The second of Peter Cox’s Solo shows took place at the Stables near Milton Keynes on Sunday 16th March. The show was a sell out long before the fans arrived for the show and an hour before the start time for the gig the venue was packed solid with a mix of loyal Peter Cox fans and general music lovers who were all looking forward to a great evening with Pete and his Band. The atmosphere was electric as the previous nights Solo gig at the Robin had been brilliant and as a consequence Pete’s fans were keen to get into the show and enjoy their night listening to the mix of Solo tracks and covers that had so thrilled the Robin the night before. At 8pm the auditorium was full and as the lights went down cheers and applause broke out to welcome firstly Pete’s Band and then rapidly escalated into a crescendo of cheering and clapping as Pete himself took to the stage.
Pete walked out and immediately launched into the show with an upbeat and energetic rendition of Shame The Devil, it was a great way to start a Solo show with one of Pete’s own songs and such a high octane one at that. From that first song it was clear that it was going to be a great show; the sound was excellent and Pete’s voice was crystal clear and dominated the theatre. The Band looked and sounded as if they were up for a great gig but it was good to note that they accompanied but in no way smothered Pete’s vocals and for any fan who had travelled to hear that amazing voice that was good news indeed.
From the moment he had walked onto the stage Pete had seemed to be in great spirits and the warmth of the reception to Shame The Devil seemed to please Pete who grinned and waved at a few fans in the crowd before thanking us all for coming out to see him, saying he knew that some of the people in the theatre had travelled for a long time to see him and that he really appreciated the support we all gave him. Suffice to say no-one in the crowd even after one song was feeling like any journey had been anything other then totally worthwhile and following some warm applause from the crowd to thank Pete for his words he got straight back to the job at hand with ‘Change’ the next song up.
Following Change Pete stopped for a chat. Well to be more precise he took a moment to introduce the fact that his next song would be a cover ‘Bigger Than My Body’ by John Mayer and introduced it as only Pete could be stating that it was written by someone younger and better looking then him and he didn’t like that one bit! Suffice to say that Pete was not in the right place to expect to get away with comments like that and the comment about John Mayar being better looking was met by laughter, a few hoots of derision, an ‘oh please’ and enough snorts of indignation to hopefully persuade even Pete that no-one was buying that for a moment! In a business where some Artists seem to need double doors to fit their egos into a room it is a pleasure to follow someone who doesn’t feel the need to bore you with how fantastic they look all the time HOWEVER I think its fair to say that such is the self-depreciating banter and gentle self-mocking that Peter sometimes uses on stage that you almost wish he would give himself a break! The fact is though that brash and conceited will never play a part in Pete’s psyche and that’s why his fans love him!
Me and Mrs Jones was met as always by the sound of some fans sliding off their seats into a bundle on the floor as Pete belted out the song that almost defines why he should have won Reborn in the USA..it was as ever awesome live.
Anyone who has seen Peter Solo or Go West live will know that Pete is not a man who could in any way be called ‘chatty’ on stage, he always seems happier just getting on and singing but there is no way around the fact that at a Solo gig he has to get more into the chat then perhaps he would wish. This gig was no exception but Pete found a rather unusual way around the issue! After several songs there was a delay as Deeral swapped from one guitar to another before the Band could continue, at these points Pete had started to turn to Dee and comment to him to hurry up as, as Pete said ‘you know I have no chat at all’! This got a laugh from the crowd as Pete watched Deeral with an ‘in your own time’ expression etched across his face and I remember thinking to myself ‘cool he’s made a chat out of having no chat at all..inspired!’ It really was classic Peter Cox humour and the crowd were by now pretty much eating out of his hand after the incredible part of the Set we had thus far been treated too.
If any Cover Pete did at the Stables got everyone talking then his next song had to be it. Pete introduced it by expressing his admiration for the artist whose song it was and stated that he found it amazing that he could relate so well to lyrics from a young lady who lived as Pete put it ‘almost in an alternative world to me’. The artist he was talking about was Amy Winehouse and the cover was a fabulous version of Love Is A Losing Game. It was a revelation to hear the song given such a distinctly masculine feel with a beautiful, sensitive and ultimately very moving performance by Pete; you could hear a pin drop as he sang and when he stopped the place just went bonkers as people rightly showed their appreciation with one of the loudest and most earnestly felt receptions of the evening.
