The Trevor Horn Band played live at the opening of Sarm Music Bank‘s impressive new facility in Old Oak Common on July 19th 2018.
The band included Trevor Horn (bass and vocals), Lol Creme (guitar and vocals), Luis Jardim (percussion), Phil Palmer (guitar), Steve Ferrone (drums), Izzy Chase and Hayley Sanderson (vocals), Jamie Squire (vocals and guitar) with guest appearances from vocalists Matt Cardle and Steve Hogarth (Marillion).
The invite / competition winners only performance was the perfect opportunity to christen the new rehearsal space, and was also a great way of showcasing some of the songs that will appear on the forthcoming Trevor Horn album. Reports online suggest that the album may be called The Eighties Reimagined, and will consist of some of Trevor Horn’s favourite 80s songs, recorded with the band, a 65-piece orchestra and guest singers.
The set opened with the air-raid sirens signalling Two Tribes, the first of three Frankie Goes To Hollywood songs. Sporting one of the finest basslines of the 80s, this was a powerful opener, and the acoustics in the room, even at a very loud volume, sounded amazing.
Sadly we were only treated to one song from The Buggles back catalogue on this occasion. After an amusing Boris Johnson anecdote, TCH and the band performed a note-perfect Video Killed the Radio Star.
“And now we meet in an abandoned studio
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago”
I was expecting to hear some Godley & Creme, and clearly Five O’Clock in the Morning or Art School Canteen were not likely as part of this performance, so as expected the band performed the TCH produced perfect pop of Cry.
Lol Creme can still hit the high notes, evidenced as the band delivered a rowdy version of 10cc’s first no1 single, Rubber Bullets, which was originally released in 1973.
Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth joined the band for two songs – David Bowie’s Ashes To Ashes (you could not have an 80s tribute without the Thin White Duke) and the most surprising song in the set, Joe Jackson’s Different For Girls (from the I’m the Man album). This timeless song was released in 1979, so although it is not an 80s song, it was an interesting choice.
A re-imagining of Slave to the Rhythm marked the halfway point in the set. On stage percussionist and frequent Trevor Horn collaborator Luis Jardim performed the bass on the studio version of the track, fact fans.
Trevor switched back to lead vocals on the Yes hit from 1983’s 90125 album, Owner of a Lonely Heart, complete with Synclavier / Fairlight sounding stabs. The second Frankie Goes To Hollywood song of the night was sung by guest vocalist Matt Cardle. A string laden version of The Power of Love went down a treat with the audience.
A version of the 2002 no1 single All the Things She Said by Russian pop duo t.A.T.u.was performed with Izzy Chase and Hayley Sanderson sharing lead vocals.
The set wrapped up with a trio of massive 80s singles – a reworked version of Tears For Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World (which will surely feature on the forthcoming The Eighties Reimagined album), Dire Straits Money For Nothing and the final FGTH song of the evening, Relax.
I’m looking forward to hearing The Eighties Reimagined album (hopefully later this year) and it looks like there will be further live dates from The Trevor Horn band to promote the album. Follow TCH on Twitter or Facebook to stay in the loop.
Full setlist:
Two Tribes
Video Killed the Radio Star
Cry
Rubber Bullets
Ashes to Ashes
Slave to the Rhythm
Owner of a Lonely Heart
The Power of Love
All the Things She Said
Different For Girls
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Money For Nothing
Relax
Buy Godley & Creme – Body Of Work (1978 – 1988) Box set
Buy the Trevor Horn – Slaves To The Rhythm live DVD
Buy the 10cc Classic Album Selection Box set
Buy Grace Jones – Slave To The Rhythm Collector’s Edition, 2015 remaster
The 2008 Bush Hall show was certainly a memorable and emotional evening, captured perfectly by Richard Smith’s excellent mixtaped dvd. But for me, the real no-man experience was this magical 45 minutes at Leamington Spa. I’ve seen hundreds of different live shows across many genres, committing many individual live performances to memory, and of all these performances I have seen since my first live show back in 1979 (Thin Lizzy at Hammersmith Odeon, in case you are wondering), I have compiled a list of my favourite gigs (Thin Lizzy never made it into the top 10, though it was a great first gig). Vivid memories of performances by the likes of The Stranglers at The Rainbow, The Police at Lewisham Odeon, Kate Bush at the London Palladium, The Who at Wembley Stadium, Prince & the Revolution on the Parade tour, Nine Inch Nails a couple of years ago and more, have now been joined by this no-man show.
pretty genius (the third wild opera song of the evening, and no-man’s least popular album according to Tim) felt more like the album version, mainly due to the more powerful drum sound, and then there was lighthouse. A key track on the returning jesus album (and the band’s most “progressive” song) lighthouse retains its power and beauty in a live format, and the instrumental coda after the organ break always sends me somewhere. If they had played just this one track, I would have still left the venue a happy and content man.
Tim Bowness and his band – Michael Bearpark (Guitars), Steve Bingham (Violin / Loops) and Peter Chilvers (Piano / Textures) played a private show at the Estonian Embassy in London at the request of the Ambassador, Dr Margus Laidre.
California Norfolk’s Days Turn Into Years was a real surprise, as it was presented as an epic 10 minute re-reading, and was subsequently very different from the album version. The song was driven by plucked violin strings, and deviated from its original arrangement about three-quarters of the way through the performance, building towards a gradual, powerful crescendo.
Unprotected was the only song from the My Hotel Year era, and was a b-side (does that term still exist?) from the Sleepwalker single. It worked well, even when shorn of all the electronica of the studio version.
Mr Kinski's Music Shack 