Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at St. Pancras Old Church London August 17th 2022

This was the third time to see Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band in London this year and each show couldn’t have been more different yet all were equally as memorable. First of all, back in May we squeezed ourselves into the tiny packed out basement bar of the Heavenly Social where only drummer Phil and guitarist Nat accompanied Mick. After this show, the crowd filed out of the venue and followed Mick to a nearby pub to watch Liverpool in the Champions League Final. Then in June we went along to the superb 2,000 capacity Shepherds Bush Empire where we were treated to a full-on eight-piece Red Elastic Band line-up including brass, woodwind and cello to hear the songs from  the new album “Dear Scott” in all their glory. Then it’s another change of direction for tonight’s intimate show at the St. Pancras Old Church, the grounds of which were used as a photo shoot location by those other Scouse musical legends The Beatles during their 1968 “Mad Day Out” jaunt around London. The grounds and the church itself are stunning and we’ve got front row seats although I was a bit disappointed to find out they weren’t pews though. It’s as though Mick and the band are right there in your front room, well that is if your front room just happens to be a chapel that pre-dates the Norman Conquest of course. It really is a beautiful setting and Mick seems taken aback “I know we’re standing on gravestones but I’m sure it’ll be OK” he says, the stained glass window above the altar behind him adds a suitably ecclesiastical backdrop. 

It’s great that Mick doesn’t just follow the routines of the traditional touring circuit, it’s as if he’s determined that each gig be treated as a very special one-off event, something to be treasured and remembered. The flexibility that he has carved out for himself since Shack’s indefinite hiatus is admirable, he’s working on his own terms so seems to be able to escape the pitfalls, pressures and clichés of the corporate music industry and that’s such a rare commodity these days. Tonight’s line-up of The Red Elastic Band features Nathaniel Cummings on guitar, Tom Powell on bass, Phil Murphy on drums and Martin Smith on trumpet, but unfortunately guitarist Danny Murphy is missing as he’s currently on tour with Jamie Webster. The band kick off with “Gino & Rico” from the new album "Dear Scott" and the sound is surprisingly excellent – I say surprising, as Church’s tend to work best for acoustic or orchestral performances but rarely for a full-on Rock band. However, tonight it really works and the impressive acoustics really highlight the nuances of Mick’s intricate songs. I do notice that Phil has dampened his snare drum with what looks like a tea towel but otherwise, the band put as much into the performance as if they were on the stage of a large traditional Rock venue. Tonight’s set consists of a dip into most aspects of Mick’s musical career post-Pale Fountains so we get “Undecided” from “Waterpistol”, the always emotional “Comedy” and a blistering “Pull Together” both from “H.M.S. Fable”. “As Long As I’ve Got You” is the choice from “Here’s Tom With The Weather” and then there’s the superb “Something Like You” from “The Magical World of The Strands”.

The now classic “Newby Street” from The Red Elastic Band’s debut E.P. “Artorius Revisited” raises the tempo and temperature with Martin blasting out that insistent trumpet riff. Then of course, there’s a large chunk of the current critically acclaimed Bill Ryder-Jones produced album “Dear Scott” which has raised Mick’s profile to heights not experienced since the peak-Shack era of the late 90’s/early 2000’s. In fact, as much as I love Shack and in particular John Head’s guitar work, I don’t find myself longing for a reunion anymore as the quality of the new songs and the excellent chemistry between Mick and the Red Elastic Band members certainly stops you getting all nostalgic. Rather like Ebbot Lundberg did when The Soundtrack of Our Lives split up, Mick has surrounded himself with super-talented younger musicians who don’t only do justice to familiar classic songs but they manage to inject their own personalities and styles into the music. Interesting that both front men decided to cherry pick the nucleus of already established bands, Ebbot from the Stockholm based Side Effects to form The Indigo Children and Mick took from The Peach Fuzz, augmenting them with other musicians to suit. They both seem to understand that the dynamic and chemistry of a band works far better than any bunch of assembled faceless session musicians will ever do and The Red Elastic Band embody this, all have their own characters which really helps them connect with the fans. Phil is a really great drummer, navigating the twists and turns and sudden tempo changes of Mick's songs perfectly. When he's not playing trumpet Martin spends his time dancing away in the background and in front of him, bassist Tom Powell grooves away, long hair swaying around him as he immerses himself in the music. Guitarist Nat is a bit of a star, after all he is the frontman of The Peach Fuzz and his guitar playing is superb, especially tonight as he has to cover for the absence of Danny. It can't have been easy for both of them having to follow in the footsteps of John Head but they have both excelled. Not only are they all great musicians but they are great guys too as was proven by their concerns over the health of one of their biggest fans Ann. In fact, Mick dedicates a song to her tonight and the band make sure they all sign a set-list to present to her at the next opportunity, it’s such a nice touch of class. 

