Back To Bacharach
I recently travelled to the small but cosy and welcoming Radlett Centre in the main to have another catch up evening with Jimi Howell (one half of the Jimi & Robbie stage crew on the Thank You tours) but as a bonus I had a terrific time watching the Back To Bacharach show that is currently touring around the U.K. And for which Jimi is doing the sound.
When the songs of the great Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David are strung together and played by a superb set of musicians and a trio of extremely fine vocalists you are pretty much guaranteed a great piece of entertainment.
I don’t know the names of all the musicians who comprised the eight piece band but they made a marvellous sound. And the trio of vocalists, Martin Neely (the main man and compere of the presentation), Arabella Rodrigo and Rachel Matthews not only looked so good (lots of sequins, suits, bow ties and glamour) but did the songs proud. It was hit after hit after hit and there was only one song in the pack I hadn’t heard before. You couldn’t fail to have a good time listening to that.
I even got a name check during the show and a nice little ego boost from the bassist who told me that many years ago he had been influenced by me to take up the instrument. I was certainly flattered and we all need a pat on the back occasionally.
Apart from the inclusion of Jimi in this tale there would appear to be no particular connection with The Searchers but as I listened to all those iconic tunes it brought back so many memories of some early tours with Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, Gene Pitney and a few others who have all had hits with Bacharach/David compositions.
Burt and Hal’s main muse for their songs was of course the great Dionne Warwick and it seems quite remarkable now, considering her position these days as a global superstar that she was one of our supporting acts on a 1964 tour which also included The Isley Brothers, The Zombies, Syd & Eddie (who became Little & Large), and Alan Elsdon & the Voodoos. Dionne opened the second half immediately ahead of our closing spot.
I recall Chris Curtis and I going to her hotel in Mayfair the evening she arrived in the U.K. Chris with his usual burst of enthusiastic eccentricity carried a fairly sizeable portable record player and a small stack of albums. Whether she wanted it or not she was treated to a session of tunes, a lot of her own, which he thought were right up her street including album tracks that she had recorded but which Chris, probably rightly, thought would have been chart singles for her. He had a great flair for picking hit songs.
Her current release in the U.K was You’ll Never Get To Heaven If You Break My Heart which I loved. I recall sitting in the hotel with her in Stockton On Tees after our show discussing religion. I seem to recall she was a Baptist although I may have mis-remembered. I was a total heathen I’m afraid. Still am. I never got to talk to her much after that alas. In Glasgow she wandered into the city and forgot we drove on the left, resulting in a fracas with a bus and a broken arm. We never saw her again. To be honest I don’t think she was enjoying the tour anyway and felt her immense talent would be properly employed in a different setting. I can’t blame her.
Another by-the-by is that the legendary football manager Alex Ferguson had come to the show that night, not to see us unfortunately. He was a huge Dionne Warwick fan and boy was he disappointed. We know that because years later when we were doing a charity gig in Manchester he told us.
Our esteemed webmaster Gary Jackson actually attended the Portsmouth show on November 1st, 1964 taken there by his mum who was very miffed on finding out that I had replaced Tony Jackson and therefore were a bunch of impostors and that they should leave. I believe they did stick it out to the finish.
Obviously Dusty, who became a very good friend of mine, was also a Bacharach afficionado having recorded songs such as A House Is Not A Home, The Look Of Love, Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa and her huge American success Wishing & Hoping. Some years after she had died a charity, The Heritage Foundation, held a plaque unveiling on her London house followed by a tribute dinner at a hotel in Swiss Cottage some time ago I did my bit by singing that song accompanying myself on acoustic guitar. I can’t in all honesty say I was very good but I did my best. I have some great memories of times in her company.
The only time I was ever in Burt’s company was courtesy of Dusty when she held a house warming party at the property she had purchased in Holland Park, the only house she ever owned. The great man was there that evening along with other artistes such as Doris Troy, Norma Tanega and Madeline Bell but I can’t recall having a conversation with him. I was a bit shy in those days.
Included in the seeming endless hits in the Radlett show was What The World Needs Now Is Love which of course was in the charts by another person I became friendly with, Jackie DeShannon. Still around. Still performing as far as I know. Ah the memories of her picking me up in her gold Cadillac at my hotel on Sunset Strip and taking me to a trendy drive-in hamburger joint called Dolores.
And finally are you aware that we Searchers also recorded some Bacharach/David songs? Magic Potion and This Empty Place. That last one is one of my all-time favourite Searchers recordings from the It’s The Searchers album. Lead vocals were by Chris Curtis. I wasnt on it so I'm not biased. No doubt Ill be catching up with Jimi again soon which hopefully will spur more memories to entice you into logging on regularly to Gary’s most excellent site. I’m not too sure what Rob is doing right now. He hasn’t given me any information lately but over the last year or so he has crossed continents and assisted various bands of great renown playing the biggest festivals in the world. The lad is doing so well. Both Jimi and Rob deserve all the success they achieve. And if we ever do another concert I hope they will be there taking good care of us once more.
