Never Mind The Music, Here's The Nostalgia!

This is hen-night heaven. Swaths of excitable thirtysomethings are dressed in period costume; you can barely see the stage through the back-combed hair. One group of woman are kitted out as Adam Ant-style highwaymen. It seems no one told them that their Prince Charming, the original headliner of tonight's show, is indisposed.

Welcome to the second part of the Here & Now tour. If part one passed you by, allow me to fill you in. This is where the pop stars of the Eighties get to relive past glories while securing some cash for the kids' school fees. That most of the performers are pulling larger crowds than they ever managed in their heyday is hardly the point. Nostalgia is now pop's greatest money-spinner. Even Britney would struggle to compete with this.

With clearly nothing better to do with their lives, Go West are back for a second round. Once again, they play competently enough, though songs such as "Call Me" and "The King of Wishful Thinking" remind you that Eighties music wasn't all funny-bad – a lot of it was just bad.

Belinda Carlisle does her best to get through the show with quiet dignity, padding about the stage in bare feet and silk pyjamas. True, her voice isn't quite up to the job any more, but it's the songs that really suck. Carlisle always peddles the kind of soft rock Bon Jovi were so much better at. Indeed, you wonder why the Here & Now organisers didn't just go ahead and hire Bon Jovi.

In the 15 or so years since he last had a hit, Howard Jones's bird's-nest fringe seems to have slipped down to his chin. But, facial hair aside, his set is splendid. "What Is Love?" and "Like to Get to Know You Well" have the same rabble-rousing catchiness they did two decades ago.

ABC's Martin Fry brings some much-needed sparkle and charisma to proceedings. A vision in a glittering pink suit, the singer coos: "We're not overdressed, are we?" "Poison Arrow" is performed with satisfying melodrama, particularly from the backing singers, who enact Shakespearean death scenes with each chorus. "When Smokey Sings," Fry's tribute to Smokey Robinson, is fabulous as well.

By comparison, Hadley, Norman and Keeble – former members of Spandau Ballet – are tedious, not least because they insist on doing an extended medley of their greatest hits. Hadley at least still looks the part, with his sharp suits and greasy flick. But the Kemp brothers were wise to stay away.

(Fiona Sturges - seems to have missed Toyah completely - duh!)

Thanks to Sabine Bode, longtime Toyah fan from Germany,  for the pics that accompany this review. Sabine's thoughts below along with more of her pictures.

Sabine Bode's Thoughts (02-05-02)

"I saw Heaven 17 on their first gig!” – “I remember buying Duran Duran’s first album in 1981 on my first trip to London” – those are the pieces of conversation that reach your ear while being part of the crowd waiting for the “Here and Now” show to begin. So, there’s a sense of 80ies nostalgia hanging in the air – but will it all end up in a great party reviving the youth of the Over-30ies? Let’s wait and see…

Without any theatrical effects and, very unusual for a rock concert, on time, China Crisis come on stage. They seem two really good-natured blokes handling the unfortunate situation of being first on stage quite well. They play only 3 or 4 songs, so the long-awaited moment comes sooner than expected: Toyah leaps on stage! Her outfit is astonishing: Long black high heel boots, black top with a “metal bra” and, well, a little something which is not really enough to be called a skirt and revealing – a lot! She begins with “Good Morning Universe” which is a great intro, as it is the classic opener, and she’s as lively and energetic as ever, obviously enjoying her performance very much. It is also evident that she’s totally confident about her body – it seems like she’s getting braver with age, and WOW, she has every reason to still be proud and loud! Between her next songs, “Thunder In The Mountains” and, yes, of course she is not spared the burden of performing “It’s A Mystery”, she makes some funny remarks, e.g. “How many of you are old enough to remember me?”, or  “I love Brighton… I have great memories…. sex on the beach – I wish!”, and then “This is called “I Want To Be Free”… If you don’t know the words to the song, just make something up…” The lights are turned on to the sing-along bits like “inside out” etc. and there’s many hands in the air. Then she disappears – much too soon, and I think this is not just the opinion of a long-time admirer, but also of most of the audience. 

