Music > Live Reviews
On the road with Last Great Dreamers
22/07/15
Friday, 3rd July, 2015. I am in North Norfolk with my old mate Marc Valentine. Soon, we will be heading to Wales to meet two more old friends, Slyder and Ian. But first, let’s rewind twenty five years to a miserable and wet Wednesday night in 1990.
I’ve travelled from the suburbs into the west end of London. First up is a quick Jack-and-coke in the Royal George, the pub of choice for the rock fraternity. Chances are that I would’ve spoken to Nigel Mogg from the Quireboys, if he wasn’t touring or recording. Somehow, Mogg remembered everyone’s name. Then it is on the Marquee Club where it is unsigned bands night. That particular night, I'm there to check out the headliners, Bad Girls, who, despite the name, are a bunch of blokes who sound like Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers. First on are The Silver Hearts. Equal parts Mott, Slade, Bowie, The Only Ones and The Undertones, this is all glam stomp, punk energy and harmonies. The songs they played that night were way, way better than anything their contemporaries were coming up with and I walked away with a couple of demos and a t-shirt.
Little did I suspect back then that I would be going on the road with the band fifteen years down the line. Here’s the story.
For the next four years, I get to know The Silver Hearts and the extended family that was their crew and I follow ‘em around the country. Throughout it all, there was the song-writing nucleus of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Marc and lead guitarist/harmony vocalist Slyder. The rhythm section went through some changes with bassist Boog making way for all round good bloke Dave and Steve followed Ginge on to the drum stool. Behind the band and making sure everything ran (relatively) smoothly were tour manager Ray, Sherlock and Ian. Mostly, I was a punter, sometimes I hitched a lift in the ageing Transit called The Beast, paying for the ride by lugging gear, changing strings and pretending to be a roadie. There were good times and there were great times. In Dereham, of all places, the lighting tech failed to show and I was entrusted with the lights. After I did my best to melt Slyder under a baking-hot but distinctly unflattering jaundice yellow spot light, that was a mistake the band never made again! In Swansea and Plymouth, I persuaded friends to put me and the band up after shows. Perhaps best of all, there was the West Country tour-cum-camping holiday. All I can say about that I’ve not been able to face a bottle of kiwi and lime MD20/20 since after a night off at the Sunnyside caravan park.
Around about the turn of ‘93/’94, Paul arrived on bass and the band morphed into Last Great Dreamers. At about the same time, I moved out of London, changed job, got into a demanding relationship and stopped attending gigs. Despite that, I picked up 1995 debut album Retrosexual from Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus. The production ain’t perfect but I still love the album for the brilliant songs. So I vaguely kept up with the band. There were highs – turning up to the Kerrang! awards in a Rolls Royce – and lows – losing out to Skunk Anansie in the best new band category at those awards. As the ‘90’s rolled on, they went through a couple of name changes before calling it a day in the late ‘90s.
But did they really call it a day? Ex-roadie Ian started a fanpage on FaceBook. Slowly but surely, the seeds were sown for a Last Great Dreamers comeback. Ginge and Slyder got together for a jam. Then it was Slyder and Marc. With Steve – at least initially – and Paul declaring themselves out, Marc, Slyder and Ginge did some rehearsals with Ian to see how things go. In September 2014, the band’s long-lost second album Crash Landing In Teenage Heaven finally sees the light of day and I attend the well-received comeback show at Camden’s Purple Turtle. This is followed up by travelling with the band to Newquay’s Oxjam Takeover and Wellington, where I assume the role of roadie, gofer and merch-man. April 2015 sees an eleven date tour. I’m in for five of the dates and, in some ways, it is just like the old days. Accommodation in Evesham is distinctly scummy and it’s a (fellow) fan’s spare room in Bournemouth.
And now, three months later, it is time to head Abertillery’s Dolls House and Slugfest 8...
I meet Marc at his home with the intention to get an early start for the long drive to Wales. Getting anywhere from God's Own County is always a bastard but the traffic today seems particularly bad. There are jams everywhere, the aircon in Marc’s car has packed up and the journey takes nine hot, sweaty and frustrating hours. Still, that gives Marc and I plenty of time to catch up on what has happened between the mid-90s and the mid-2010s. Marc moved from London to LA and formed Lovers of Today. With Lovers of Today achieving little, Marc returned home to Norfolk. Slyder stayed on in London, fronting trios Toy Eye and Plan 9 before settling in Somerset. Steve has done the most to keep the rock ‘n’ roll flag flying, playing with bands including Glitterbug, Blind Jackson and The Dogs D’Amour. Having initially turned down the chance to be in the reformed Dreamers, he now splits drum duties with Ginge and new boy Den, depending on who is available. Ginge, meanwhile, drums in the Zeros.The other former band members have, so far as we can tell, done little in music since leaving the band. Of the crew, Ian has played in bands including Wraith and worked on tours. Having auditioned back when Boog left and setting u that fanpage, he is now the LGD bassist. Sherlock has crewed on a few of the come-back gigs. Tragically, the irrepressible tour manager Ray and Ian's best mate Porky are no longer with us.Finally, Marc and I arrive at Redrock Studios in Blackwood. Yep, the Blackwood that spawned The Manics. We’re here to meet up with Slyder, Ian and, as neither Steve nor Ginge can make the upcoming dates, new drummer Den. Between brewing up and replacing a couple of broken guitar strings, I listen to the rehearsal. Despite having spent just one weekend previously rehearsing with the band, Den fits straight in and the band sounds bloody good. A highlight for me is the rarely played “Sunset Over Suzi”. Dating back to the second Silver Hearts demo, this is, for me, the best of Marc and Slyder’s songs and it is always a thrill to hear it. After four hours, the boys call it a day. Arrangements are made to meet in the morning. Marc and I head off to a Premier Inn, stopping only to pick up a couple of beers and a bite to eat. It’s hardly an evening of debauchery for us. The others head to Den's house. Saturday, 4th July and after a surprisingly decent sleep and a large breakfast, it is back to Redrock for another rehearsal. Slyder, Ian and Den turn up somewhat the worse for wear, having hit the wine, gin and vodka until 5AM. Good to see someone is keeping up the rock 'n' roll traditions. This rehearsal sees the band break in some new songs. "Dope School" is the pick of bunch, a hard driving garage rocker, coming on like a contemporary take on MC5 and early Alice Cooper.
