SAHB live at the BBC

A new Sensational Alex Harvey Band album is always a good thing, even if the adjective "new" applies to the release and not the recording.

This collection of various live recordings made for the BBC dates back to 1972 and includes performances for In Concert and The Old Grey Whistle Test.

This is vintage SAHB in every sense of the word giving us excellent versions of many of their early classics, including St. Anthony, Framed, The Faith Healer, Next, Give My Compliments To The Chef (my favourite) and Delilah (not typical but it has to be there).

We are also treated to three rare songs, i.e. ones that I am not familiar with. These are Giddy Up A Ding Dong, Pick It Up And Kick It and Smouldering.

But the important thing about this album is that it is live and it is from when SAHB were in their prime. The songs are delivered in distinctive Alex Harvey style with loads of drama which makes them different from the studio versions and from the other live versions from the same era.

SAHB are still playing live (and are still very much worth seeing live) but it is nice to revisit their formative years and this album is a good way to do that.

SAHB gig cancelled :-(

Hidden behind the story of the fires in Edinburgh is the even sadder news that the Sensational Alex Harvey Band were playing a concert in one of the buildings that burned down.

Nobody was hurt but the band lost their equipment and have had to abandon the gig in Brighton on Monday night that I had tickets for.

Hopefully this is a postponement rather than a cancellation.

Max Maxwell was Framed

I know that Max was Framed because he told me, and a few others, that he was this evening at the Islington Academy. This was the penultimate date on the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's Hail Vibrania tour and this was a special show that featured the Framed album in its entirety, albeit with major updates to most of the songs. This was something of an experiment and it worked really well.

The music was all you would expect from a band in form and even the sequence of slower songs (Buff's Bar Blues, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Hole In Her Stocking and Big Louie) rocked. 

It helped that Framed has some seriously good tracks that have remained part of SAHB's live repertoire throughout the years, i.e.Hammer Song, Midnight Moses, Isobel Goudie and St. Anthony. Isobel Goudie has long been a favourite of mine and tonight's performance of it was just magic, and the way that the band adjusted to the technical problems at the beginning of the song showed how in control of things they were. 

It was a barnstorming performance from the whole band but I must single out Max Maxwell for a special mention because of the passion, drama and excitement that he put into the songs. I can't even recall any of his trademark mistakes with the words!

Max has matured as the front man this year dropping some of the sillier things (like the Indian head-dress) and has the confidence to deliver the songs without these props for support. Max is Max now and is not trying to be somebody else. 

I have seen the new incarnation of SAHB something like ten times in the last three years (this is waaaay less than some of the familiar fans that I spoke to at the gig) and this was their best performance yet. My only regret is that I cannot get to the SAHB Xmas Party in Glasgow on Friday.

Hail Vibrania!!

I made what is becoming a regular trek down to The Brook in Southampton to see the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in concert on their Hail Vibramia tour and even though I have seen them several times in the last three years they still managed to surprise me in delightful ways.

The first surprise was the change in formation from 1-1-3 to 0-0-5 with Ted McKenna on drums moving from centre back to right wing and cousin Hugh McKenna moving from right midfield to the the left wing to join Chris Glen, Max Maxwell and Zal Cleminson in an attacking formation. And attack they do.

The set still starts with the crowd pleaser Faith Healer but now this begins with the dance mix that was played pre-show last year before bursting into its full-blown bombastic familiar form. Also in the set are another five absolute hard-core classics, Isobel Goudie, Chef, Tomahawk Kid, St Anthony and Dolphins, the last of which is new this year. There are lighter, but not that much quieter, moments with songs like Dance to your Daddy, Framed and Delilah.

The music was fantastic, but other things made the night good too, like getting nods of recognition from the band, meeting up with other SAHBsters (e.g. Bob, Chris and Ian) and buying the new tour t-shirt. I'll be wearing that at Islington on Wednesday!

Fun at the SAHB Fan Convention 2007

Saturday 24 August was the second Sensational Alex Harvey Band Fan Convention which was bit of a mixed bag but worth the effort in the end. These were my highlights and lowlights:

• Leaving Dallas at 5pm on Thursday and arriving at Wolverhampton at 6pm on Friday, and losing six hours in the process.
• Eventually finding a rather good Balti house after walking past dozens of fast food joints that you would not have felt safe in, let alone risked trying any of the food.
• Meeting many fans and a few of the band at the meet and greet at the hotel on Friday evening. Despite the jet lag and the intention of catching-up with an early night, I stayed in the hotel bar until after 2am. Max was very sociable all evening and I also had a good chat with Hugh. Most of the other fans seem to be nutters. Lucky that I am sane then!
• The hotel breakfast making a good foundation for the day's large intake of beer.
• Taking the tram to Bilston.
• Drinking Banks's bitter. At £2.75 a pint I thought that it was not unreasonable (I regularly pay over £3 a pint now) but apparently beer is somewhat cheaper in Scotland so some of the fans were less happy.
• Waiting most of the afternoon for something to happen when little did. Hugh's solo spot was a welcome break from the lack of things happening but I would have liked it to have been a little longer.
• Buying yet another SAHB t-shirt and having the presence of mind to get in signed later on in the day when the band did a signing session.
• Zal starting the evening off with an acoustic set which I thought was rather good. But then I like acoustic Neil Young too. Sadly when I asked Zal about his new songs later he said he had no plans to record them.
• Meeting more old friends during the day, particularly Bob and Chris who always go to the Southampton show too.
• SAHB kicking the evening set off with a whole string of songs that they have not played live for a whole. Dolphins was particularly well received. Other rare songs played were Rock n Roll, Who murdered sex, Snakebite, Pick it up and kick it and Out of boogie.
• Some of the more enthusiastic and vocal ladies getting up on stage to sing along to Anthem. Not my favourite song but then I'm not Scottish.
• Max having the lyrics to Jailhouse Rock written out by hand (Zal had used a laptop earlier for his lyrics). Jailhouse Rock was included because Alex and Elvis were born in the same year and Tear Gas used to play it.
• Hugh, Ted and Zal taking vocal turns for a while and Max joining the audience for this part.
• SAHB ending with a section of requests that included Faith Healer, St Anthony, Gang Bang (again, not a favourite of mine but enthusiastically greeted by most of the crowd) and Runaway, complete with dance routine.