There are too many highlights to mention, but the vocal version of “Shirl’s Ghost” is truly beautiful and it’s strange that they only included a short instrumental take to close “Dear Scott”, it’s almost as though that was put there as a tantalizing trailer for the next album. New song “The Human Race” is a cracker, it’s more of a powerful straight-ahead rocker than the material on “Dear Scott” and Nat’s guitar work is immense. As the song builds to a climax, Mick drops to his knees thrashing away on his acoustic guitar hunched over and as the song finishes he realizes he’s kneeling on a gravestone and I catch him put his fingers to his lips and blow a kiss in way of respectful apology. It’s this church thing, it seems to be making everyone come over all saintly. However, Mick just can’t stop swearing and each time an expletive escapes he cringes and says “sorry” as if a big bolt of lightning is going to flash from above and strike him down. “I blame my Ma,” he says, “She was always swearing” and then corrects himself, “sorry Ma” with a glance to the heavens. The set closer “Meant To Be” is almost like a cathartic experience when  the crowd take over the main riff singing along and turning it into something akin to a football chant. Mick even joins in as he and the band take a bow and lap up the well-deserved applause. They are called back for an encore and we get the excellent “Stranger” from “Waterpistol”, but then it’s all over sadly despite the calls for more. So, another memorable night in the magical world of Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band and I'm already looking forward to the next adventure.

Special mention for tonight’s support act, the engaging Harry Tonks who went down really well with the crowd and was a perfect choice to get us in the mood for Mick. Harry was joined on stage by Mick’s sister Joanne for a cover of The Civil War’s “20 Years” and his own “Community Church” before which Harry commented that he’d always wanted to play the song in a church. Anyone who has seen Joanne sing "Daniella" with Mick at recent shows will know she has a wonderful voice and her appearance was a real highlight. Harry introduced a new song “Middle of The Night” with self-deprecating humour, saying it was a difficult one to play and he wondered why he always made things difficult for himself. Indeed the intricate guitar work was pretty mind (and finger) bending and it reminded me of none other than The Strands. Harry has some excellent songs and a great voice, free of the gimmicks and affectations of many modern day singer songwriters and I look forward to hearing more from him in the future. 

Harry Tonks at St. Pancras Old Church

The Red Elastic Band - Martin, Nat, Phil and Tom

For more information on Micheal Head & The Red Elastic Band please check out their official website here. You can find out more about Harry Tonks here and you can see more videos of the show at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here.

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at Liverpool Arts Club August 7th with Previously Unseen John Johnson Photos

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

One of the very last gigs we went to back in February 2020, just before the onset of COVID and the impending troubles of the pandemic, was seeing a superb show by Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at EartH in Hackney. It was one of only five shows we managed to attend in that terrible year which saw the live music scene completely decimated but I guess, if you’re going to be without live music for a while, what better way to wind down than with a Michael Head show. So, it was fitting that some eighteen months later, our very first post-lockdown venture to a proper sold-out, all standing, no social distancing gig would be to see Mick play again, this time back in his Liverpool home-town. Despite a worrying postponement of the original date, due to the lockdown deadline being extended, we finally turned up at the doors of a live music venue once again. We went along on the Saturday night; the second of two full-to-the-rafters shows at The Arts Club on Seel Street. I was a bit worried at first when I saw it was part of the O2 Academy group as I haven’t had good experiences with this chain in the past, but it really was a great venue, despite the two large columns blocking the view of the stage somewhat. The staff were friendly and our COVID vaccination ‘passports’ were checked on the door, but I must admit it did feel a bit uneasy at first as the crowd swelled around me. However, that trepidation was soon replaced by the overwhelming and much-missed feeling of excitement and anticipation that makes you remember just how special live music can be. And yes, this turned out to be very special indeed. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

