Paul Rodgers Newcastle City Hall 12th October 2006
I have already written about Paul Rodgers as a solo artist, as a member of Free, as a member of Bad Company and as a member of Queen. He remains, without a doubt, one of our finest blues and soul voices. He has stayed true to the blues and his roots; and he looks as fit, and sings as well, today as he did in the early ’70s when I first saw him perform live with Free. Rather than write about Paul again, I have reproduced the words of a letter which Rodgers had written to Paul Kossoff, a copy of which is included as a handwritten note in the 2006 tour programme. I found it today when I opened the programme.
“Dear Koss. When we were kicking around London together back in ’68 talking about the group we were going to form, who would have thought it would turn out this way. DVDs, digital even videos were a thing of the future. We loved the blues. Driving round town in your mini listening to B B King’s “Live at the Regal”, Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign”, Hendrix and Cream. I remember us laughing when they turned us away from restaurants because our hair was too long.
The first time we jammed together when you showed up with drummer Andy Borenius at my gig with Brown Sugar; you came right up to the stage and said ” I want to get up and jam” and I said “Do you have a guitar?” and you said “Yes I have a Les Paul out in the car”. And I said “Woa this is Finsbury Park man, you need to bring it straight in here or it’ll be gone”. We played B B King’s “Four in the Morning”, “Every Day I have the Blues” and “Stormy Monday Blues”. People came up after and said “You know, time stood still”.
For me in many ways time has stood still since because we made such timeless music.
Thanks for the heart wrenching solo in “Come Together in the Morning”. Thanks for the laughs. Thanks for doing all the driving – you were an excellent driver. Thanks for being a great friend and apologies if we somehow let you down.
See you again one day. Always your friend. Paul”
This was yet another great concert by Paul Rodgers. The set drew from his entire career, and included songs from Free, The Firm, and Bad Company along with a few blues standards. Support came from Paul’s son, Steve Rodgers.
Typical setlist from the 2006 tour: I’ll Be Creepin’; The Stealer; Ride on a Pony; Radioactive; Be My Friend; Warboys (A Prayer For Peace); Feel Like Makin’ Love; Bad Company; I Just Want To See You Smile; Louisiana Blues; Fire and Water; Wishing Well; All Right Now. Encore: I’m a Mover; The Hunter; Can’t Get Enough. Encore 2: Seagull
Archive for the ‘Steve Rodgers’ Category
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