Okay, this is a Toyah site, so I won’t give a detailed account of the other acts, but, to cut a long story short (and to quote a song by the “Headliners” ?), this is my opinion of the others: Didn’t know what to think of Go West for I was never interested in them and it’s not my “cup of tea” at all, seems they were well received anyway. Good old Howard Jones had less hair, but not less energy than in the Eighties. The worst part, for me, was Belinda Carlisle who wore a strange white suit which looked like a pair of pyjamas – was it to match her tiring performance? Sorry, Belinda, you may have had some well-written pop songs, but you were definitely not born to perform! I mean, next to Toyah most artists will look a bit dull, but this woman absolutely lacked that little something you need to turn an audience on (to be fair, she went down very well, even though I didn’t have a clue why…). To make up for that, ABC really added a glamourous touch, Martin Fry (who hasn’t changed a bit!) wearing a pink suit which he exchanged for a stunning golden (!) one for the final song – which of course had to be “The Look of Love”. Spandau Ballet, or what was left of them, were last, Tony Hadley looking as smart as ever and playing about half a dozen songs. If you ask me, they were not the right band to be headliners, but this opinion may rise from the fact that a) I was never a Spandau fan and b) I would have loved to see Adam Ant instead! (Needless to say, I think Toyah would have been the better choice as a headliner, but I suppose that’s because her commercial success wasn’t as big as Spandau’s. Making her appear second in line, though, was a real mistake because she set the score high and nobody could quite catch up with her!).

So, this is what I thought, bearing in mind that the audience might think differently – this is, of course, always the problem with festivals because not everybody has the same favourites. What put me off most was that every artist was virtually dropped onto the stage to perform those songs that sold most. Okay, this is an 80ies festival, so I can understand that the promoters didn’t encourage the acts to perform any new material (even though I’m sure Toyah would have loved introducing her new songs, and I’m sure they would have been appreciated!).

As for the audience, I have a feeling that, yes, they had a good time, but not more of it than a night at the cinema or in the pub would promise. But then, this was not just the audience’s fault, but may result from the way the show was presented: Every artist was announced by an off-voice which kind of conjured up a sports event. Also, the breaks between the shows, especially in the 2nd half of the show, were really annoying and killed the atmosphere. The fact that everyone had to “share” the musicians makes it difficult to judge whose musical performance was best. Besides, it would have been nicer if there had been some kind of interaction between the artists, e.g. one joining another on stage before performing their own set. I mean, I know this is not “Band Aid”, and why pretend that we’re all one great big family – but I clearly missed that little emotional touch! Consequently, the big final calling everybody on stage once more for a “grand finale”, as one could expect at happenings of this size, did not happen - after Spandau had finished the lights were turned on again and the audience was reminded to buy tickets for the “Here and now” Christmas gig.

Summing it up, this was not the great big party I had hoped to witness, but rather felt like an 80s compilation CD made visible… with a lot of songs on it you haven’t listenend to for ages, but now realizing why you did not buy them in the first place. Even though the show did have its highlights (talking of “You know whom” and ABC), all in all, it did not feel like a true celebration of those days long gone, but had a strange kind of “Let’s show my kids what weird stuff I used to listen to when I was a kid” atmosphere on the audience’s part, and, as for the artists, I can’t help feeling that some did it just for “I am old and I need the money!” reasons. For those of you who have different views, I apologise, I tend to be a miserable moaner sometimes… BUT, as to our beloved Toyah, I think this was really a good chance for her to prove that she’s definitely not past it, and considering the good press reviews she got all along the road, let’s hope that this will encourage her to focus on her musical career more. For I fear that with her forthcoming album, she will, again, not gain the critical acclaim she deserves, let me just take the opportunity to finish by saying: the truth is you are (still) a miracle!

