{"id":25642,"date":"2024-11-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=25642"},"modified":"2024-11-21T09:29:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:29:35","slug":"quireboys-willie-downing-the-invisible-band-continental-lovers-corn-exchange-newport-17th-november-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=25642","title":{"rendered":"Quireboys\/Willie Downing & The Invisible Band\/Continental Lovers \u2013 Corn Exchange – Newport \u2013 17th November 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NO DRINKS ON STAGE \u2013 \u201cthat\u2019s Luke Morley\u2019s doing\u201d jokes Quireboys\u2019 frontman Spike as he spots the large warning signs stuck onto the front of the venue\u2019s on-stage monitors. \u201cHe\u2019s had me and Nigel practising too\u201d. But what are the band going to sound like when they have rehearsed and not had too many sherries beforehand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d been chatting in the pub beforehand about the times we\u2019d all seen the Quireboys over the years, and the one thing we all said was \u201cWe\u2019ve never seen a bad Quireboys gig\u201d, but would a line up featuring two ex-members of Terrapin (thank you Spike for that little gem) on guitar and drums and the one time bassist\/singer from (\u201cremember the name\u201d) The Grip match those high standards already set? Might tonight actually end up being an exception to that golden rule, even if \u2018Wardour Street\u2019 the album the lads are out on the run of shows to help promote is indeed a little bit of what every Quireboys fan should fancy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before all of that palaver though I\u2019m in early doors tonight to catch the RPM approved Continental Lovers, who are playing some carefully selected Quireboys shows to help promote the upcoming release of their all new \u2018Self Titled\u2019 thirteen track debut album. Having last played Newport\u2019s nearby McCanns basement venue just over a year ago the four Lovers instantly look just at home on this venue\u2019s more expansive stage, the gigs they\u2019ve played in between obviously reaping them full reward, as opener \u2018St Joan\u2019 crashes headlong into (my favourite tune by the band) \u2018Tape Deck and we\u2019re three songs in with barely the same number of minutes on the clock. It\u2019s glam punk rock \u2018n\u2019 roll played fast and a hell of a lot of fun to (Chelsea) boot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the crowd begins to fill out, I move back towards the mixing desk to take in proceedings, and as new single \u2018Connection\u2019 chimes in I can sense the levels of excitement rising through those lucky enough to get in early. In fact, from the number of Continental Lovers\u2019 7\u201d singles I later see in people\u2019s possession I\u2019d say my glam punk senses were bang on point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing things out with a cover of \u2018Dead Flowers\u2019 (think more the Dogs version than the Stones original) is perhaps something of an open goal, especially given tonight\u2019s headliners, but every goal counts in this game and tonight Continental Lovers come away with all three points. “Victoire”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point I have something of a confession to make, I\u2019ve really struggled to get my head around \u2018The Simpleton\u2019, the new album from Willie Dowling, it\u2019s not that it is a poor record, it\u2019s just, errr\u2026. not an easy listen (the last time I can remember this happening quite so clearly was with \u2018Spilt Milk\u2019 by Jellyfish around three decades or so ago).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s something that Willie himself explains to the audience from the get-go (phew, so it isn\u2019t just me) as he takes his place behind his keyboard alongside his bass playing amigo Andy Lewis, with the rest of the music being provided by Willie\u2019s electronic box of tricks and hence the band\u2019s \u201cInvisible\u201d moniker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music itself isn\u2019t a million miles away from the songs he\u2019s previously written with Jackdaw4 or as part of Dowling Poole, but the lyrics are easily his most politically driven to date, as one listen to the likes of \u2018Long Drop Down\u2019 or \u2018The Gravy Train\u2019 soon prove. There\u2019s even a heckler when Willie dares to criticize the calamity just waiting to unfold in the US in 2025 as he introduces Dowling Poole\u2019s \u2018Fuck You Goodbye\u2019. Hmmm, perhaps \u2018Long Drop Down\u2019 is more prophetic than the songwriter could ever have imagined, and who would have thought that such stinging political messages would be delivered via tracks that actually sound like they were written during the days when the UK charts where full of names like Supertramp, Queen, Sparks and 10CC and not via the usual platform of punk rock? Has Willie perhaps unintentionally invented a new subgenre of politically charged progressive powerpop with \u2018The Simpleton\u2019? Only time will tell, I guess, but you can next catch the duo out on the road promoting the record with Cats In Space in the run up to Christmas and on a nine date 2025 headline tour.