The much anticipated Go West 21st Anniversary Tour kicked off in the familiar surroundings for most Southern Westies of the Orchard Theatre in Dartford. The guys have been to this venue every year since 2004 and the audience proximity to the stage (put it this way if youre over 6ft you would simply not fit in the front row which is squeezed against the stage) makes it a good gig for a Band who enjoy audience interaction as much as Pete and Rick do: add in the general excitement that surrounds the first night of any Tour and the place was buzzing by the time the guys were due on stage.
A real bonus for the show was how up for a party the crowd were: as the guys from the band walked onto the stage a few enthusiasts jumped to their feet and as Pete and Rick emerged from the sides that was it: the entire crowd were on their feet in no time and there they remained for the rest of the show. It was a great reception and the cheers did happen to include just the odd wolf whistle which frankly could have been aimed at either of them! Pete came out in jeans, white shirt and jacket while Rick caught us by surprise by coming out in a Khaki Diesel t-shirt, jeans and a khaki militaryesque jacket that looked amazing! Both the guys looked fit and confident and indeed they must have been as they launched the show with the Track that is destined to be their next Single: Let Love Come.
If you go to a lot of the guys gigs it can be easy to forget that a lot of fans will never have heard Let Love Come before; it went down a storm though as the audience either sang along or clapped energetically whenever Rick beckoned to them to do so. It set the tone for the evening as we were about to be treated to a huge amount of new material from the guys forthcoming album: Rick usually announces that the album should be ready in time for the 2012 London Olympics but with the amount of material the guys were to play to us I think he will lack a certain credibility the next time he makes that claim!
Let Love Come got the crowd bouncing and was followed by the traditional 2nd song on the Go West set-list: Faithful. I do sometimes feel a bit guilty as im howling along happily to the Go West fans anthem: after all what on earth has such a gorgeous song with its lyrics talking of love and dedication ever done to deserve being murdered by me and a bunch of other fans!. My guilt was assuaged by the fact that Pete and Rick sang the whole song with huge grins on their faces so I guess they cant hear much of what we were doing to their song!. The crowd loved it and two songs in the guys must have been aware they could have led that audience just about anywhere: Go West really were the stars of this night!
The guys paused at this point to have a little chat with the audience. Rick was in a great mood and started by making several peoples night by saying Hi to some of the Faithful in the front row by name and commenting how hard it is for the guys to escape us! I think sometimes I take the relationship the guys have with their fans a bit for granted: you turn up and know the guys will know you by name, will take time to chat and genuinely know and care for their fans. The excitement of some newer fans who after the show commented how exciting it must be to be remembered by your heroes reminded me just how amazing the guys are, the guys fans are loyal because the guys deserve it not just as Artists but also as very decent blokes.
Pete announced that they were going to give us a couple of well known tracks and All Day All Night was followed by I Wanna Hear It From You which was introduced gleefully by Rick as being ‘Very Loud!’. It was indeed loud with Pete belting out the Lyrics in a passionate and energetic rendition complete with a move to accompany the line that ‘Someone will stick the knife in you’ that practically defied gravity as he leant at an outrageous angle whilst still delivering the vocals as if he was stood stock still!. Meanwhile Rick delivered his backing vocals with a gusto that really grabbed your attention and there were moments where Rick was almost bouncing continually as he combined his gorgeous vocals with some good old fashioned and yes very loud guitar!
The guys then really treated the audience by announcing that we were to be the first to hear some of the new Tracks that they guys have written for the Forthcoming Album. Rick caused a few laughs when he very dryly commented that for his purposes that night we were all Virgins!. It got the response it deserved when out of the darkness a voice wafted toward him asking if he could help resolve that issue: Rick giggled and laughed that whenever people propositioned him it was always ‘from the darkness’ in the anonymity of the crowd! Pete popped in at that point to suggest that this may say a lot about people who fancy Rick! A line delivered with a certain confidence as Pete has been howled and wolf whistled at from the moment he had emerged on stage and whose every move caused screams from some very keen ladies in the crowd! The Rick fans jumped to his defence and suddenly Rick was getting howled at from all round the place: honours were even which given they both have never looked better was perhaps the only just outcome to this bit of banter.
