James and Razorlight. Now there’s a blast from the past for me. Two bands who I saw many years ago and I have watched their careers from afar without feeling an urgent need to witness them live again. James, I saw supporting The Smiths at Newcastle City Hall sometime in the 80s, probably on the Meat Is Murder tour.
Who knows, it was a long time ago. The truth is that I remember very little about James. I probably retreated to the City Hall bar as was my wont in those days. I was alone as none of my friends were into The Smiths. I recall that the City Hall was, unbelievably now, only half full. I remember videos of a slaughterhouse, alongside the harrowing squeals of cows being slaughtered. A thought-provoking show which one does not forget easily. The Smiths were majestic in those days. Not the best time I saw them perform but nonetheless very memorable. Morrisey and Marr were a tremendous pairing at the time.
Razorlight, I saw as part of a free multi line – up concert on a pleasant, happy warm afternoon in The Mall, spent with my late wife Marie. We travelled to London for this Olympic Torch concert featuring Rachel Sweet, Kelly and Ozzy performing Black Sabbath’s “Changes”, Will Young, James Brown, McFly, and headlined by Rod Stewart with his old buddy Ronnie Wood, performing a couple of songs including “Stay with Me”. There may have been others who I forget. Roger Bannister ran down The Mall with the Olympic torch. This was to announce that we were to host the Olympics in 2012.
So, I guess this concert must have been 2008. We were halfway down The Mall and could see little. Luckily, there were screens all the way down and we thus had a splendid view of the proceedings. You had to win tickets in a draw with most tickets going to Londoners. I entered the draw several times using different family addresses to be sure of winning tickets, which I did. Another memorable event for quite distinct reasons. We stayed in a pleasant hotel close to The Mall, had a lovely meal on the evening and came home the next morning. Happy days.
The Arena website announced the pairing thus: “James will be taking to the stage at Utilita Arena Newcastle this June with Razorlight as Special Guests. Following on from a hugely successful 40th Anniversary year, the band will head out on a run of dates in June next year in celebration of their newly announced album, due for release in April 2024. One of Britain’s most enduring success stories, James have released 16 studio albums, selling over 25million copies with their recent run of Top 5 albums proving to be a golden era for the band.”
Now the truth is that I had forgotten just how many chart hits James have had and just how charismatic lead vocalist Tim Booth is. So, I was not really prepared for what I was about to witness. Jackie and I arrived just in time to purchase a very welcome pint of Guinness before entering the Arena. As we took our seats, Razorlight were already onstage, mid – way during their set. The Arena was absolutely crammed. James are obviously extremely popular these days. Razorlight completed their set with their best-known song: “America” which I recognised instantly.
During the interval Jackie went on a bar errand and came back with a lovely double Jack Daniels for me. That set me up for the rest of the evening. James took to the stage to a mighty roar from the Newcastle crowd and launched into a set of hit after hit. It is amazing just how many chart hits this band have scored. Tim Booth was all over the Arena, crowd surfing at one point and running around the outskirts of the audience, up and down the walkways, coming up to me and singing directly to me for several minutes. Lovely and what a gent!
The visuals were fantastic, focusing upon flowers and butterflies, making full use of the screens. James started with “She’s a Star”. I was pleasantly surprised how many songs I recognised, “Sit Down” being an obvious favourite of the audience. The entire concert was excellent, very enjoyable, and over before I knew it. Lots of fun with two great bands.
Many thanks to Jackie for the excellent photographs and to Chris for manipulating the site. Also, to Tim Booth for singing to me.
Razorlight Setlist: (something like) In the Morning; Scared of Nothing; Stumble and Fall; Golden Touch; Vice; In the City; I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got; Before I Fall to Pieces; Somewhere Else; America.
James Setlist: She’s a Star; Waltzing Along; Our own; Hey; Life’s a Fucking Miracle; Getting Away with It (All Messed Up); Tomorrow; Five-O; Shadow of a Giant; Better with You; Mobile God; Jam J; Sit Down; Nothing but Love; Sometimes.
Encore: Way Over Your Head; Come Home; Beautiful Beaches; Laid; Sound
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