It has been a long time since I last saw Paul Young in concert. The last time I saw him in concert was in the 1980s when he was at the height of his career. So, I was looking forward to seeing Paul again and catching up with him. Jan and I were sat in a nice box close to the stage and with a great view of the performance. The show was in two parts with a short interval.
The Forum website told me: “He’s been a major star for four decades. Paul Young broke into the big time 40 years ago when No Parlez went to number one and spawned iconic hits like Wherever I Lay led to My Hat (That’s My Home). More success followed with the number one album The Secret Of Association and the worldwide hit Everytime You Go Away, not forgetting an appearance at Live Aid and more.
Paul sustained that success – while having fun in his tex-mex band, Los Pacaminos. Now, on the 40th anniversary of No Parlez, he’s releasing a remarkable new record and publishing his extraordinary memoir; both called Behind The Lens. He’s touring the UK, too, where he’ll meet fans, sing songs and tell stories about his incredible career. It’s time to revel in the classic hits and learn the stories behind them as Paul steps out from Behind The Lens.”
As the above description explains this was very much a speaking tour, with Paul reminiscing about many career highlights, interspersed with excerpts from his back catalogue, for which he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. He was also accompanied by one of his long-time collaborators, who also acted as the interviewer during the Q&A session. The stage was set out with a couple of seats for Paul and his friend as shown in the image. However, photography was not allowed so as not to detract from this intimate show; hence the lack of any pictures within my blog entry this time.
Paul started with tales of his youth and how he first got into music. He moved on to his early soul review band which comprised up to nine members at one-time, namely the Q-Tips, who I saw on two occasions, the first at Middlesbrough Rock Garden and then at Redcar Coatham Bowl. They were excellent on both occasions, Paul very much the front man, leading a band including vocalists and a brass section.
After Q-Tips followed The Street Band and chart success with the quirky hit record “Toast” from which he showed a short video snippet. I had forgotten this particular part of his career. Next Paul proceeded to discuss his massively successful LP record No Parlez which included the hit “Wherever I Lay my Hat” and my particular favourite “Love of the Common People” a reworking of the reggae song originally released by Nicky Thomas in 1970.
Paul then moved to his second, equally successful album, The Secret of Association, and another massive chart hit “Every Time You Go Away”. He then showed a short clip of his appearance at Live Aid, which I attended in Wembley Stadium in 1985. A fantastic memory of momentous day. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of all of the crowd walking out of the stadium singing “Feed the World” after witnessing Bob Geldof leading the entire cast of the day through the song.
The second half of the show brought us up-to-date with Paul discussing his latest band Los Pacaminos and his latest album and book Take a Piece Of Me with You. I bought a copy of the lovely book which contained an autographed card (see images). The other images of the Q-Tips ticket, the Live Aid programme and the No Parlez LP are of items from my own collection. Many thanks to Jan and Chris for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site. A greatly enjoyable evening with a hugely talented and successful guy.
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