First up was ‘Never Enough’ which really seemed to set the Tone for the new material: like all Go West tracks it has certain and intelligent lyrics but the new material also showed that Go West are confident enough to continue to develop their own definitive style for this album: there were the complex vocal collaborations between Pete and Rick that mark all their work and that had the audience silenced in the best possible way as we tried to soak up the guys new work. The sound was polished and professional but ‘Never Enough’ also was powerful and Pete seemed to be in his element as he stood: eyes shut with concentration, and belted out this tale of modern life and love. It was brilliant and the guys pause at the end to remind us of the Track name was really nice of them but unnecercary: no-one will forget the first time they heard this song.
Next up was another new Track ‘Only Love’ which had a modern feel to it that was certainly added to by the Track ending with a distinctly pre-programmed Pete providing his own backing vocals before trailing out: there was a moment where most of the audience looked carefully at Pete to see if his mouth was moving before he helpfully turned and looked pointedly at Lyndon as if to give us all a hint about where the singing was coming from!. A class song and by this point with three new Album Tracks already played the audience would have I suspect pre-ordered this album on the spot even if Ricks guesstimate of 2012 as a release date were true!
The guys do Reggae beautifully and they surprised us again by switching from Wait In Vain to Lolita: Pete drew gasps of disbelief from the crowd when he claimed he knew this track but felt we were all too young! From a man who looks better each year it felt somewhat absurd and the crowd applauded his modesty rather then as a sign of agreement! A very emotional and incredibly charged rendition of Goodbye Girl: introduced simply and with dignity by Rick as ‘For Lynn’ followed. Not even a camera flash went off as many people remembered a lost friend; the boys did it beautifully and Im grateful that I was there to witness the moment.
Don’t Look Down raised the tempo once again and then the last song of the half was Man on Fire: another newbie from what will clearly be one hell of an album! Rick announced that he would emerge for the second half ‘in a velvet one’ before with a grin adding ‘and I don’t mean a jacket Ladies and Gentlemen! Pete refused the offer to discuss his wardrobe with a wry smile and the guys stepped off for a well earned break.
The guys came back out and thank God the velvet Rick had spoken of was indeed a jacket!. Rick was in white shirt and velvet jacket and Pete has changed into a stunning new t-shirt. The guys assured us that much of the second half would be familiar to us and indeed it was as That’s What Love Can Do, Eye to Eye and Glow draped themselves around another new song ‘Faded’ It was great proof that the old and the new from this Duo sit with great ease together; despite songs that were written 20 years apart being played one after the other the set-list still just worked: I doubt many other bands could claim such continuity in their music over that period of time. Total Highlight of the second half had to be ‘Stars Don’t Shine’ which I had only ever heard once before at last years fan weekend. Its just one of the best songs I think the guys have ever written and I surprised myself as at times I sang along with Lyrics that I had not heard in 12 months: its touching and Pete’s vocals are just stunning and when the guys turn their thoughts to Single no2 from the new album I cant imagine at the moment that any other track will stand out more for me. As several people remarked afterwards the only downside to Stars Don’t Shine is that we don’t each own it and thereby have the chance to listen to it more often.
The Sun and The Moon made a very welcome return to the boys live set and was met by a collective ‘aww’ from the crowd as they recognised the Intro! Then the guys cranked up the volume and the pace as they let everyone into a high energy trio of SOS, Call Me and of course We Close Our Eyes: Rick led the clapping and not for the first time that night literally bounced up and down with enthusiasm as he got the crowd going while Pete frankly just blew me away as he sang: I don’t think I can ever say he has sang better then he did in this gig and I just hope he knew it! His voice remains a revelation and it is a testament to his professionalism that after 21 years at the top he still sounds this good: much as he would never say it of himself he has to be one of the finest vocalists out there today.
The guys came back for a totally inevitable encore comprising of Tracks of My Tears and of course King of Wishful Thinking. Pete joked before KOWT with the crowd by asking if there was any song they had not heard and would like too:the answer was inevitable but the gusto with which everyone screamed it at him made Pete grin, Rick playfully suggested they simply perform Vertigo again and Pete shook his head in mock solemnity at his partner as the crowd went bonkers! The crowd gave the guys one of the most genuinely affectionate ovations I can remember and just about the whole crowd stayed behind afterwards to meet the boys. It was one heck of a night and when the last of the Faithful left the guys at past midnight they could look back on a great show and a night when a lot of new people were switched onto Go West; welcome to the club folks!
