Reviews QFN-22
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Gosport Festival - 2nd August 1996

Review by Jon James

Val at the fan club said that Roger told Spike that he would
play at Gosport and the Freddie birthday party (with The
Cross) when he was drunk, but then forgets or regrets what
he said has said later.

The SAS Band were very good, but unfortunately Roger didn't
turn up. They did only one Queen song - 'Tie your Mother
Down' sung by Mark Shaw, who started the show with four
songs with a superb version of 'Ruby Tuesday' (Rolling
Stones). Spike then introduced Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet)
then said he had forgotten he was ill and couldn't make it,
so Steve Vann (?) sang one song befor Tony Hadley actually
came on stage. He sang two songs before Judy Tzuke came on
and then Roger Chapman took the stage for three songs.

Spike then introduced Paul Young (Mike & The Mechanics) who
did a brilliant impersonation of Mick Jagger singing 'Lets
Spend The Night Together' - apparently he phoned Spike the
night before and begged him to let he take part!

The star of the show was Madelaine Bell. She was superb. She
had such a big smile and was obviously enjoying herself. The
another new boy was introduce - Jess Roden who did 'Dance To
The Music', and everyone came on for the finale of 'You're
The Voice'.

Spike did say that Cozy Powell couldn't turn up as he was at
home knitting and Jamie Moses was cooking. Still it was a
great show, and was very well attended.
___________________________________________________________

           GA GA AT VICTORIA HALL, HANLEY
           ------------------------------
                 APRIL 19TH 1996

            REVIEWED BY MARGARET HOPPER
            ---------------------------

This was the third trip to the Victoria Hall, Hanley for Ga
Ga. Their first appearance here was March of last year,
which according to Graham Patrick, the band's drummer, was
their first ever theatre performance and one which he
mentions in this year's programme as a high of 1995. The
band quickly returned in May of last year for a further
show, which I had the great pleasure of both attending and
writing a review afterwards. Therefore, when I received
notification through the band's own mailing system that they
would be performing again this year, I had no hesitation in
booking tickets once more and eagerly awaited for 19th
April.

On arrival at the venue, I was in plenty of time to browse
around the 1996 merchandise stall, which appeared to have
grown somewhat since last time. There were both Ga Ga and
Queen items for sale, all of which seemed to be selling
well. I bought a couple of Ga Ga T shirts (both good
quality) and a programme for the evening.

This was very eye catching and as I waited for the show to
start, I gave it the once over and was very impressed by the
full colour photos and the professional way it had been
printed. It was also a good read, giving all sorts of
information about the band and what they had been up to over
the last year. The programme also included the complete
lyrics to a song called 'You'll Never Die' -(Song for
Freddie) which was written by John Holmes, the lead singer
and guitarist and which featured on Ga Ga's first CD single
('A Tribute To Queen') which was released towards the end of
last year. This plus a further John Holmes penned song ('Oh
Angel') and 2 Queen songs ('Son and Daughter' and 'Days of
our Lives') made up the CD and proved that they can not only
perform Queen songs well, but have a future as a band in
their own right. An album of original material is hopefully
set for a 1997 release - we can only wish them every success
with this venture.

1996 is Ga Ga's 'Serious Queen' tour and looks set to
continue until August. One of the highs for the band this
year is the invitation to play at the prestigious Queen
Convention at Southport in May. The band are now being
sponsored by Holsten UK and supported by Mike Lloyd
Artistes. This has given the band more time to concentrate
on just being performers, leaving the organisation to
someone else - and it shows!

 So - on with the show! By 7.45 pm the hall was, quite
literally, heaving with people - even the balcony area was
completely full and there were many Queen flags draped over
the sides. The atmosphere was, as usual, electric with
anticipation and once again we were not to be disappointed.
As the lights went down, the cheering and whistling
immediately started up, but over this came the strains of
Freddie singing 'It's A Beautiful Day' from the new 'Made in
Heaven' album. This was a brand new start to the show and
very pleasing. As the tempo quickens up during the song and
Roger's drums become the focus, Ga Ga walked on to the stage
and took over the song from Queen. This was done so well you
could hardly "see the join" and the rest of the song was
played by them. Everyone had been thrilled at this beginning
and gave the band a really warm welcome when it was over. 

John remarked that there were a lot of us there, and he
hoped we would all enjoy ourselves and then they went into a
rousing version of 'A Kind of Magic' which they obviously
enjoy performing a lot. There was already plenty of dancing
going on, this audience didn't need any warming up, we were
ready for a good evening. 'I Want to Break Free' followed
with plenty of audience participation. John then had a few
words with the audience asking if the usual people were
there ('Crazy Gang', 'Magic Circle' etc) and apparently they
all were!

