From the Exchange website: “The band Cream were one of the first supergroups, blending their beloved blues with powerful rock licks and rhythms. Now, nearly 60 years after the trio of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce burst onto the scene, North Tyneside welcomes the new generation – Sons of Cream. Kofi Baker and Malcolm Bruce both have deep roots going back to the birth of the 60’s British Blues R&B Rock Explosion. Here they honour the incredible legacy of their fathers Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce alongside their bandmate Eric Clapton in an exciting show featuring the music of Cream and beyond through their project Sons of Cream.”
“But this isn’t your typical tribute act, these men have a strange multidimensional pedigree. It is purely second nature as they dive inside the music, bringing it alive, like a living organism, like a second skin, all constantly morphing into something new. They have big shoes to fill. And through some kind of genetic imprint, and intuitive sense, they arrive at the true heart of what Cream’s music stands for and are truly making it their own. Together they are bringing to light the spirit and pure energy and audacity of the music of their fathers.”
Malcolm Bruce, son of Jack Bruce, said: “We are excited to be coming to North Shields and The Exchange 1856 to play the music of Cream. It’s a new venue for us. I have great formative memories of visiting Chas Chandler in the general area as I grew up with his son Steffan…..We are comfortable playing the music as we have been playing together for a while, but also because we are not approaching this as a tribute act per se. As we are all actually related to the original band members and grew up performing with our dads, we are essentially an extension of the whole thing. Although of course we play all the songs that people know and love, we understand and approach the music from the point of view that it is based on improvisation, so it is fresh and new every time we perform.”
“So, we go off on a musical journey with the material in an organic way. This is what the original band did and how we understand it ourselves. And this gives us the freedom to let ourselves discover our own way of playing, and that to some degree takes the pressure off! We are not pretending to be Jack, Ginger, and Eric, that would be impossible anyway. So, we use the material as a vehicle for self-expression rather than simply playing it note for note. All the songs get a great reaction depending on the night, of course the best known songs like ‘White Room’ and ‘Sunshine of your Love’ are crowd favourites but also less well known songs such as ‘We’re Going Wrong’ are a joy to play because they are so direct and expressive and go off into uncharted territory every time we play them. It’s all about the journey for us.”
So, would the sons do their fathers justice? I was really looking forward to this concert as I was lucky enough to see Cream at their reunion concert at The Royal Albert Hall London in 2005 which was a big gig for me. I’d watched the Cream farewell concert on TV in the late 60s and was just mesmerised by Clapton. His hair, the psychedelic painted SG, the “woman” tone he described in the film, it all seemed just sensational to me, as a kid at the time. I so wished that I’d had the chance to see Cream. I remember older boys at school talking about seeing them at a gig in Newcastle and saying how great they were. I was so jealous of them. I bought Goodbye Cream and played it repeatedly. I saw Clapton many times in the 70s and 80s, and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker with their solo projects. But to see Cream was a great dream, an ambition.
So, when the rumours of a reunion came to fruition, and it was announced that the three legends would come together for a series of shows in London I was determined to go. I was nervous about getting tickets and stressed about it for days before they went on sale. On the morning that they did go on sale I had two phones and a computer to hand and got straight through to the Albert Hall box office on one of the phones, managing to my joy to buy tickets some ten rows from the stage. I then waited in anticipation for the gig. Would it be as good as I hoped?
Marie came with me, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Judging by the American accents in evidence, the Albert Hall was full of fans who had travelled a long way for the honour of seeing this legendary band play for one more time. The atmosphere was strange, everyone was quiet in anticipation. It was as if the crowd couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Quiet, almost religious. The set covered everything I could have wished for with a selection from all of the albums. Clapton was God again; Jack sang beautifully, and Ginger pounded away on his drums.
The crowd stayed in their seats until almost the end. For “Sunshine of Your Love”, which was the encore, we were all up and we managed to get right to the front. Marie was leaning on the stage directly in front of Jack Bruce and I was just behind her. You can even see us on the DVD if you look closely. A night that I will remember for ever. Sometimes your dreams do come true, and sometimes they are as good as you dreamed, they would be. Happy days.