The band take the stage and as always, the self-effacing singer looks genuinely chuffed with the level of love and admiration pouring forth from the crowd. What follows is a masterclass in exceptional song-writing with a set that is crammed full of nuggets from all aspects of Mick’s musical career from The Pale Fountains, Shack, The Strands and then bang up-to-date with new and unreleased songs from the forthcoming Red Elastic Band album, the wittily titled “New Brighton Rock”. The Red Elastic Band has always had, if you pardon the terrible pun, a flexible line-up but now Mick seems to have settled on a quite magnificent band that do full justice to his songs and I think this was the best I’ve seen them play so far. Brothers Phil on drums and Danny on guitar are joined by their colleague Nathaniel from the impressive Liverpool based Indie-Pop band The Peach Fuzz, also on guitar. Nathaniel is actually The Peach Fuzz’s frontman so he has that extra touch of charisma that really adds something to The Red Elastic Band’s energetic live show. Supercool bassist Tom Powell grooves away at the back and there’s the crowd favourite, Martin Smith on trumpet. After seeing the Red Elastic Band play shows at seated venues like the Liverpool St. George’s Hall and then Union Chapel, EartH Hackney and the solo acoustic show at the Social in London, it was nice to see the band in a proper “Rock ‘n’ Roll” standing venue again and overall, I think it probably just about topped the similarly stunning show at the Islington Assembly Hall back in March 2016. (Click the highlighted venue names for previous features). 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

The set-list is in particular, a Shack fan’s dream especially if like me, "HMS Fable" is your favourite album as we are treated to a fair chunk of it. The immensely moving “Comedy” scores a direct hit, straight to the hearts of the adoring crowd. Then, there’s a storming full-on version of “Pull Together” and an almost transcendental “Natalie’s Party”, both quite superb. Mick’s sister Joanne takes the stage for the haunting “Daniella” and we also get a rare outing of “Oscar” with the crowd singing along to Martin Smith’s insistent trumpet riff.  Mick is capable of writing such heartfelt, emotionally charged music, there’s real beauty inside that tough looking Liverpudlian. I must confess to a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye on occasion, especially when the crowd sing along and shout their encouragement. Sometimes there are terrace chant sing-alongs in-between songs and I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of youngsters enthusiastically jumping about at the front of the stage, singing along to all the words. The kids are alright...!

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

There’s “Reach” from The Pale Fountains which sends the crowd into raptures and “The Prize” from the fantastic Michael Head & The Strands album. Only one recorded Red Elastic Band track gets an airing tonight and of course it just has to be the classic upbeat bounce of “Newby Street”. The new songs all sounded excellent and promise much from the new LP. “Grace and Eddie”, “Broken Beauty” and “American Kid” all captured the imagination. There’s an acoustic interlude with Mick delivering “As Long as I’ve Got You” and “Byrds Turn to Stone” from “Here’s Tom with The Weather” and then cranked-up versions of “Cup of Tea” and “Al’s Vacation” are both warmly received. However, it’s the mini-symphony of “Meant to Be” that is one of the night’s undoubted highlights, and I suddenly get ‘something in my eye’ during the Love-like trumpet refrain. The Psychedelic rocker “Up” almost lifts the roof off the Arts Club but the really pleasant surprise was the inclusion of “Sgt. Major” from that classic album “Waterpistol”. Hearing this was a cathartic experience, all the stress and hardships of the previous eighteen months of COVID, lockdown, bad news after bad news and the lack of live music – just seemed to disappear for the four minutes or so of this quite brilliant song. Tonight though, was much more than just a long-awaited return to seeing a gig, this was an experience that I won’t forget, this was emotional. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

With sincere thanks to John Johnson for his photos. John has been documenting The Red Elastic Band from the start and is responsible for the superb cover to their debut album “Adios Señor Pussycat”. You can check out his official web-site here for limited edition prints and further examples of his photography. John also co-owns the great bar The Angus Tap & Grind at 83-85 Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2HT, we went along the evening before the gig and not only were they playing some fantastic music, we were also treated to an acoustic live set by a very good singer-songwriter. Finally, John has also started up a clothing range called Sound and Fury and one of their first ventures includes a limited-edition Mick Head T-Shirt which you can check out at the web-site here. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - copyright John Johnson

For more news on Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band please check out their official web-site, their Facebook page or their Instagram page. The Peach Fuzz are also well worth investigating at their official Facebook page here. There's also a fantastic Pale Fountains Facebook group here, which covers all of Mick's musical career. Thanks again to John Johnson and Ana for the pic of the set-list and "hello, wish you were there" to Mick's biggest fans out in Japan - Hiro, Rie, Kaz & Kurt!