He then said that the band had been furiously rehearsing
songs from the new Queen album to add to their own show and
according to the programme, they had wanted to do most of
the tracks and had argued as to which ones to perform. In
all the band performed 4 tracks from 'Made In Heaven', all
of which were excellent. John then mentioned that the next
song was the very last one which Freddie had recorded the
lyrics for - 'Mother Love'. This, as we all know, is a very
haunting and unusual song, but an infectious one,
beautifully performed on the album especially by Freddie and
considering the circumstances in which this was done will
always be a very poignant track.

However, Ga Ga managed to portray that same haunting sound
and John sang the lyrics with so much feeling, it was very
hard not to have a few tears at the end. Of course, the
flashback through Queen's career and the baby crying which
ends the original are not included here, which was good as
that part of the song is very personal to Queen themselves,
but Ga Ga finished off the song in their own way which was a
clever piece of work. 

After these sombre few moments, the atmosphere was
immediately lightened by the familiar introduction to 'Now
I'm Here' and the hall was rocking again. This was followed
by John's now familiar solo piece with audience
participation - 'Love Of My Life' which for ever will always
be everyone's favourite, when we feel we are singing just
for Freddie.

John got everybody singing with him and he seemed delighted
by our efforts which didn't sound too bad - it was heartfelt
anyway! Following this, John introduced the other two
members of the band back on to the stage - Graham Patrick,
drums & vocals, who thinks he is a sex object, he wants sex
but the girls object!

Dave Harding, bass, keyboards & vocals who according to John
if there was a crisis would do absolutely... nothing. Dave
then introduced us to someone who is a great singer,
brilliant guitarist, average keyboard player... but he
couldn't be with us tonight so instead John Holmes!!  To
bring the first half of the evening to a close, the band
then played a medley of 'Killer Queen' going into 'You're My
Best Friend'.

When the introduction to 'Brighton Rock' began, John stopped
playing as we had all started cheering and clapping."You
don't really want me to do this, do you?" he foolishly
asked. His answer was just a huge roar, this has become one
of the highlights of a Ga Ga show, just as it used to be
with a Queen show, with all three members showing us what
excellent musicians they are and special praise has to be
given to John here for his guitar playing - breathtaking!
When this was all done, we were still cheering for more -
"Haven't you had enough?" John again foolishly asked, so to
really close the first half, we were treated to 'Somebody to
Love'. The band really know how to work the crowd with this
one. 

What a fabulous first half - I needed a cold drink to get
the old vocal chords going again as there was obviously a
lot more to come, so after a 20 minute interval, back we all
were, refreshed and ready to go again. 

The buzz in the hall was great as we waited for the lights
to dim and when they did, Ga Ga returned to the stage and
started off the second half with an excellent version of
'You Don't Fool Me' from the new album (very funky).
Everyone was immediately dancing again. This was followed up
with 'Heaven For Everyone' - again, excellently performed
with good harmonies. We then went back into Queen's
catalogue for the next few minutes with a fabulous medley of
5 Queen songs - 'Keep Yourself Alive' going into 'One
Vision', 'Seven Seas of Rhye', 'Tear It Up' and 'I Want It
All'.

This medley was very well thought out, all the songs easily
moving from one to another and was thoroughly enjoyed by the
crowd. 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' was next which
always gets the crowd going anyway, followed by the
unmistakable introduction to 'Another One Bites the Dust'.
As the crowd were getting into the funky dance mood, John
stopped the band and said that there were people who were
not singing, so we would have a little practice. There
followed an enjoyable few minutes singing along with John's
'Dayo's' and the competition between the girls and the boys
was an outright winner to the male of the species!

John then said that if anyone was caught not singing they
would get the water treatment and armed himself with a pint
glass half filled with water for any likely suspects.
Needless to say a riotous few moments followed when people
nearest the stage went home a little wetter than when they
came! After this little break in proceedings, the full and
very funky Ga Ga version of 'Bites the Dust' followed and
was great. My own favourite 'Headlong' was next and while we
were all in party mood, 'Tie Your Mother Down' quickly
followed complete with fireworks as usual. John then said
that was it as they were all 'knackered', but he hoped we
would all join in with the last song, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
which of course everyone did.

At the end of this, the band took their leave, waving to
everyone and thanking us. Naturally, we knew this wasn't it,
but kept up the foot stamping and hand clapping anyway until
Ga Ga returned to the stage. John said he wanted everyone on
their feet to the next one and as soon as we heard the intro
to 'Radio Ga Ga' he didn't need to suggest it twice. It must
have looked great from the stage or up in the balcony
looking down as a sea of hands joined in unison with the
band to that evergreen Queen favourite. Once again, the band
said their goodnights and left the stage, but we had not had
enough so the clapping, chanting and foot stamping started
again extremely loudly! We had all decided that we would
start our own 'We Will Rock You' and it sounded good.

However, within a few minutes the band were back on stage
and Graham picked up the beat with us and the song began -
brilliant! Naturally, this was immediately followed by 'We
Are the Champions', another sea of hand waving. This time it
really was time for the band to go, so with John waving his
own Queen flag, thanking the crowd, waving goodbye along
with Graham & Dave, the show was over. With a shout of 'Long
Live Queen' from John and to the wonderful strains of Brian
May playing 'God Save the Queen', the house lights came back
on and it was all over once again.