OK, so it was a bit slow in the afternoon but the evening session did what is says on the tin, sensational, and it bodes well for the tour. I'll be at the Southampton and London gigs as usual and the Glasgow Xmas show sounds tempting too!

Sensational Alex Harvey Band fan convention

This is the musical event of the year for me and I am looking forward to it enormously. I went to the first SAHB convention last year and am looking forward to meeting up again with the fans, many of whom come from Scotland so I do not see them at the London or Southampton gigs.

The logistics are proving to be bit of a nightmare as I am working in Dallas during the week. This means an overnight flight that lands at Gatwick on Friday morning giving me around 10 hours to get home, change bags (packing for the convention is easy, black trousers and a collection of SAHB t-shirts) and catch a train to Wolverhampton. A hassle, but it will be worth it :-)

Remembering Alex Harvey

Alex Harvey died a day before his 47th birthday on 4 February 1982 and SAHB fans across the world have been remembering him on the 25th anniversary of his death.

People who knew Alex and the band much better than I did have written some good articles in remembrance of Alex, particularly this one in the Glasgow Herald, but I want to say something about what Alex meant to me.

I have posted entries earlier saying how good SAHB are today, and they are, but it all started with Alex.

Like many people of my generation, I first came across SAHB on the Old Grey Whistle Test where Alex's theatrics captured the viewer and made you realize that you were watching something a little different. Everything they did on OGWT was good but Give my Compliments to the Chef particularly stands out in my memory.

But there was lots of good music around then and so while I enjoyed SAHB I did not but any of their albums at that time. Then at the end of my first year at university (1976) in Southampton came the spur of the moment to go and watch the band play in town (students did not often go into town) which proved to be one of my better decisions. You know what they were like then from the various live recordings so I'll cut to the end which was about six of us drunk in a mini with the driver trying to get back to our hall without attracting attention while the rest of us thought that singing Delilah as loud as we could was a better idea! After that I bought the old albums and I still play them all today.

Twenty five years later the band is still touring and still playing the old songs, and doing so bloody well, but Alex is far from forgotten and I'm very pleased that the band still carries his name and respects his memory in their act. Thanks Alex, for everything.

The Faith Healers

No apologies for another post about the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Saw them again at the Electric Ballroom in London and it was the best gig of theirs that I have seen, and I've seen eight this year alone!

The set list was the same as at The Brook a few days earlier but the band seemed to gel even better, Max made none of his trademark gaffes, and the sound was better with Hugh's keyboards more pronounced than usual.

There also seemed to be a better mix of music and showmanship with the show side of things enhancing the music rather than competing with it as it has done at times in the past. Max (again) is a key part of this and is now the consummate front-man and the perfect foil for the tight, raucous sound from the band.

Zaligator

I went to see the Sensational Alex Harvey Band play at The Brook in Southampton and they were sensational!

The set had quite a few changes from the "greatest hits" sets of the last two years. Out were Isobel Goudie, Tomahawk Kid, Next, Framed and the usual encore, Delilah and in came Tale of the Giant Stoneater, Amos Moses, Jungle Jenny and Runaway.

"Zaligator" was Max's description of Zal Cleminson after playing Amos Moses. Could this be the title of the next album following on from "Zalvation", another of Max's inventions?

As seems to be normal these days the band were really up for it with lots of broad grins and audience interaction. I'm still not sure how I managed to avoid getting a mike stand in my face thanks to Max's extravagant use of it!

The gig left me gagging for more, which is OK as I am seeing them again on Tuesday at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.

Sensational

It's time to pay homage to the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Some of you may recall them from their regular appearances on The Old Grey Whistle Test, others may remember the hit singles Delilah and Boston Tea Party and some their headlining performance at the Reading Festival.

The great news is that after a whole heap of troubles and other projects they are back on CD, DVD and, most importantly, back on the road playing a blistering set.

Obviously the biggest change since the '70s is that Alex Harvey died and has been superseded by a number of singers culminating with Max Maxwell.

Max has phenomenal stage presence and really leads the band from the front (though the guys at the back sometimes have to remind him what's going on!).

The new DVD and CD are both called Zalvation and while they are from the same tour (2004) they are from different gigs so it's worth getting both.

Find out more about SAHB here.

Please go and see them live, you will not be disappointed.