Dave Woodhall watches a David Bowie tribute with a very special difference.
Holy Holy play the best of Bowie
Birmingham Town Hall
There are tributes and there are tributes. Many of them are anything but; an off-key singer and a backing tape in the corner of a pub is hardly paying tribute to anything, but when the Best of Bowie is being performed by a supergroup featuring amongst others Tony Visconti, producer of much of the man’s classic output, then the word takes on a whole new meaning.
Visconti, as he often did in the studio, plays bass in the band Holy Holy, formed to give a new airing to that rich back catalogue, alongside the likes of Steve Barnard on drums and guitarist James Stevenson, veteran of a host of new wave bands that have been inspired by the man. Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 has the impossible job of attempting to emulate that voice, and although he rocks out more in one song here than he probably has during his ‘proper’ band’s entire career, it’s on the more theatrical numbers that his qualities shine through.
Glenn might not be an exact visual replica of the Thin White Duke, although he does wear a natty pair of white trousers, but for the likes of Time and Space Oddity he absolutely nails the Bowie tone. Visconti, meanwhile, is for the large part content to sit back and show what a fine musician he is himself. His daughter Jessica Lee Morgan, meanwhile, proved that she’s not a bad performer either. After opening the show with a selection of her own material, she played admirably on twelve-string and sax, the final notes of Changes a particularly memorable moment.
The Town Hall is a lovely building with admirable acoustics. However, the one thing it often lacks is a sense of atmosphere for such artists and so early on the audience sat back to enjoy rather than join in. Ironically, it took All The Young Dudes, a song made famous by another singer, to get the crowd on their feet. From then on it was a true celebration – boys and girls did indeed keep swinging. There were the expected highlights – Heroes, Starman and a powerful set closer of Moonage Daydream to name but a few – but also a selection of Bowie’s lesser-known work. All the Madmen featured some blistering guitar work from Paul Cudderford after the opening number Width of a Circle had set the tone for the evening.
The final top ten hit Where Are They Now began the encore, the story of playing on the night of Bowie’s death gave Life on Mars added poignancy, and Rebel Rebel was, by contrast, a joyful celebration of a master’s work. Visconti ended the night by talking about their collaboration, a genius speaking about another genius with obvious pride in what they achieved together. There are tributes and, indeed, there are tributes.
