British Invasion Tour!

Well, it's been awhile since I've attended a concert, but looks like I picked a good one to get back into the swing of things! Last week at Harrah's Resort in Southern California, I witnessed the return of rock royalty on the British Invasion's 50th Anniversary Tour! Featuring iconic singers of the '60s rock revolution, the legendary lineup included Billy J. Kramer (&The Dakotas), Chad & Jeremy, Mike Pender (of The Searchers), Denny Laine (of The Moody Blues & Wings), and Terry Sylvester (of The Hollies and The Swinging Blue Jeans). What a treat seeing these musicians share the stage for the first time ever! Originally, Gerry & The Pacemakers were a prominent part of this tour, but after Gerry Marsden's forced pull-out due to illness, The Hollies' Terry Sylvester was a great addition to the ongoing tour. While I know many fans were disappointed to miss out on classic songs like "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey," it was an enjoyable night of fine music!

All ready to go in my Union Jack attire, complete with vinyl record purse (which drew quite a bit of attention; a few people even asked to take a picture of it!). 

The night was really enhanced by the great mix of classic footage and live feed of each musician projected on the large screens on both sides of the stage. My seat was initially much further back but I was upgraded when a nice lady handed me an extra ticket!

Although The Hollies' Terry Sylvester started off the show with a tune that most of the audience seemed unfamiliar with ("I Can't Let
Go"), he really got the crowd going with the hit "Bus Stop," followed by "Carrie Anne." Before he joined The Hollies in 1968 (replacing Graham Nash on the higher harmonies), Sylvester was a guitarist/vocalist with another British Invasion group, The Swinging Blue Jeans. It was great hearing him wail their hit single, "Hippy Hippy Shake" (#2 in the UK in late '63). He was a pleasant surprise and sounded really great! Here's classic footage of The Hollies performing "Carrie Anne," with Terry Sylvester playing guitar on the left.

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Next in the lineup was another famous Liverpool musician, Mike Pender of The Searchers, and this guy was adorable! OK, maybe that's the wrong description because he really rocked
on guitar and his voice sounded fantastic, but his banter in between songs was, well, adorable. He had a great set of songs including "Sugar and Spice," "Don't Throw Your Love Away," "Love Potion No. 9," and "Needles and Pins" (even gave credit to Sonny Bono for writing that last one). All his famous guitar licks sounded spot-on on his beautiful Rickenbacker. Like The Hollies, Swinging Blue Jeans, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and The Beatles, The Searchers also emerged from the Merseybeat scene and have that distinct, jangly-guitar sound. It was great hearing it live! Here's The Searchers' remake of The Drifters' 1961 hit "Sweets For My Sweet," his lead-off tune on this tour.

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The third act of the night was the folk rock duo Chad & Jeremy, and these
talented blokes were hilarious!. They opened with the a cappella "You Are She," their last hit single from the '60s (or "we're going to sing this Acapulco for you," as Chad called it), but I can't for the life of me find the original recording (no thanks to YouTube and iTunes). But I was very impressed with their tight harmonies, and throughout the night, they even proved "they've still got it" with their guitar skills. They had the audience rolling with laughter as they told entertaining stories, even making fun of their appearances on American TV shows like Batman and The Dick Van Dyke Show. The backing band did join them on a few numbers like "Yesterdays Gone," "Willow Weep For Me," and "A Summer Song." I thoroughly enjoyed this guys. Here's classic footage of the duo's first hit single, 1964's "Yesterday's Gone" (arranged by film composer John Barry).

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After a brief intermission, another Liverpool lad was up next, Billy J. Kramer (originally with The Dakotas). While I most enjoyed the first half of the show, this part wasn't bad, but just not what I was expecting. Billy J. was a stud during the British Invasion, but I think he may of been having an off-night, plus I wasn't a fan of his current long hair. In the '60s, his manager was Brian Epstein (who also managed The Beatles), so Billy J. did give a nice tribute to Brian Epstein with his performance of a newer song called "To Liverpool With Love," and mentioned how he fought for Epstein to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billy J. was friends with The Beatles, and he performed several of his hit songs written by Lennon-McCartney, including, "Bad To Me," I'll Keep You Satisfied," "From a Window," and "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" Here's a delightful 1964 performance of "Little Children," produced by George Martin; wasn't Billy J. a absolute doll back then?!

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For the final act of the night, Denny Laine of The Moody Blues concluded the show on a high note, killing on guitar and sounding great on vocals. Although likely unfamiliar to much of the audience, I was
pleasantly surprised by one his songs, "Say You Don't Mind," which became a hit when recorded in 1972 by Colin Blunstone (lead singer of The Zombies). Denny's set was surprisingly short but definitely sweet, finishing with The Moody Blues' first hit in 1964, "Go Now." After a standing ovation, the encore was a great "all hands on deck" rendition of Paul McCartney's "Band On The Run" (as Denny Laine was also a member of Wings with McCartney from '71-'81, this seems totally appropriate). So fun seeing all the musicians of the British Invasion tour having a blast together. Here's more great footage of Denny Laine leading The Moody Blues on "Go Now."

Thanks again to all these talented Brits for treating us to a great night!

British Invasion

British Invasion: Part 1
From 1964 to 1966, rock 'n' roll, beat, and pop and rock musicians from the United Kingdom took America by storm in the British Invasion. Influenced by the rebellious tone and image of American rock and roll of the late 1950's, The Beatles were the first to lead the barrage after Beatlemania first began in the UK in 1963. Since my very first blog posts featured The Beatles' arrival in America (here), as well as their historic performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 (here), I'll just get to another classic performance on The Ed Sullivan Show the following year in 1965. Reaching the #1 spot on the charts and included as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, "Help!" was written by John Lennon about his stress after The Beatles' quick rise to fame, a literal cry out for help. Performing live, notice Lennon actually forgets some of the lyrics at about 1:00 into the video, but I doubt anyone really cares; it's a great tune!

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In March 1964, the second group for Liverpool, after The Beatles, to have a hit in the U.S. was The Searchers with "Needles and Pins." With their Merseybeat (British beat popularized by The Beatles) sound, this tune was written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono (yeah, that Sonny Bono) and was originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon in 1963. Using a Rickenbacker electric guitar played by Mike Pender, The Seachers' jangly guitar sound was influential in early folk-rock genre of the 1960's.
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Part of the British Invasion, the English soft/folk rock singing duo, Chad and Jeremy, made a bigger splash with the American music market than that of their native country, even making TV guest appearances on American shows like the Dick Van Dyke Show, the Patty Duke Show,and Batman. Comprised of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, these guys had two breakthrough hits in 1964, including "A Summer Song," a gentle tune reminiscing about a summer romance. Written by Chad with Clive Metcalf and Keith Noble, this song was an unfortunate flop in the UK but peaked at #7 on the U.S. charts that summer. There was something about this song's sweetness that appealed more to America.
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During the Invasion, the first non-Beatle act to have a major U.S. hit was pop singer Dusty Springfield. With a career spanning from the late 1950's to the 1990's, Dusty was an important white soul singer and was one of the most successful British female performers, as she had 18 hit singles from 1964 to 1970. Previously recorded by Dionne Warwick and written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David (these guys wrote a ton!), "Wishin' and Hopin'" became Dusty's first American Top-10 hit, peaking at #6 on the charts in July of 1964. Her sultry voice is classic, but too bad this video is a bit out of sync.
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So we've just nicked the ice berg of the British Invasion, so stay tuned for the many, many British artists to come!