Back to today and The Exchange. The songs of the 60s resonated through the hall. Jackie, Norm, and I really enjoyed the concert. As the set list shows, the band chose an eclectic mixture of tracks from Cream’s back catalogue, including some I had forgotten, such as the wonderful “We’re Going Wrong”. They even threw in a magnificent attempt at “Toad”, the Ginger Baker drum solo, and a couple of Blind Faith songs which were no longer familiar to me. The performance was note perfect, including the understated opener “NSU” and the magnificent “White Room”. These guys are immersed in the music of their parents, who I am sure would approve. “Sunshine of your Love” Happy days are here again! Many thanks to Jackie for the photographs and to Chris for manipulating the site as usual. The last picture of the band is from the Exchange website
S
et 1:N.S.U.; Politician; Outside Woman Blues; Sleepy Time Time; Can’t Find My Way Home; Pressed Rat and Warthog; Tales of Brave Ulysses; Toad.
Set 2: I’m So Glad; Cross Road Blues; Sitting on Top of the World; Had to Cry Today; Sunshine of Your Love; We’re Going Wrong; White Room; Sweet Wine.
Encore: Spoonful.
I couldn’t resist taking up the opportunity to see the legendary drummer Ginger Baker at Stockton Arc last night. It was the first time that I have been to the Arc, which is an arts centre venue in the centre of Stockton. Ginger’s current band consists of Pee Wee Ellis on saxophone, Pee Wee was in James Brown’s band in the 60s and is also long-time musical director for Van Morrison (aha I thought I recognised this guy), Alec Dankworth, on electric and double bass, Alec is son of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, and twice named Bassist of the Year in the British Jazz Awards, and Abass Dodoo on percussion. Ginger took the stage spot on the advertised start time of 8pm. The band played two sets of jazz instrumentals. I’m not a big jazz fan, but enjoyed this gig. These guys can really play, and it shows. Great to see Ginger again.
This was a big gig for me. I’d watched the Cream farewell concert on TV in the late 60s and was just mesmerised by Clapton. His hair, the psychedelic painted SG, the “woman” tone he described in the film, it all seemed just sensational to me, as a kid at the time. I so wished that I’d had the chance to see Cream. I remember older boys at school talking about seeing them at a gig in Newcastle and saying how great they were. I was so jealous of them. I bought Goodbye Cream and played it again and again. I saw Clapton many times in the 70s and 80s, and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker with their solo projects. But to see Cream was a great dream, an ambition.
So when the rumours of a reunion came to fruition and it was announced that the three legends would come together for a series of shows in London I was determined to go. I was nervous about getting tickets, and stressed about it for days before they went on sale. On the morning that they did go on sale I had two phones and a computer to hand, and got straight through to the Albert Hall box office on one of the phones, managing to my joy to buy tickets some ten rows from the stage. I then waited in anticipation for the gig. Would it be as good as I hoped? Marie came with me, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Judging by the American accents in evidence, the Albert Hall was full of fans who had travelled a long way for the honour of seeing this legendary band play for one more time. The atmosphere was strange, everyone was quiet in anticipation. It was as if the crowd couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Quiet, almost religious. The set covered everything I could have wished for with a selection from all of the albums. Clapton was god again, Jack sang beautifully and Ginger pounded away on his drums. 
The crowd stayed in their seats until almost the end. For Sunshine of Your Love, which was the encore, we were all up and we managed to get right to the front. Marie was leaning on the stage directly in front of Jack Bruce and I was just behind her. You can even see us on the DVD if you look closely. A night that I will remember for ever. Sometimes your dreams do come true, and sometimes they are as good as you dreamed they would be. Happy days. Setlist: I’m So Glad; Spoonful; Outside Woman Blues; Pressed Rat and Wart Hog; Sleepy Time Time; N.S.U.; Badge; Politician; Sweet Wine; Rollin’ And Tumblin’; Stormy Monday; Deserted Cities of the Heart; Born Under a Bad Sign; We’re Going Wrong; Crossroads; Sitting on Top of the World; White Room; Toad. Encore:Sunshine of Your Love. 
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