Take a bow Graham Gouldman. He stood in the spotlight at the almost packed, 2,200 capacity, Usher Hall (pictured) and rocked the night away with art rock band 10cc, making a mockery of his published age of 78.
Bassist Gouldman has been the band’s only constant member since they formed in 1972. Before that the Salford-born musician worked as a freelance songwriter and produced hits for groups like he Yardbirds and Herman’s Hermits.
He’s not alone in being of, what we will call, a mature age. Drummer Paul Burgess is 74 and guitarist supreme, Rick Fenn, is 71. Guys, keep on rocking for as long as you can. They, plus keyboard player Keith Hayman and Andy Park, vocals, guitar and percussion, both much younger, provided a truly memorable gig.
So much so, that most of the audience, some, like me, up past their normal bedtime, gave them a standing ovation after the two-hour romp through their hits, with new material interlaced. The time flew by.
Quality was written large over this performance. Little things mean a lot and Fern even played a few chords when keyboard man Hayman picked up a guitar.
This was professionalism from the first chord to last and the audience loved it.
I’m Not in love, The Things we do for Love, The Wall Street Shuffle and, of course, Life is a Minestrone, were just some of the numbers along with Art for Art’s Sake. They were dancing in the gods, foot tapping in the circle and jigging in the stalls.
The beat was relentless and you could see so many either singing along, quietly, with others searching their memory bank for the words from yesteryear.
Musical talent was there in abundance and capped off in the finale. The a cappella rendition of Donna at the end was pure class and a fitting ending to a five-star gig.
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