Michael Head at The Social January 25th - Photos & Videos from the Shack Front-Man's Recent London Show

Michael Head at The Social - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

Ex-Shack and Pale Fountains front-man Michael Head took a break from his current outfit The Red Elastic Band to make a solo acoustic appearance at the Heavenly Social in London and it was yet another stunning show from one of the U.K.'s most underrated songwriters. The Social was packed to the rafters with tickets selling out in minutes and for those of us lucky to find a vantage point we were treated to an intimate performance full of Mick's usual self-deprecating good humour and of course, loads of those great songs. The set-list was another intriguing crawl through the immense back catalogue with some nice suprises such as "Al's Vacation" rubbing shoulders with classics like "Comedy" and "Streets of Kenny". A couple more new songs made their debut live appearances and as previously mentioned in my feature on the St. George's Hall Liverpool show, they promise that the forthcoming Red Elastic Band album "Adios Senor Pussycat" will be something very special.

Michael Head at The Social - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

Michael Head at The Social - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

Here's a video of "Mood of The Morning"

Michael Head at The Social - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

Michael Head at The Social - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

And another video of "Stranger", for more please check out our Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel.

"Adios Senor Pussycat " will be released on Violette Records mid-2017.

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at St. George’s Hall Liverpool, Sunday December 11th 2016

Photo Copyright John Johnson

Mick Head does like to play gigs in unusual places. He's played in churches, venues threatened with closure such as The Florrie in Liverpool and even in cafés like Leaf on Bold Street and it’s these special one-off gigs that tend to mean more to fans than shows in run-of-the-mill music venues. A great example of this is tonight where he’s performing to a capacity crowd of just over 500 people in the stunningly beautiful neoclassical St. George’s Hall in Liverpool with his current project. After Shack decided to take a break Mick didn’t head off on the typical solo career but instead appeared with a new band, The Red Elastic Band to be precise. Mick explains that this is a cooperative of like-minded people with a fluid line-up that has indeed expanded since I last saw them play at the Islington Assembly Hall back in early 2016. Tonight there’s a choir, a grand piano and flute along with the trumpets and cello and the surroundings suit the lush orchestral arrangements of Mick’s music perfectly. Rather than just churn out the “greatest hits” Mick is taking the opportunity to revisit hidden gems and rarely played album tracks from all stages of his career, often reworking them with different arrangements or instrumentation. That’s not to say this is purely a nostalgia trip, far from it as The Red Elastic Band have already released one excellent E.P. “Artorius Revisited” and a 7” Single “Velvets in The Dark” and will release their debut album sometime in 2017. This new fluidity and open minded attitude makes going to Mick’s gigs nowadays unpredictable and exciting and it must also surely keep things as interesting for him and the band as it does for us, their audience. 

Michael Head, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

However, despite this fresh approach, there are still reassuring nods to the past. Pale Fountains trumpet player Andy Diagram is a main stay in the Red Elastic Band and Pete Wilkinson, Mick’s bass playing side-kick from Shack, is a regular too. Unfortunately Pete doesn’t appear at the St. George’s Hall gig and his backing vocals and on-stage chemistry with Mick are missed a bit but they’ve drafted in an able replacement on the bass so the overall sound was not compromised. By the way, Pete has his own band, the excellent Aviator, who are well worth checking out. Mick looks remarkably fit and healthy these days, and is in particularly cheerful mood as he takes the stage. In between songs there’s lots of banter and in-jokes which is hardly surprising this being such a prestigious hometown show and the front row of seats are all reserved for friends and family. His daughter is in the best seat in the house, right in front of her dad and she must be his most enthusiastic fan too, getting up excitedly after one song to show him a framed black and white photo that someone had handed to her earlier. During gigs you often catch Mick off-guard with a huge grin on his face, totally caught up in the music around him and you can imagine if he weren’t singing he would be down at the front cheering on his own band! It’s moments like this and his lack of pretence that make Mick such a charming and inspirational performer. 

