This was a charity gig in aid of Birmingham Childrens' Hospital, and Birmingham bands from the previous twenty-five years or so stepped up to the plate to do their bit for a very worthy cause.
Proceedings kicked off with a set from the Steve Gibbons Band, who were West Midlands pub-rock heroes. They certainly looked very self-assured on the big stage, almost as if they played arenas every day of the week! They had a sniff of the big time in the mid 1970s when The Who took them under their wing for a while and they regularly supported the rock legends. They had also had a Top 40 hit in 1976 with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Tulane". That didn't get played today but they did play "Share It With You", "Till The Well Runs Dry" and "BSA".
This was very much a West Midlands mini Live Aid, and from the start it ran every bit as smoothly and slickly as that other great concert. Next up were The Fortunes who played the Everly Brothers' hit "Let It Be Me", and their own hit "You've Got Your Troubles".
Roy Wood followed. This gig was supposed to feature a performance from a re-formed Move, but Wood announced that this hadn't been possible "for various reasons" (he didn't go into details but sounded pretty pissed off about it). We were treated instead to a trio of Wizzard hits: "See My Baby Jive", "Are You Ready To Rock" and "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day". It really was tremendous stuff and the crowd loved it, but all too soon Woody was gone.
UB40 and Ruby Turner pitched up with "I Got You Babe". The band had to start without Astro who seemingly had managed to get lost between the dressing room and the stage - shades of Spinal Tap! I thought UB40's first album ("Signing Off" from 1980) was a superb social commentary, and I was disappointed that they chose to produce what was essentially pop pap for the rest of their career.
The Applejacks re-formed specifically for the event and played their 1964 hit "Tell Me When". They were once dubbed 'the Solihull sound', but they sounded like typical unremarkable mid-60s British beat to me. However, they clearly meant a lot to people in Birmingham and it was good of them to re-form for this show. They certainly didn't give the impression that they hadn't played since the end of the 60s.
Denny Laine made a terribly nervous appearance to play "Go Now" which he had a hit with in 1964 with The Moody Blues. Laine had to have two attempts at the song before his ordeal was mercifully over.
Robert Plant, possibly one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the day, appeared next with The Big Town Playboys. The Big Town Playboys are a rock 'n' roll revival band, and their short set with Plant wasn't dissimilar to the mini-album that he'd recorded with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck as The Honeydrippers the year before. Perhaps it wasn't what people expected from Robert Plant, but since the demise of Led Zeppelin he has made something of an art form of doing the unexpected.
The Rockin' Berries made a brief appearance performing their 1964 hit "He's In Town", before The Moody Blues appeared with all of their customary grandeur. The Moodies turned in a three song set which incorporated some of their best work: "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Nights In White Satin". Their music has always had a somewhat sumptuous quality, and this performance certainly did that quality justice.
The Electric Light Orchestra were the day's final band. This was their first UK gig since 1982, and would indeed be their last. A great pity as the band put in a storming performance. Again it was a veritable parade of hits: "Telephone Line", "Do Ya", "Rockaria", "Hold On Tight" and "Don't Bring Me Down". Then the band were gone.
Naturally there was going to be an encore, and the massed ranks of Brummies returned Live Aid finale style. Jasper Carrott (one of the day's comperes, along with Peter Powell and a very drunk and obnoxious Jim Davidson) made a short speech before introducing "the icing on the cake - the former Beatle George Harrison!" That was sufficient to light the blue touch paper and the whole place erupted! "Johnny B Goode" burst into life with George providing lead vocals for the first verse. After additional contributions from (a seemingly much recovered) Denny Laine and Robert Plant it was all over.
Whilst the show was inevitably weighted toward Birmingham's musical past it was a great opportunity to see some fabulous artists doing their stuff. It was however a pity that there weren't more of Birmingham's recent artists on the bill. Ultimately though it was a day of great music and it raised a lot of money for Birmingham Childrens' Hospital.
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