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Post by Catherine on Feb 5, 2012 23:53:00 GMT
The man who was hailed and honoured this weekend knew a thing or two, I reckon.........it was SENSATIONAL
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Post by chesterthecat77 on Feb 6, 2012 2:10:06 GMT
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Post by caveman on Feb 6, 2012 9:07:28 GMT
I was there!, and in the words of the great man himself it was a gas to be there!!!, the usual suspects were there , a couple weren't and they were missed!!, it was an excellent exhibition, the speakers were brilliant, a perfect mix of poignant memories interspersed with great humour and Chris's unforgettable comment about his bass belting off his "kelvin halls"
Our own Catherine Glen did a grand job of Master of Ceremonies , a resounding well done to her self!!, the staff at the Peoples Palace were tremendous as well. It was a Grand Day Out!!!
For myself and i believe everyone who was there would like to take this opportunity to thank the man with the plan who put it all together, the one and only Stuart Donaghey, the success of the day is due to his hard work and tenacity, well done Stu, take a bow!!, they say that behind every great man there is a slightly surprised woman!!, a big thank you to Stu's other half Isobel who remained calm cool and collected whilst simultaneously running about like the proverbial blue arsed fly, a winning team both, from myself thanks for putting on a great day.
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 13:11:06 GMT
I'll copy and paste the messages received by a few of the more well known admirers - for those who couldn't be there
Alex Harvey, for me, was an absolute legend, a man who stood out from the crowd, a crowd he always held in the palm of his hand. I discovered SAHB via a compilation album which featured the song Jungle Jenny & from that moment I was hooked & bought anything I could get my hands on.
As a young boy I didn't know what drew me to this voice, but as I got older I believe it was that Alex was an actor. He'd portray a lyric rather than sing it in the traditional way a rock singer would. Listen to Tomahawk Kid & you're actually on the pirate ship !! ... & Alex didn't seem to be passing judgement on homo-eroticism going on either !!
His lyrics were barking mad !! & that was the appeal to me, between 16 lane highways & barn dances & super heroes coming to the rescue ( It's about time someone made Vambo: The Movie) He fronted an astonishing band but was never outshone. He'd been brought up the hard way in Glasgow, so when opportunities to show off his ability to potentially tough audiences, as he did when SAHB opened for the then massive Slade, he jumped right in & killed it ( I would be so brave as to suggest that when SAHB started headlining their own shows, a big percentage of HIS crowd were those recently won over Slade fans .....
I saw SAHB twice at the Sheffield City Hall back n 1976 & I remember every single moment, especially the bit where Ted's cymbal fell off the drum riser & onto to my 16 year old hand ... I still have the scar ..... but it was Alex, hair greased back, that black & white hooped shirt, ledger in hand, prepping us for a night to remember & one I would never forget.
All these years later I regularly play Alex on my weekly show on Planet Rock & after all the success I've achieved with Def Leppard, one of my most memorable nights ever was playing Boston Tea Party & Anthem, (a song I have written into my will to be played at my funeral), with 3/4 of the original SAHB band at the Nordoff Robbins awards in Glasgow in 2010. I'm THAT big of a fan , of the band, & of the man. God Bless the memory of Alex Harvey, ... have a great time everyone !!
Joe Elliott
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 13:16:20 GMT
Bit of a "WHO" type response when this one was read out - he is a respected BBC radio presenter, writer & journalist - Google him.....
I was a huge fan of S.A.H.B. The first time I saw them was kind of by accident. My dad was a journalist who reviewed concerts and the Free Trade Hall in Manchester sent him two tickets for every show. Sometimes I would go with him but if he wasn’t working, I would just take a friend. I asked Jonathan Eccles if he wanted to go and see S.A.H.B. and he said ‘I’ve never heard of them’. I said…’well neither have I…but it’s free’! So it was that we caught the bus from Bolton and sat in the front stalls not knowing what to expect. The lights went down and instead of a band crunching into some power chords, a tousle haired individual in a velvet frock coat, battered jeans, brothel creepers and a stripey t-shirt wandered onto the stage with a book and a cane. He looked like a pirate who’d got lost on his way to the Spanish Main. Striding up to the microphone he said, and I still remember this word for word, ‘Good evening. Nobody…but nobody must stand on the seats…ladies and gentlemen…the Sensational Alex Harvey Band’. At that point the pulsating intro to ‘Faith Healer’ kicked in and on trouped the band: Hugh in kimono dressing gown and floppy hat, Ted in a waistcoat, Chris in his jock-strap and of course the demonic brother of Leo Sayer’s pierrot Zal Cleminson. We were hooked straight away and went back to school the next day telling everyone about this wonderful band we’d ‘discovered’ who had not only great songs and top players but a real sense of theatre too. We saw them on Whistle Test around the same time with a string section wearing rubber masks doing ‘Next’. I was absolutely spellbound, if a little scared. The great love of my adolescence Zoe Thompson bought me ‘Next’ for my birthday and I still play that same vinyl copy to this day (though I tend to skip ‘Gang Bang’ if I,m honest).