Who Did You Think I Was and Show and Tell kept the upbeat feel of the whole gig and Pete was clearly well into his performance with a set of moves in both songs that led one fan at the interval to say to me that if the Stables had a sprinkler system fitted she was damn sure it would have gone off during those songs! It hopefully goes without saying that every shuffle or swivel on stage was greeted with screams that could probably wake the dead, for a bloke who kept telling us he was nearly dead/old/knackered hopefully Pete realised from the reception to his moves that his fans still felt there was life in the body yet! A Lover Is Forever gave Pete a much needed chance to stand still and deliver a gorgeous and soulful number before he finished the first half of the set with Vertigo. At this point fans who had pretty much been sitting on their hands and looking at each other to see who would stand up first finally gave up and went for it by getting up close at the front of the stage for Vertigo. Having made the break and stood the crowd never sat back down again and as Pete invited his fans to head to the bar and said he would see us shortly plenty just stood to guarantee their spot for the second part of the show…they were not to be disappointed.
For the second half Pete had changed from white shirt to black and came out looking relaxed and happy to launch into two tracks from his third Solo Album Motor City Music; Reach Out and Mr Marvin Gaye’s Aint That Peculiar. The crowd were up on their feet and stayed there for the rest of the show which just made the atmosphere even more electric as the 2ft tall stage means that if you are stood at the front there really is nowhere where you can enjoy a closer view of Pete at work. I kept trying to take photos but it was hard to drag myself to look thru a viewfinder when I really just wanted to stand and sing along very loudly and watch Pete perform….it was a losing battle for the camera! Ooh Baby Baby was stunning as ever and then Get ready, again from Motor City Music gave a real upbeat bounce to the set and got the crowd singing and jigging along, much as all these songs were fabulous however the total highlight of the Set for me was coming next.
Pete finished Get Ready, went to the back of the stage for a gulp of water and then came back to the mike to talk to the crowd. He stated that last night at the Robin he had played a song from his first Album ‘Peter Cox’ and quipped as we applauded the mention that most of the copies sold were clearly bought by people in the room with him tonight! But he then stated that he had played a song that he had been firmly convinced practically no-one would know and that the experience had been ‘a revelation’ to him. The song was of course the jaw-droppingly fabulous ‘One More Kiss’ and frankly I was so excited about hearing it live that I was shifting from foot to foot dying for Pete to start!
It was undoubtedly as much of a revelation to us fans as it ever could have been to Pete; he had altered the version so initially he was accompanied simply by Deeral on acoustic guitar before the other guys in the Band joined in. Most incredible though was that as Pete started to sing so did the entire audience, they were word perfect, in time with Pete and as I was stood at the front you could hear the people behind you singing and it wafted past you towards Pete…it must have been amazing for Pete to hear his song sang at him with so much love and for the best part of one verse he just stood and looked out and listened as we sang to him rather then vice-versa. I had thought before that song that I had seen some pretty intense moments at gigs but most melt away in the comparison to that few minutes, Pete was clearly slightly stunned and rather emotional about the reception this track, which had never been a single, received. It showed that Pete’s fans totally have One More Kiss in their hearts and if anything will live with me from that show it will definitely be that moment and watching Pete’s reaction to it.
We all collectively picked our jaws off the floor after One More Kiss and Pete launched into Fall At Your Feet before putting some moves to Take Me To The River that frankly left a fair proportion of the crowd needing cooling down! Its one of the moments when being at the front is a problem as women screamed and howled at Pete with such intensity that Im lucky not to have been left with Tinnitus! It was good fun though and one of those moments where I grin happily to myself at the thought of how many more people will leave the show as full blown Peter Cox fans..and after all that’s what matters more then anything! One of my faves ‘Flame Still Burns’ was next and was pure class as ever with its fantastic lyrics and a joyous delivery from Pete who was clearly having as much fun as we were! Pride and Joy was the final song of the set before Pete and the band went off for what must be the most obvious ‘gap before an encore’ in history as the whole audience banged their feet on the floor, clapped, cheered and if they had been able would probably have let off fireworks such was the enthusiasm to get Pete back!
When Pete came back on stage a voice from behind me shouted ‘another 10 songs please Pete’ which made Pete break into a grin and certainly summed up my wishes too! Alas we could have only two more songs but Oh My God what a way to finish! ‘Song’ was stunning and the Faithful sang along as if their lives depended on it and then, of course, for the final track it just had to be Aint Gonna Cry Again. The intro was met with howls of delight and the audience really went for it and sang/clapped/stamped and cheered and had a total party, I confess I sang so loudly my jaw ached and it may well take years for me to apologise to all the poor souls who had to listen to me! Pete belted out the tale of treachery, heartbreak and ultimate survival and it sounded as fab as it always does, it really was the ideal high note on which to finish an amazing gig.
Pete received a totally deserved massive ovation from the crowd and seemed genuinely delighted by the response his Solo catalogue had received. He shouldn’t have been surprised, any fan I met after the show was full of praise for the Set and of course above all for that voice….until the next time we all have one hell of a gig to look back on.
