Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17 turn Scarborough into an 80s time machine
Holly Johnson performed plenty of Frankie Goes to Hollywood material from the iconic Welcome to the Pleasuredome album (Image: Dave Lawrence)
Review: Holly Johnson with special guests ABC and Heaven 17, Scarborough Open Air Theatre
After the recent show at Scarborough showcasing three iconic Seventies punk-era bands, the promoters delivered again on Friday evening, laying on three top-class acts, all with their roots in the early Eighties.
Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17 took to the stage at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, August 14.
(Image: Dave Lawrence)
I confess to having seen the first two bands - Heaven 17 and ABC - more than a few times over the years and always enjoy their performances.
On stage first were electro pioneers Heaven 17, who performed at York Museum Gardens last month.
Heaven 17 at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, August 14.
(Image: Dave Lawrence)
Formed in 1980 when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware departed The Human League and recruited vocalist Glenn Gregory, the band had success with their albums Penthouse and Pavement, The Luxury Gap, and How Men Are, and both Ware and Gregory continue in the band.
Their set passed too quickly and included (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang, Crushed by the Wheels of Industry, Play to Win, Let Me Go, Penthouse and Pavement, and ended with a rousing version of Temptation.
There was also a cover of Bowie’s Let’s Dance.
Forty-four years have passed since I first saw ABC on the opening night of their Lexicon of Love tour at Scarborough’s now-demolished Futurist Theatre.
Special guest ABC joins Holly Johnson at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, August 14.
(Image: Dave Lawrence)
These days ABC are, effectively, Martin Fry and an excellent backing group and Friday’s set was one of the more interesting I’ve seen from them.
Fry still cuts a suave and debonair figure on stage - immaculately dressed in a cerise suit when he took the stage singing When Smokey Sings.
The Lexicon tracks performed - including Poison Arrow, The Look of Love, and The Look of Love - still shone like polished gems, but it was a real pleasure to hear songs like That Was Then but This Is Now, (How to be a) Millionaire, King Without a Crown, and The Night You Murdered Love.
Holly Johnson's voice 'displayed no evidence of wear or tear since Frankie’s breakthrough performance on The Tube 43 years ago', writes reviewer Dave Lawrence.
(Image: Dave Lawrence)
Holly Johnson headlined the evening and, as you might expect, he performed plenty of Frankie Goes to Hollywood material from the iconic Welcome to the Pleasuredome album.
After a short instrumental intro from his five-piece band, Johnson took the stage around 9.15pm.
Dressed in a studded leather jacket, satin shorts, and sporting wraparound shades, he launched into the Frankie song Warriors of the Wasteland.
An epic, lushly layered version of Welcome to the Pleasuredome followed.
Holly Johnson, and special guests ABC and Heaven 17 at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, August 14.
(Image: Dave Lawrence)
Americanos paved the way for several solo career songs including Atomic City, Heaven’s Here, Love Train, and Penny Arcade.
Johnson’s voice displayed no evidence of wear or tear since Frankie’s breakthrough performance on The Tube 43 years ago, which thrust the band into the nation’s consciousness.
Johnson covered a few songs by other artists including The Feeling’s emotional This Was Me from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and two numbers originally included on Frankie’s debut album The Temptations’ War and Springsteen’s Born to Run.
Johnson held back the really big tunes till the end of his set, unleashing a trio of classics from 1984 - all of them number one hits – as he closed the show with Two Tribes and Relax before returning for an encore of The Power of Love.
It was a fitting end to another great evening of music in Scarborough.
Dave Lawrence