But they were such a terrific live band, still are, and Alex one of the great front men. I guess he was the first pop performer I ever saw who had brilliant songs and players, but also real presence and a direct connection to the audience. Who clearly adored him. We all did’.
With all good wishes, Mark Radcliffe
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Post by Mrs Foster on Feb 6, 2012 14:34:18 GMT
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Post by Mrs Foster on Feb 6, 2012 14:44:19 GMT
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Post by Addy on Feb 6, 2012 16:06:07 GMT
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Post by penny on Feb 6, 2012 16:51:07 GMT
More brilliant photos and smashing to hear what Joe Elliot and Mark Radcliffe had to say too.
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 17:34:21 GMT
More from well known wishers -
It is with regret that I cannot be there this weekend to join you; I send my congratulations to the fans for this amazing achievement and my very best wishes for every success of both this weekend and the ongoing exhibit. Hugh McKenna
"The Pipes! The Pipes!" “The last words Alex said to me at the Mayflower Hotel in New York City. He was right!!!”
With much love and respect – Ian Hunter
“I only ever saw him play with SAHB and that was when I was with The Strawbs. Great stage presence and great songs and even though they did have chart success – who can forget Delilah – I always felt they deserved much more serious recognition than they actually got and, had Alex not left us so young, I am 100% certain that he would have achieved true iconic status. Alex may have gone but he’s left us some great music and some unforgettable memories........”
Rick Wakeman
“After 38 years photographing rock and roll professionally and, as a lifelong music fan, I can honestly say I've never seen a band more talented and more fun to experience and photograph as The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. #1 for me! Alex was my friend and mentor and I believe I would not have had the career I've had without his support.
He believed in my talent and gave me my first paying job as a rock photographer. I think Alex would have been proud of my accomplishments, and I am honoured to have known him. Thank you for letting me share some of my photographs and memories with you, his fans.”
Janet Macoska; Cleveland, OH (also known as The Other Glasgow)
“The Sensational Alex Harvey Band first played live on the Old Grey Whistle Test in December 1973. It was an incredible performance. I don't think any of us had heard anything quite like them before. It was impossible to categorise them.
They were an unexpected, previously uncharted mix of menace, mockery, mirth and magnificent music. Alex was amazing...charismatic and memorable.
He was the unlikely link between Music Hall, Skiffle, Opera and Progressive Rock. As a performer he was magnetic. As an artist he was unique.
Alex Harvey was theatre of the mind.”
Bob Harris
HI EVERYONE, I GUESS THIS IS GOING TO BE QUITE A PARTY. GREETINGS AND THANKS TO CHRIS, TED, ZAL AND HUGH, FOR KEEPING ALEX'S WORDS AND MUSIC ALIVE. A SPECIAL HALLO TO ALL THE FANS, "YES, I MISS HIM TOO"....AND TO ALL THOSE WHO'VE MADE THIS EVENT HAPPEN....WELL DONE AND THANKS, HAVE A GREAT TIME............TRUDY....................VAMBO ROOLS OK !
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 17:50:49 GMT
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 18:04:52 GMT
Some of Janet's work was in the learning room, the rest of it was upstairs along with another display cabinet Jim Stewart's painting In the entrance hall of the People's Palace, on display for 3 months - please note, the decorated cane is that which Chelsea Rob tried repeatedly to give back to the band.....eventually ALex Downie, manager at the time, took it, first to Turkey then to Texas..........far as I'm concerned, that's Chelsea Rob's cane!!
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 18:07:02 GMT
How very rock'n'roll!! Chris called me, that Mick had something for me - he did indeed - a spot of cream tea to sustain one through the forthcoming tree planting, bench unveiling and speechifying!! ARF!!! pic courtesy of Ted's Claire
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Post by penny on Feb 6, 2012 18:12:03 GMT
Fab photos, M'Lady!
Hope you enjoyed your cream tea too!