In finishing this review, I would sum up by saying that one
year on since having seen Ga Ga previously, they are now
more professional having gained so much more experience.
They have a deeper, more harmonious sound than before and if
I was impressed then,  I certainly was this time. I am glad
to see that the band still haven't felt the need to actually
dress like the members of Queen or necessarily sound like
them. They bring their own personalities and musicianship to
their shows and that's what makes them special as a band.
John Holmes is a natural front man with great charisma, but
doesn't cavort around the stage trying to be another Freddie
Mercury - he is very much himself and has good interaction
with both the audience and the rest of the band. They all
obviously have a great sense of humour which shows through.
They always look confident and as if they are having a great
time. I mentioned in my previous review of last year that I
had never seen any of the Tribute bands before, but was very
glad that I had given Ga Ga a chance. If you feel like I
did, that they are probably going to be 'naff', just go and
have a look for yourselves - you won't be disappointed and
you'll have a great night into the bargain too!

I had the great pleasure of meeting the band after the show
and they were all great guys. There were plenty of
supporters wanting to do the same thing which was great for
the band. They should feel really proud of themselves, they
are keeping Queen's music alive and we are hopefully
supporting their cause. They show the music complete respect
and perform it in such a professional style that I am sure
all the members of Queen would show approval - yes, even the
great man himself, Freddie Mercury. John Holmes always ends
Ga Ga's concerts with the immortal words, "Long Live Queen"
and I heartily agree with this sentiment, but while we have
musicians of this quality portraying Queen music in this
way, I also say "Long Live Ga Ga"! Well done, Graham, John &
Dave - we all love ya! Thanks for the memory and come back
soon!

___________________________________________________________


      THE ROYAL FAMILY COME TO THE WEST COUNTRY
      -----------------------------------------

On Sunday 12th May 1996, the five piece Queen cover band
called "The Royal Family" performed a one night concert at
the Playhouse Theatre at Weston-Super-Mare. The band are
from Hull in the north of England and each member dresses-up
to take the part of each member of Queen. The band consists
of Matt Moreton as lead singer (Freddie), Andy Shortland on
lead guitar (Brian), James Hartley on bass guitar (John),
Karl Smalley on drums (Roger) and the fifth member Simon
Wright on keyboards (as Spike Edney).

The show opened at approximately 8.00pm with "Flash" as
their introduction and the first set was a selection of
Queen's early songs going straight into "Tie Your Mother
Down", after the intro. The set went on to include "Seven
Seas of Rhye", "Liar", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Fat Bottomed
Girls", "Save Me", "Keep Yourself Alive", followed by a
guitar solo which was a shortened version of "Brighton Rock"
while Matt (who plays Freddie) quickly left the stage for a
costume change! The first set then carried on with "Now I'm
Here", "Somebody to Love" (which was very well done),
"Bohemian Rhapsody" with "Killer Queen" being used for the
middle section which avoided the use of any tapes and
finally following another costume change by Matt (Freddie)
into the appropriate PVC/Leather outfit the set ended with
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and the band left the
stage to a loud applause from the audience.

There was now a short interval when the bar was open for a
quick drink to re-charge your energy before the concert
continued!

The second set started with a great introduction which
included Brian May's "The Dark" and went on to include "One
Vision" with a great lights display. The second set was to
include a selection of Queen greats from the 80s, with the
whole band's costumes being changed to the appropriate era.
The set went on to include "It's A Kind of Magic", "The
Freddie Day-O's!", "Under Pressure", "Another One Bites the
Dust" (which was dedicated to Mrs. Hedgehog because it was
her 40th birthday!!!), and "I Want to Break Free". Next the
tempo was slowed down while Andy (Brian) and Matt (Freddie)
sang "Love of My Life" with the audience joining in! Next
came "Tutti Frutti", "Hammer to Fall" and the last number of
the set "Radio Ga Ga" with the crowd joining in as usual!!
At the end of this number the band said thanks to everyone
for coming and left the stage.

The crowd all shouted and cried for more and the band came
back onto the stage for an encore which consisted of "We
Will Rock You", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "We Are The
Champions" with the crowd joining in on all three songs.
Finally the show ended with "God Save the Queen" and the
band taking their final bows and leaving the stage.

After the concert several fans waited to see the band and
after a few minutes those who had waited were invited back
stage when the band were very chatty and signed autographs
for everyone. It had been a good concert and although they
dress (with several costume changes during the show) and act
like the band on stage (which we know some fans don't like)
they seemed a good bunch of Queen fans and well worth going
to see for a good fun night out.

As well as playing in various venues throughout England they
are even going to Japan in the next few months to perform
eight concerts in various Japanese cities so give them a try
if they play near you.

Review by Joy & Tony Whitelock (The Hedgehogs!). 
___________________________________________________________

END
