Ian Dury and The Blockheads, The Clash, Madness,
Nick Lowe, Rodger Daltrey, Nick Cave, Frankie Goes To Hollywood...as CVs go
that’s not a bad line up eh? In a career that’s lasted 47 years and counting
Norman Watt-Roy’s been the face with the bass and, despite being just a couple
of years away from collecting his pension, he’s clearly showing no signs of slowing
down, in fact this is his second gig at the Hare and Hounds in less than 12
months and he's back again in December with The Blockheads! ‘Watt’ a trooper.
First up The Standard Lamps, the band that is, not the
household appliance.
With a couple of covers and half a dozen darn fine self penned
upbeat country tinged boogie blues tunes (try saying that after a few pints of
cider) these Lamps well and truly shone (oh come on now, you’ve got to let me have a few puns).
Pick of the covers was their primal version of Shakin’ All Over (which Wilco
Johnson himself apparently checked out at a recent gig) featuring some proper
gutsy old skool rock ‘n’ roll drumming, the sort that rumbles yer vital
organs...you know the kind of thing. Their set closing call to arms...or maybe that
should be turntables...You Don’t Listen To Your Records Anymore...galloped
along like a mule with a thistle up its arse. Yehawww! Nothing standard about
these boys.
If you’re a bassist who knows his or her stuff
surely Norman Watt-Roy must be some kind of deity? Mindful of his Indian
heritage maybe he actually IS a Vishnu of the bass? Certainly the dexterity and
power in those fingers points at some kind of higher force and when Norm get’s
his groove on it’s as close to musical heaven as you’re likely to get here on
earth. Perhaps what’s most heart warming about watching this dude play though
is that the pleasure he still clearly gets from performing some 45 years or so
on from when he first hit the road. He’ll suddenly break out into a grin
halfway through a solo or a jam with the rest of his band (all highly
accomplished musicians in their own right) and it’s a look of pure joy, albeit
tinged with just a little (okay then, quite a lot...) bit of perspiration. Kicking
off the set with a jazzed up Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, with Norm doing a
fine job of filling Ian Dury’s boots (and panties), he’d already put more
energy into the set that many bands manage in an entire show. A more sedate
stroll through Billericay Dickie, with some accordion adding a little Parisian
ooh la la to proceedings, gave everyone a moment to catch their breath. Here's a video from a show earlier this year to give you a little flavour:
These
first two tracks pretty much set the template for how Norman tackles the old
Blockhead numbers, constantly freshening things up a little without losing the
music’s original and distinctive DNA, with both Inbetweenies and More Than Fair
– which Norman acknowledges possibly has some of the dirtiest lyrics ever
recorded – also benefiting from a little jazzing up this evening.
Tonight’s not just all about the past though. Last
year he released a new album Faith and Grace with pick of these tracks
including the laid back summertime groove of Wachu-wa, which is apparently how
Mexicans sing ‘La la la’. Chuff me, I never knew that. “There ain’t ‘alf been
some clever bastards” as his old boss might have said. Norman also took us
through life so far in the autobiographical Me, My Bass and I, all the way from
India to London via various waterways, a journey he made when he was just four
years old. Part spoken word, part instrumental this track contained a couple of
memorable quotes that seem to sum up the man. Referring to the departing bass
player in one of his first bands Norman concluded that he “Couldn’t take the blisters”.
Given the ferocity of some of his bass playing I imagine that by now Norman’s
hands are quite possibly the toughest things on planet earth. Later in the same
number, after a sublimely jazztastic piano solo from Frank Harrison Norman
concluded, with more than a touch of tenderness that “Music was my life. Music
is my life. Me, my bass and I”. Let’s hope it’s a long time before he needs a
gravestone but what better epitaph than that eh?
Speaking of avoiding Mr G. Reaper Esq. the latter
part of Norman’s set celebrated the frankly remarkable news that his old mate,
Wilco Johnson, is seemingly on the mend after radical surgery for cancer. To be
fair I suspect that Wilco actually just stared the cancer out and it ran away howling
in terror but let’s stick with the boring medical explanation eh? Everybody’s
Carrying A Gun and When I Was A Cowboy were duly dispatched in fine style doing
Wilco proud. Touchingly the encore was his old mate’s traditional tour de
force, Roxette. What it may have lacked in mad eyeball popping energy was more
than made up by Norman’s obvious delight that before long Wilco will hopefully be
right there beside him playing it again. Now that’s what you call the (Dr)
Feelgood factor.
PS: I had the very great pleasure of meeting Norman
briefly at the end of the show and a more humble man you couldn’t wish to meet.
He accepted my gushing praise with a gentle smile and half embarrassed “Thank
you”, before popping off to the bar for a post gig G&T. Bless him. All hail
the original Ace of Bass (one for fans of 90’s Scandipop there).
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