Paul Young + Hollie Stephenson @ The Assembly, Leamington, 10th May 2016
It’s been nineteen long years since Paul Young last released an album in the UK (there was the previous ‘Rock Swings’ but this was only available here by import) however having just released ‘Good Thing’ Paul is now playing a handful of shows, and tonight on a rain sodded spring evening it’s Leamington.
Support tonight is from Hollie Stephenson, a delightful singer from London, who was discovered by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and who has also produced her first self-titled album. Accompanied superbly by Robin Banerjee on acoustic guitar she has a wonderful voice that at times was angelic and dare I say very Amy Winehouse? The only criticism is her set appeared a little dishevelled and she didn’t appear to know what she was due to play having no set-list, however her voice was beautiful and I’m looking forward to playing the album.
By the time Paul Young is due on stage, the Assembly is near sweltering point and despite the stewards opening a fire exit for some much needed air flow it remained like an oven. Paul was accompanied by four musicians including long-time colleague Jamie Moses. The set opens with ‘Love of The Common People’ and in a two-piece suit Paul looks as sharp as ever, but the main question people ask is what about that voice? Those soulful tones that made him a huge star in the mid-eighties? Well as you’d expect with age his range has reduced slightly but with a careful set-list this was a superb performance and the new songs played tonight; ‘Big Bird’, ‘Slipped, Tripped’ and ‘L.O.V.E’ fit perfectly into his back catalogue. I say new but as Paul himself says “these are old nuggets we’ve found and polished up a bit”
There are songs from all his career, and given the songs at his disposal I would imagine it would be a difficult task as to what to choose and what to omit, personally I was saddened there was nothing from either “Other Voices” or “Paul Young” especially given the excellent songs on both these albums, but you can’t have everything and the fact I was seeing and hearing Paul live for the first time in nineteen years I was simply happy to be in the same room. Yes I go back a long way with Mr Young, first seeing him live in the cavernous NEC in Birmingham in 1984, so to be seeing him again in a smaller venue was a treat. Those who haven’t followed him would be forgiven for thinking he’s been on a long break, but of course this isn’t true and he remains one of the hardest working artists around, spending time on television and radio work, cookery (even publishing a cookery book) and of course his main love these days Los Pacaminos, a tex-mex band which personally I’ve not seen but after the sound tech advised me to see them as I’m “missing a treat” then I’ll rectify this when I can.
After a few hits we get a song which Paul admits “was very controversial back in the day” and he was right, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ split people right down the middle when it was included on his debut solo album “No Parlez”, especially as he was a soul singer and also given it was released some four years after the early loss of Ian Curtis, but it is an iconic song and hopefully over the past thirty three years those initial doubters have mellowed.
The set ends (sadly after only seventy minutes) with “Everytime You Go Away”, Paul’s biggest hit and a number one single in America. It still sounds wonderful today, a perfect song sung beautifully.
The encore consists of “Get ‘em Up Joe”, which Paul wrote back in his days with Q-Tips and it shows just what a great soul singer he is. Final song is “Come Back and Stay” and all too soon it’s over. There is one glimmer of hope and that is during the set Paul did say if these few shows go well they may come back with more dates and a brass section, and it’d be even better if for a few shows he purely did soul songs, given the current “Good Thing” material and of course the early nineties “Reflections” which remains a tremendous collection of soul covers.
The only down-side tonight was no merchandise, but I guess these are real ‘low-key’ shows and the sound tech when I asked about the lack of merchandise replied “there’s hardly room in the van for the gear mate”. I was hoping to get a vinyl signed but maybe next time?
So Paul Young remains a great soul singer, yes I am biased as I’ve followed him for over thirty three years, but give “Good Thing” a listen, and you never know he may just play some more dates (fingers crossed).
Paul Young set list
Love of the Common People
Some People
No Parlez
Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)
Big Bird
Everything Must Change
Senza Una Donna
Slipped, Tripped
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Now I Know What Made Otis Blue
L.O.V.E
I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
Everytime You Go Away
Get ‘em Up Joe
Come Back and Stay
Review by Glenn Raybone