The Red Elastic Band, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The set-list is quite different to the Islington show where Mick delved deep into “The Magical World of The Strands” album but tonight that’s skipped completely and we are treated to an uplifting “I Know You Well” from Shack’s 1988 debut album “Zilch” as the opener and a choice selection of wonderful songs from the second album “Waterpistol”. In fact, a stripped back “Mood of The Morning” with Mick on acoustic guitar backed by some percussive bongos is one of the highlights of the evening. Mick is capable of writing some truly emotional and moving music that can bring a tear to the eye and a lump to the throat. It’s intelligent and involving songwriting with real depth and longevity, although a catchy melody is never allowed to stray too far away. Mick’s sister Joanne sings lead vocals on the beautifully haunting “Daniella” with Mick kneeling on the floor accompanying her with some impressive Flamenco guitar flourishes. More magical moments include the crowd singing along together on “Meant To Be” which sends a shiver down the spine and then there's the Psychedelic rush of “Streets of Kenny” which is simply mind-blowing tonight.

The Red Elastic Band, Liverpool - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

All these great songs are worked seamlessly into a set which also takes in “Newby Street” and “Cadiz” from “Artorius Revisited”, a cover of “Wild Mountain Thyme” and some new and unreleased material too. Mick ends the main set with “Comedy” one of the most perfect singles of any genre or any era and the upbeat “Newby Street” is so good it gets played again as the encore prompting people to finally get out of their seats to dance and show their appreciation. The Red Elastic Band will be releasing their debut album “Adios Señor Pussycat” on Violette Records in 2017 and talking of Violette, another thing Mick seems to have tightened up on since starting the Red Elastic Band is that old chestnut “artistic control”. It’s great that Mick has found kindred spirits in Matt who runs Violette Records, graphic designer Pascal Blua and photographer John Johnson, as all combine to make the Red Elastic Band releases, not just musically superb, but visually striking and very special indeed. In fact, everything from record covers to gig posters to badges, limited edition vinyl, postcard “box-sets” and T-shirts are all stunning and highly collectable. But reassuringly, and most importantly, among the new material are some songs that easily match Mick's most popular and well-loved classics, “Money”, “What’s The Difference?” and “Queen of All Saints” all sounded great and promise that “Adios Señor Pussycat” will be something quite special indeed. 

The review of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at The Islington Assembly Hall can be found in our Blog archive here. Violette Records is the exclusive home to Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and you can check out their web-site here. Designer Pascal Blua’s excellent design work can be found at his own website here and the Liverpool based photographer John Johnson's stunning photos are here. The essential web-site and comprehensive Mick Head archive Shacknet is here. With thanks to Matt at Violette. More photographs of the gig can be found at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here, please hit “Like” and “Get Notifications” if you are not already following.

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band at The Islington Assembly Hall Friday March 04th

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

The Islington Assembly Hall is a perfect setting for tonight’s Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band gig, it’s an impressive 1930’s Art Deco venue with a high stage, a seated balcony and excellent sight lines all round. The lighting is good and there’s a large mirror ball casting star-like patterns across the huge Violette Records back-drop. The place seems close to capacity and there's a tangible buzz of anticipation all round as I make my way to the front. The band appear on stage, Mick's wearing a cool Jamie Reid designed ransom-note lettered “God Save the Florrie” T-shirt in support of the historic Liverpool venue The Florence Institute. I haven’t seen him play live for a while and the first thing that I noticed is how healthy he looked. I wasn’t the only person thinking this as someone shouts out a compliment on his youthful appearance. “It’s all that crystal meth” he quips. It’s typical though - he tells us - although he’s fitter than ever, he came down with a dose of the flu just before the gig, his first cold in over 20 years. There’s no denying the flu has taken its toll although he doesn't complain and soldiers on regardless but his voice does crack on occasion. However, in a strange way it makes the gig even better, it might sound weird saying that but everyone rallies around Mick, particularly during "Meant To Be" where he has to leave some of the higher notes dangling only for the crowd to take over and sing along enthusiastically. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

