Diablo Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Just been to see the live show of Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds in Newcastle. Been a fan of that ever since I was a kid, and the last chance to see Jeff was not to be turned down. However I thought the audience had got it wrong when they cheered as one of the musicians walked on stage, then picked up his bass. Shortly afterwards Jeff walked on to a bigger cheer, but I figured some people had got mixed up. Then I wondered why the bassist was stood at the front of the stage in front of everyone in the rather large band. Then I realised it was Herbie Flowers of T-Rex and all the rest of it. He played his Fender J, sounded great well up in the mix (against an orchestra of around 30 that is not bad going) and he played extremely well. The production standard was very high, if you get a chance and the rest of the shows are not sold out it is well worth a visit. The Chances of anything coming from mars....... Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Just to add, this link is for the 2009 tour, but pretty much all of it is still the same in the 2014 tour: http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/dec08/articles/wotwonstage.htm Of course Herbie played on the original album of WOTW, and the band is 56 people in total! Image trying to get that to to agree on a rehearsal schedule. It is hard enough getting 5 people into one place at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planer Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I missed this when it was in Brighton a while back :-( I'm a bit of a regular at Herbies 'Jazz Breakfast' shows in Brighton - he is a ledge in our house. He's always got time to talk, chats to the young ones at the shows (I take my 7 year old and he loves it). And yes, that old Jazz sounds amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) A true legend! Incredible player - not fast or flashy but plays beautiful melodic lines with a monster tone. Let's not get started on his Jazz bass though... He doesn't really sound like anyone else (except maybe the guy who played on Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" album - who I thought for years [b][i]was[/i][/b] Herbie... ). Edited December 4, 2014 by Conan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 [quote name='planer' timestamp='1417656389' post='2622840'] ... he is a ledge in our house. [/quote] You put plates and beer mugs on him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1417682628' post='2622917'] You put plates and beer mugs on him? [/quote] And flowers of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planer Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1417682628' post='2622917'] You put plates and beer mugs on him? [/quote] We do. He protested a bit at first, but once I'd put some big bolts through the old chap (f'narr) to hold him to the wall, he went strangely quiet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krysbass Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I was at the Liverpool Echo Arena gig on November 28th and was also mightily impressed by Herbie's playing - although I could have done with more bass in the mix. This may have just been down to where I was sitting, because on the O2 Arena DVD of the "New Generation" show, the bass is much more articulate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbass5 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 ahhh !! Herbie - he used to drive that damn Bettle number 53 round like an idiot quite good on bass too and the Tuba, I was trying to find tuba smarties clip when he filled it with bubbles and played this number. But the one they nicked off the German geezer wasn't bad either -clip below http://youtu.be/QgbgUrp1a70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable9 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 saw him doing a 3 piece jazz gig with the blue J bass at a little village food festival a few years ago...pouring with rain and wearing a bright orange kagool! lol, but what a groovy fellow he is, they sounded amazing, tight and funky, kinda Yellowjackets style.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Bassman Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I went to the Brighton gig last year. Herbie (and Chris Spedding) really enjoyed the whole show and was close enough to feel the gear from the heat rays! uuuulaaaa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbass5 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Here he is explaining him earning double buble http://youtu.be/XBXUP5GqYJs?list=PL98k7D_8Rf9az6YZXwnaqhbd_VlFGlFaX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkW Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Saw him playing at the WOTW show in Leeds last night. We took the kids as a surprise - they've watched the DVD of the show hundreds of times since we bought it for them a couple of years ago. Amazing night! I had a nice surprise when I first played the DVD - I used to play in the Staffordshire County Youth Orchestra with the guy who was their principal cellist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbrag Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1417859448' post='2624575'] I was at the Liverpool Echo Arena gig on November 28th and was also mightily impressed by Herbie's playing - although I could have done with more bass in the mix. This may have just been down to where I was sitting, because on the O2 Arena DVD of the "New Generation" show, the bass is much more articulate. [/quote] I saw it in Cardiff last night good show and all the musicians were great (especially the drummer) but I agree with you about the lack of bass in the mix. I was trying to listen carefully to the legend that is herbie but stuggled to hear him except when it was just him playing. Edited December 8, 2014 by sbrag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
41.2Hz Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) I saw WotW at the Motorpoint last night. Similar thoughts - very impressed with the drummer, playing an electronic kit (as far as I could see anyway), but Herbie was a bit low in the mix. Edited December 9, 2014 by 41.2Hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodney72a Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Accy Yeats on drums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.