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 19:43:00 GMT
Alex junior - trying SO hard NOT to say "and another tree died of shame" or "Vambo never cut down tree", happily the day passed perfectly without even a mention of Big tree small axe...... Alex junior puts the first spade of soil at the tree base; all oddly reminiscent of the handful of earth to the grave but with none of that dreadful felling of loss, grief or unbearable bereavement. The whole tree "ceremony", if you like, just felt lovely and nice and grown up and, well, just nice, the whole atmosphere was really, really nice. Not joyful, exactly, more of a contented air, that a permanent memorial now lives and grows a stonesthrow from where Alex was raised. The last time Chris bent his back so far was when he had a summer job lifting potatoes in Ayrshire.....it lasted a whole day and he spent his pay on Deep Heat rub for his back!!! Sorry, I digress - Ted, Zal & Chris go next - it sort of felt like paying respects, or saying thankyou and goodbye but not at all sad, moving, but not sad. A shot of those in attendance, only from one angle at the tree planting, over a thousand people were there The bespoke commemorative plaque went home with Jack on Saturday night - lest it go the route of the infamous blue plaque - which bore the wrong dates - just for safekeeping. It's intended that the spike be set in concrete, to keep it safe and in the right place. The guest speakers & Q & A was held in the Winter Gardens - there were way too many people to fit into the learning room Alex junior is just remarking that he's delighted to unveil the commemorative bench in the Winter Gardens - he's unveiled a tree but never a bench!!! And it's a beauty, too Sorry about my fat arse being in the shot, I was moving in to help with the next bit - this is the sheet wheeching, erm, unveiling. (cor, DM was on the ball ) There was I, delivering the best wishes messages of famous Alex fans........I had to have a word with Alistair & Christopher and threaten to separate them, chatting in class!!! All boys are 9 years old. Ted McKenna takes the mic........ Despite being chatty in class earlier, Zal had done his homework His Chrisness launches into amusing anecdote alley Worra lorra good home folks The end of the Q&A, I move in again to make the thankyous The bench is clearly for sitting upon.....
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Post by Sahbotage on Feb 6, 2012 20:06:31 GMT
What a great weekend, nice to see the grumpy old men together again.
And the Roger Whittaker prize for cardigan wearer of the year goes to ------------ drum roll
Uncle Zalbert Cleminson, still as cool as fu#k.
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 20:33:16 GMT
Bench breathes sigh of relief...... Me me me me me & Iain, Yourquay on this 'ere forum, a delight to meet him - another good home chap Me me me me me (single handedly creating a global shortage of stripey fabric ) and the most darling of men Commemorative plaque - firmly attached to bench Was rather hoping the lyrics carved either side of the plaque could me made out......hmmmm, I suspect not I wuz there.....and so, it seems, was Penny!!!! The Vambo "guest book" wall was a tremendous success Maybe not too clear but every brick and more besides has been signed; Alex junior's son, really wanted to put his surname on too, Alex tried to assure him that folks would know exactly who he was - he was having none of it, he has written "Harvey" on the "mortar" under the brick!!! The family, Alex, Catherine and the children are under the "L" What a sweetie
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Post by penny on Feb 6, 2012 20:34:36 GMT
So pleased to see all the superb photos, you've all worked get hard to get them taken and get them on here. Well done everyone and a special well done to Stu and anyone else involved with putting this event together, you did Alex proud.
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Post by Catherine on Feb 6, 2012 20:57:09 GMT
On the doorstep of the People's Palace, Templeton's carpet factory is another landmark in Glasgow's East End - a rather exotic and fanciful but quite magnificent edifice. Kat and me on that bench - bless her bass guitar, she was travelling south to Glasgow from Forres, which is north of Inverness and she'd said she'd probably miss the tree planting - I felt sure she'd do well to get to Glasgow in time to meet up for the meal.....sadly, I was right, however, Sunday was a whole nother day - she had heard about Billy Connolly's big banana boots being in the Palace.....so, we saw them too
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Post by Mrs Foster on Feb 6, 2012 21:01:57 GMT
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Post by penny on Feb 6, 2012 21:10:16 GMT
So pleased that my name is on the Vambo wall, thanks Catherine!
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Post by thetomahawkkid1 on Feb 6, 2012 21:36:02 GMT
a happy BIG hoggy...........yo ho ho ;D
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Post by Ginnie on Feb 6, 2012 22:58:17 GMT
Its so great to see the video, photos and comments on what surely must have been a glorious weekend to be there in person!
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Post by victor55 on Feb 6, 2012 23:51:17 GMT
Thanks for posting all- Great stuff!
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Post by Catherine on Feb 7, 2012 7:20:42 GMT
The learning room on Sunday - the whole weekend there was footage of SAHB on a loop like this Looking down into the Winter Gardens from the top floor of the People's Palace - the most perfect spot for the bench Suze and I doing that pointy finger thing - we thought it was quite original!!! What!!?? Well, there was no monitor to put our feet on!!
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