherubs, why some of these shots are somewhat awash with noise. Also I know a lot of them are a little similar, but I just couldn't help myself, I had to throw 'em on the blog.
Trawl through them dear reader, make your own mind up & please feel free to purloin any that may take your fancy.
A band like the Only Ones demand it!
The Brudenell is a fantastic venue, which affords a great view from anywhere you care to stand & the air was rife with anticipation. Were we actually going to see the Only Ones after all these years? You bet your sweet little behind we were!
For here they were in all their ragged glory, every last man jack of them; Perry, Perrett, Kellie & Mair. No cheap half assed reunion for these fine fellows. Your genial host was so excited I didn't know whether to shit, shave or have a haircut.
Instead I opted for the safer, cleaner option & absorbed the whole beautiful affair, interspersed with taking the occasional snapshot.
I was finding this all a little hard to soak in. I was merely inches away from the genius that is the Only Ones.
Peter Perrett with his white shirt draped loosely over thin, emaciated shoulders. No matter what people tell you, he's still every inch, the prettiest star! Indeed, back in their heyday, most of the girls I knew fancied the pants off him. He had those boyish good looks which made Brian Jones look like a flatulent hod carrier with a face like a bag of rhinocerous toenail clippings.
The voice is a little higher pitched these days, but it doth not demean any of those timeless classics.
John Perry was guitar perfection, as the licks & lead breaks pealed exquisitely & effortlessly from those fingers.
To any young kid looking to emulate a great musician, I would say 'look no further young person, for here is knowledge indeed.'
We were treated to 'mucho numero' songs from their back catalogue & I do have to report; the new material blends in perfectly with all those wonderful songs from 'Even serpents shine.' You just cannot turn off the tap of genius so easily.
CURIOSER & CURIOSER!
Hey, I know your old mate Flash Tightpocket is prone to waxing lyrical, & harping on about one band or another, but the strangest thing happened about three quarters of the way through this show. They made my whole evening worthwhile when they played, what is in my eyes, their most beautiful song. 'The whole of the law,' just dripped & oozed from the stage like cheap mascara. From the slow, melancholy start, to the crescendo building finale, then just when you think it's going to burst forth into something more, it ends, leaving us, the discerning listener, wanting so much more. Everything exactly where it should be. Absolute perfection!
But how very strange, when this song drew to a close, not only did we hear the usual cheering & applause from the audience, there were pockets of people all over the venue mouthing the words 'THANK YOU' over & over again. This was more than your average rock'n'roll show. It was turning into something more like a religious experience. I swear, you could feel the love.
Even my old mate Gaz, who's prone to spending the duration of a gig behaving like the proverbial social butterfly, pressing the flesh & generally networking, was stood absolutely stock still & open mouthed in pure admiration.
As the show came to a close, there was a collective vibe amongst us & our brethren, that we had witnessed something truly special.
Alas there has been an ominous silence from the camp of the Only Ones since that night. No gigs for ages & no new album as we were promised.
We wait patiently & anxiously for any snippet of news with baited breath.
An added bonus to this wonderful evening, was bumping into my old school friend Dave Beer of Back to Basics infamy.
As we trudged out of the venue, it was back to Dave's for a nightcap & then some.
What a truly awesome night.
To Perry, Perrett, Kellie & Mair, we say, please don't make strangers of yourselves!
To the Only Ones, may we offer a resounding .................
.................................................. THANK YOU!
CHIN CHIN!
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