You be Madrid and I will be......Pele??

One might wonder why I, at only 19 years of age, was in Liverpool last Saturday to attend a reunion gig of a band that formed 20 years ago, and split 16 years ago, when I was at the tender age of 3. Maybe if it was one of those big name bands that sold millions of records, had several number ones (that’s British number ones!) and generally were well known enough to warrant a big reunion. This was not the case. The band I went to see, Pele. Ever heard of them? Didn’t think so. In all honesty neither had I, that was, until I was made aware of the fantastic Amsterdam, and learned that Pele was lead singer Ian Prowse’s former band.

Excitement was therefore brewing as me and my father, someone else who, up until Amsterdam, was only ‘vaguely aware’ of the band, turned up at the venue far too early to be let in. Not to worry though, as it led to a chance to meet Prowse again, (after previously interviewing him back in early 2007, and meeting after a fantastic Amsterdam set at Glastonbury in 2008) who was looking for a Chilean who was getting an interview (big in Chile back in the day too?). Once let in, we were one of only a handful of people who got there early enough to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ and to witness the first support act, The Verdict, and a very good band they were too. Very tight and punchy, with some quality rock tunes to boot. The next act, The Bo Weevils also proved to be a nice surprise. A quality four piece with some excellent guitar work, foot-stomping rhythms and what’s more, they were fucking loud. Both of which are well worth looking into further.

And so it came to the main event, Pele. With it being more than evident that I was probably one of the youngest people there, I didn’t really know what to expect. While Prowse’s Amsterdam have a brilliant live show, I had a feeling that the slightly lesser sound of Pele might result in a slightly lesser live show. How wrong I was! Right from opener ‘Don’t Worship Me’, to the fantastic ‘Oh Lord’, Pele rolled back the years and produced a top quality show, playing all the hit songs and more. With the likes of ‘Megalomania’ (number one in South Africa, don’t you know!) ‘Fair Blows the Wind for France’, ‘Name and Number’ and the ever outstanding ‘Raid the Palace’, fans both old and new (or should that be young?) enjoyed sing-a-long after sing-a-long. Even for me, who in all honesty had not heard much Pele other than re-done live versions by Amsterdam thoroughly enjoyed the likes of ‘A King’s Ransom’, ‘Fat Black Heart’, ‘In The Beginning and ‘Fireworks’, but the list goes on almost as long as the set list itself.

Despite not really knowing what to expect beforehand, seeing Prowse without his usual crew and with a menagerie of different songs, I did wonder if it would be like seeing Amsterdam with the volume turned down. Luckily I was swiftly proved wrong, Prowse and company producing a show well worth the reunion, and one can only hope another is on the cards sooner rather than later.