The Red Elastic Band, as the name may suggest, is a flexible collective of musicians enabling Mick to play gigs in various unusual venues either as a trio accompanied by cello and trumpet, alone with his guitar or in some cases backed by a choir. Tonight, here at the Islington Assembly Hall we get treated to a full-on seven piece line-up comprising Mick on vocals and acoustic guitar, the familiar face of Shack’s bassist Pete Wilkinson to his right, two trumpet players, a cellist, a guitarist and a drummer and all are utterly magnificent throughout. As Mick introduces the musicians he admits “I just found out that we are a ‘Septet’, that’s much easier than to keep writing ‘all of us together’”. He talks about this gig being in “his manor” as he lived in Stoke Newington for a while and throughout the show he regularly name-checks friends who have supported him and acknowledges familiar faces in the crowd. Although this sometimes backfires. “You were at the Glasgow gig weren’t you?” he asks a girl standing at the front of the stage. She shakes her head a bit sheepishly. A couple of songs later and he again looks quizzically at the girl, “are you sure you weren’t at Glasgow?” She shakes her head as though sorry to disappoint him. “Well, if you weren’t there, you have a twin who was!” He seems to thrive on this interaction with the audience and often checks himself, "I can hear my dad's voice saying shut up, get on with it!" However, the interaction bit does get tiresome with people calling out their favourite obscure song titles when Mick is trying to speak. “He’s not an effing jukebox!” someone shouted, obviously more irked than I was. “Hey, that’s a good idea” Mick says “but I’ll have a slot at the front that will only take notes, no coins”. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

He's remarkably candid throughout the night; the cheerful banter is punctuated by some heartfelt tributes, in particular to his daughter, who is in the crowd tonight. When they play “The Prize” from “The Magical World of The Strands” album, Mick explains that “I wrote this for my daughter, she's over there and I can feel her eyes in the back of my neck. She's the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. You see I'm embarrassing her now, she's crying and her mascara's going to run!”. The song is absolutely wonderful, Pete adds some gorgeous backing vocal harmonies as “The Prize” builds to a superb climax. It’s that utterly compelling music allied with those sudden between-song moments of honesty and humility that makes seeing Mick play live so very special. It’s not just “another gig”, it always means much more than that. During "Something Like You", another stunningly beautiful Strands song, I see grown men cough loudly to relieve that lump in the throat and over-act the yawning to hide the surreptitious welling up. "Ahem, did you see the match mate..!?"

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

The set list is a delight too, a perfect mix of new material nestling alongside some familiar (and some not so familiar) Shack and Strands songs. They haven’t tried to replace or replicate John Head’s unique cascading guitars, instead concentrating on the more laid back orchestral numbers from the back catalogue. Actually, I've always thought Mick is underrated guitarist too – often while in Shack he is overshadowed by brother John’s majestic playing and tends to take more of the rhythm role. But tonight he excels, especially on the solo acoustic numbers where he plays a 12 string guitar beautifully, full of impressive Flamenco style strumming. At the end of a stunning "Streets Of Kenny" he drops to his knees for a powerful freak-out. Mick's songs have a real depth to them, they can be as evocative and cinematic as John Barry or Ennio Morricone or can sometimes seem like jaunty sea shanties or charming lullabies. During tonight's gig I pick up on strains of Jazz, Burt Bacharach, Baroque and even the Bossa Nova of Sergio Mendes and then there's The Red Elastic Band's fantastic 7” vinyl single “Velvets In The Dark” which starts off with a guitar motif that reminds me of Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” from the “Midnight Cowboy” soundtrack. 

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

In the early 90’s Arthur Lee from Love took on Shack to form part of his backing band for some live shows, this must have been a fan’s dream come true for Love are probably one of the biggest influences on Michael Head’s music. This is apparent on “Meant To Be”, which is not only one of the stand-out tracks on the faultless “And Here’s Tom With The Weather” album, but is also a definite highlight of tonight' show. They run out of songs to play so decide on “Newby Street” again but nobody minds, far from it. It might well be one of the most recent songs that Mick has written and they might have opened the show with it but it is already right up there with the classics from the back catalogue. In fact walking to the tube station after the show all we could hear was people around us whistling or humming the trumpet riff to the song. This continued down onto the platform, onto the Victoria Line and then onto the Circle Line all the way to Paddington station – we could still hear that damn catchy riff ringing out. When we finally got all the way back to our home station I was convinced that the inspector at the ticket barrier was whistling “Newby Street” too!

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016

Check out the excellent “Shacknet” web-site which is a superb resource for all Mick related activities. Visit the Michael Head official web-site for info and news on upcoming shows and then don't forget Violette Records for the on-line store. More photos of the gig can be found over at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here and you can hear “Newby Street” from Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band in Episode 14 of Retrosonic Podcast, which is up at our Soundcloud site and on iTunes.