The Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Underworld

It is absolutely chucking it down, I mean, absolutely throwing it down, quite refreshing really. We are on a mission to the Underworld for something rather special – the return of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Scotland’s finest rock thespians!
   Time to enter the bat cave that is Camden’s darkest rock venue for some instant warmth, the place is packed. Into the arena, pushing and shoving, a film crew, ceiling mounted projectors and lots of natter from the assembled masses. Tonight’s show is being filmed for an early 2005 DVD release.

Loud cheers and cameras greet Hugh McKenna (keyboards), Ted McKenna (drums), Chris Glen (bass) and Zal Cleminson (guitar). Main man Max Maxwell, in his tiger stripe jacket (presumably so the cameras can make arty pointillist patterns on screen), is playing the role of Alex tonight.
   The bobbing intro of ‘The Faith Healer’ breaks through and it is 1975 all over again! It’s a stunning show not least as mad Max is able to bring his own approach and style of delivery to these great songs. ‘Next’ is served well tonight as Max acts out its theatrical lines and poignant humour beautifully.

‘Give my compliments to the chef’ with its light and shade is very strong thanks to the interchange between Chris Glen’s bass and Hugh McKenna’s keys.
   However, the stand-out track of the evening is ‘The man in the jar’, a song about a would-be sleuth on the trail of a ‘dame with a fabulous frame’.
   At the end of ‘Action Strasse’ the guys walk off the stage only to find that the audience has carried on singing. We must have kept on singing for five minutes before they came back. The show closes with a greatest hits section.
   Someone in the crowd passes a piece of white card to Max with the words ‘Vambo rools’ written on it in large friendly letters, and so we are off again! ‘Are you going to the party, going to the Boston tea party?’ is next followed by SAHB’s moment of pop stardom ‘Delilah’.

This tour allegedly marks the end of the road for the band, surely not? Visit the band’s website at www.sahb.co.uk for a daily update on the progress of this tour.
   Martin Kielty’s definitive book ‘SAHB Story: the case of the … ’ is out now and is also available online on the band’s website, just in time for Christmas, petal? It may take me a few days to get my hearing back but when I do I’m sure it will have been worth it! Say that again?

Setlist: The faith healer; Midnight Moses; Isobel Goude; Swampsnake; Next; The man in the jar; Framed; Give my compliments to the chef; St Anthony; There ain’t nuthin like; Action Strasse; [encores] Vambo; The Boston tea party; Delilah; Buff’s Bar Blues.
 

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2003 reviews here

howardtowers.com by Alan Howard Email