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the longtime Willie fans in tonight there\u2019s a reworking of The Grip\u2019s \u2018Vera Daydream\u2019 slotted in at the end of the set tonight, and as the duo leave the stage to their loudest cheer of the night, I\u2019m reminded of the one and only time I saw that band, supporting (yup you guessed it) the Quireboys, then complete with their bar stage set, something that sadly isn\u2019t with the band anymore, but their It Ain\u2019t Half Hot Mum intro tape most certainly still is, and it\u2019s soon booming from the Corn Exchange\u2019s crystal clear sound system and Newport\u2019s population of lovely boys (and girls) fall into line ready for tonight\u2019s main event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels a little odd watching Thunder\u2019s Luke Morley strapping on his guitar and launching into the riff for opener \u2018Jeeze Louise\u2019, but only for about 30 seconds, because as soon as Spike opens his mouth to sing the opening lines and bassist Nigel Mogg quickly bounds across the stage to conduct the evening\u2019s first Scorpions like pile-on with the six stringer, you can be in no doubt, this is very much a Quireboys show. Then there\u2019s the smile on his face when they then race headlong into \u2018Can\u2019t Park Here\u2019 which speaks volumes for how much he is also enjoying his time sharing stages with these two rock \u2018n\u2019 roll dandies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The between song banter between Spike and the six stringer is fast and, at times, furiously funny, and the rehearsals I mentioned at the top of this review have certainly paid off for the band with new tracks like \u2018Raining Whiskey\u2019 (dedicated of course to Frankie Miller) and \u2018You and I\u2019 sitting pretty next to the likes of \u2018Misled\u2019, Tramps & Thieves\u2019 and \u2018Hey You\u2019 and stand in drummer Harry James turns in a faultless shift in Rudy Richman\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Over on the piano there\u2019s that Willie Dowling once again, now filling in for Chris Johnstone whilst also filling out the overall sound with the band seemingly settled on a reduced five piece format, although I do miss that added KLANG that the Ronnie Wood style second guitar always gave the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also cannot go without mentioning that not only does the band\u2019s merch tonight include two quotes from ex-members of UFO but whilst Mr Mogg was digging out his favourite Gibson Thunderbird for this tour he must have in the process also found all his old Pete Way VHS tapes, because he is absolutely on fire at the moment, throwing shapes left, right and centre, and this only serving to provoke his singing compadre to once again throw his mic stand around like Rod Stewart in his early \u201870s prime. And speaking of which, if I thought \u2018I Think I Got It Wrong Again\u2019 sounded like The Faces on record, then live, you could almost close your eyes and think you were back in 1970 watching one of the earliest UK shows by said band, and if that song is The Faces then \u2018Happy\u2019 really could be a Rolling Stones song. Magnificent stuff indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These shows are of course overshadowed by the fact that founding Quireboys\u2019 guitarist Guy Bailey passed away before \u2018Wardour Street\u2019 could be recorded and as such Spike dedicates an emotional \u2018King of New York\u2019 to not only the perma-behatted guitarist but also his father, who apparently thought the track was the best the band had ever recorded. You can almost sense Bailey smiling down on the band as they then draw the set to a close with a riotous \u2018There She Goes Again\u2019, \u2018Roses & Rings\u2019 and \u20187 O Clock\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the 10:30 curfew having long since passed there\u2019s just enough time to raise our glasses in the air for a quick run through of \u2018Like It or Not\u2019 before we are all sent home with \u201csomething in our eye\u201d thanks to an exceptional rendition of \u2018I Don\u2019t Love You Anymore\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An emotional night for sure, and one that should silence not only any critics but also answer any nagging doubts you might have about what the Quireboys in 2024 are all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is rock n roll, and I love it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NO DRINKS ON STAGE \u2013 \u201cthat\u2019s Luke Morley\u2019s doing\u201d jokes Quireboys\u2019 frontman Spike as he spots the large warning signs stuck onto the front of the venue\u2019s on-stage monitors. \u201cHe\u2019s had me and Nigel practising too\u201d. But what are the band going to sound like when they have rehearsed and not had too many sherries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1787,1818,1400,1710,1681,1680,1701,1833,2052],"class_list":["post-25642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-new-album","tag-quireboys","tag-rpm-online","tag-rpmnews1","tag-rpmonline","tag-tcb","tag-tourlife","tag-vinyl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25645,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25642\/revisions\/25645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}