2pm and it is time to pack up and head to The Bessemer Hotel in Merthyr Tydfil. After checking in and freshening up, it is off to Slugfest 8. Disappointing news filters through that the fantastically terribly named Spunk Volcano will not be appearing and both Piss Viper and Pizzatramp played yesterday. Still, there’s The Sick Livers and The Chuck Norris Experiment to look forward to. Getting the gear around the punters during load-in is far from easy. It’s amazing how invisible a git like me can be, even when carrying amps, speaker cabs or guitars. Once that is accomplished, with no little swearing on my part, it is time to park the van. Abertillery must be the UK’s capital of double yellow lines. The locals seem to ignore ‘em but the band can’t afford a parking ticket. After driving around for what seems a lifetime, I dump it on the only road I find without those bloody double yellows. Bizarrely, that is the access road to the ambulance and fire stations...I get back into the venue in time for the last two songs of Born To Destruct’s set of fairly derivative punk. Following that, the Dickies-meets-Stones racket of The Sick Livers goes down a storm amidst a blizzard of shredded paper. You had to be there. This is followed by the fearsome female fronted thrashcore of Brassick, who'd go down a storm at The Owl Sanctuary and the Hives-gone-metal of The Chuck Norris Experiment.
Finally, it is time for Last Great Dreamers. With a sound best described as unusual, with very odd delay on the vox, and next to no monitors, this is a baptism of fire for Den. Despite the issues with the sound, the lads put there all in to the performance. From opener Supernature Natural to closer Crashlanding..., the set is chock-full of classics. None of the new songs are given a run out but Sunset Over Suzi makes an appearance and makes up for that. After the Dreamers, things close with Exit_International's sweary noisecore. Their Big Black derivative sound didn’t impress and the announcement that they will split later in the year didn’t cause me to shed any tears. Having not eaten since breakfast, I get to the festival barbecue in time for the last but one serving of the veggie noodles. Think someone’s had an accident with the chilli powder. Then it is back to work. Did I say getting the gear past the punters during load-in was tough? Well, load-out was far worse, having to navigate past pissed-up punters chatting on a narrow stairway and totally oblivious of someone trying to get past with a speaker cab or traps case. The van is loaded and it is time to round up the band. It is like herding cats. Can’t complain though, at least they’ve got me some beer for later on. Local lad Den heads for home. Slyder, Marc, Ian and I go back to the hotel and a true This Is Spinal Tap moment. The guy on reception asks what the band has been up to. Before anyone can answer, he is off, saying he “recognises fellow entertainers” and talking about his two gigs that day, as a magician and kids’ entertainer. I may be wrong but I can’t imagine he’d have gone down well at Slugfest.
In Slyder’s room, there are the usual excesses of a rock band on the road. The room is trashed and the TV flies through the window. Actually, none of that happens. We have a beer or cider (or three) with a chaser of Marc’s Filipino rum and chew the fat some more. Conversation turns to the band’s plans for the rest of the year. First up is Norfolk’s own Rock Bodham festival, followed by the the D-Gen festival in Nottingham, a support slot with Bernie Torme in Oxford and a tour around the UK supporting ex-Runaways vocalist Cherie Currie in November. There is also talk of recording the new songs for release prior to that support tour. Finally, at 3am, it’s time to turn in. Day 3 and I am feeling jaded. Going to the hotel restaurant for breakfast is like entering a warzone. Our friend from the night before is cooking and has had a major falling out with the rest of the staff. Still, the breakfast is big, there’s coffee and juice, so it isn’t all bad.
After checking out it is time to go our separate ways. Ian heads to Nottingham, where he has to start a shift at work at 6pm. Home for Slyder is Wellington in Somerset. Of course, Marc and I have to get to Nelson’s County. It’s the longest journey but we can be slightly smug in knowing that the others will have the joys of getting to Norfolk for the next gig.
Last Great Dreamers play Rock Bodham, Bodham village (between Holt and Cromer) on 25th July.
Crash Landing In Teenage Heaven is available now from Amazon and iTunes.