The four women who had gone to the trouble of dressing in pirate costumes must have been distraught to find that Adam Ant, originally scheduled to headline this 1980s nostalgia-fest, had pulled out. Hadley, Norman and Keeble - aka the non-Kemp members of Spandau Ballet - were bumped up the bill to take his place, but where do you find a kilt at such short notice in Brighton? So the Antpeople stood solitarily in their knee breeches and Captain Hook hats, lending a certain ludicrous majesty to the proceedings. The odd pair of fingerless lace gloves apart, few others in the house went to such lengths to dress up. In fact, there was little of the office-party hysteria you normally associate with nostalgia tours, and certainly none of the inebriated writhing that reportedly accompanied Here and Now's 2001 debut. But then, how excited would you be by a reunited China Crisis, a matronly Toyah or the return of the only solo star in history named Howard? 
Having said that, the seven acts are a social historian's goldmine, providing an authentic taste of the clashing genres that comprised pop during the Tory decade. For an extra point, as each churned through their biggest hits, you could link them to their 21st century descendants. For instance, you could argue that China Crisis's acoustic feyness made Belle & Sebastian possible, the screeching, semi-dressed Toyah was the blueprint for a certain G Halliwell, and mumsy, misty Belinda Carlisle, meet Celine Dion.

It was arguable too that Howard Jones didn't deserve the opprobrium that was heaped on him at the time. Years of conditioning make this hard to credit, but tonight he was an entertaining lesson in early electronica. Hadley, Norman and Keeble were okay, too, even without the eye-candy allure of Martin Kemp, but ABC have been dragging their reunited selves around the circuit for five years now, and it showed in the rushed delivery. You'll be unsurprised to hear that tickets for the Here and Now Christmas Party are already on sale.
(Caroline Sullivan)

Thanks to Paul Johnson for providing this review.
 

Huge thanks to Paul Cable for the pics that accompany this review and those below too. Paul sent me dozens of brilliant Toyah pics:)
 
 

Toyah should have been on after Go west & Howard Jones I think. I was screaming TOYAH at her like a nutter! God she did look sexy.

(Paul Cable - Toyah fan)
 
 

This Is Brighton & Hove (26-04-02)

Belinda's playing, but Adam Ant ain't. Puss In Boots will not be meeting Prince Charming for some Goody Two Shoes action at the Brighton Centre. No, it's not a cancelled date on a lonely-hearts page, it's the sad news that Adam Ant has pulled out of the Here And Now Tour. The promoters of the concert have released a statement saying the dandy highwayman will not be playing for medical reasons. Those with an eye on the news will probably know that Adam, whose real name is Stuart Goddard, was committed to a psychiatric hospital after being accused of pulling a gun in a pub in north London. From his ward, he reportedly called The Sun newspaper and said: "I'm not mad." Adam was due to headline the Eighties bash, which features heroes Belinda Carlisle (Heaven Is A Place On Earth) ABC (Poison Arrow) Howard Jones (What Is Love), Toyah (It's A Mystery) and China Crisis (Christian). Promoters say former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley will replace Adam. Crowds can expect a fringe-flicking finale of hits such as Gold, Pure and Through The Barricades. Those kings of wishful thinking Go West have also been added to the bill. One of the first tour mates to speak out in Adam's defence was former party girl Belinda. The ex-punk rocker, ex-cocaine addict and ex-target of no fewer than 32 stalkers says she knows all too well what it's like to freak out under pressure. "It's not unusual for people to go off the rails. People flip out all the time - life is tough. The only reason we know about Stuart is because he's high profile. "I went through a bad time early in my career but I made it through. If you have inner strength, you'll make it through, no matter what the media or the music industry says." Formerly of The Go-Gos but best known for sunny pop hits such as Circle In The Sand and We Want The Same Thing, Belinda is now married, with a daughter, and living in the south of France. "I love the Mediterranean lifestyle, the sea and the sunshine and, most of all, I love French people - I adore their sense of humour." The concert is sold out.
(Jakki Phillips)
 

The Scotsman (26-04-02)

It’s showtime. China Crisis first, then Toyah in copper breastplate, and Go West ("This one was in Pretty Woman … "). The crowd, who clearly haven’t been out in a while, try half-remembered side-steps.

All very slick, but these songs haven’t worn well. And Hadley, Norman and Keeble think they’re Emerson, Lake and Palmer with their dry-ice machine and giant gong. Here comes Through The Barricades, the braised lamb song. "The most beautiful thing we ever did," declares Hadley, twice.

It’s too much, too 1980s.

Or so I think. I leave the Here & Now Tour behind to queue up outside a club for some real here and now. "Good in there, is it?" I ask the lad in front of me.

"Funky techno - real dopeshit!" comes the reply.

"Er, got any Spandau Ballet?"