Gig review: China Crisis at The Old Woollen, Farsley, Leeds
The Merseyside pop veterans provide a joyful evening’s entertainment on a warm spring night.
Proudly flying the flag for sophisti-pop since 1979, Kirby band China Crisis remain a significant draw on the live circuit, as this full house on a Thursday night at The Old Woollen in suburban Leeds attests.
That the current seven-piece line-up, fronted by Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon, are capable of supplying two hours’ worth of sterling tunes seems to be only part of their appeal, though.
Lead singer Daly also possesses a sharp Scouse wit that suggests an alternative career might have befallen him in stand-up comedy had pop music not worked out.
Many of his putdowns tonight are aimed at the age of their audience, but the fifty- and sixty-somethings here don’t seem to mind as Daly clearly recognises that he and Lundon are in the same boat. Tonight’s set, he says, will be divided by a 20-minute interval to allow for “a rest-room break and a little sit-down...because we’re all at that age now”.
Later on, he jokingly suggests that fans invest in two copies of the 40th anniversary edition of their album Flaunt The Imperfection from their merchandising table and get them individually signed by him and Lundon, so one would be worth more than the other when either he or Lundon passes away.
Should it be his long-time bandmate, he quips that he could bring Lundon’s ashes on tour and charge people £10 a pop to be photographed with them.
Nor do they mind challenging the expectations of a live audience – devoting the first half of the evening to deeper cuts from their catalogue. It does allow them, however, to unearth a few hidden gems, not least Wall of God, which features an impressive guitar solo from Lundon, and Strength of Character, which Daly feels is one of their “very best songs”.
Gift of Freedom is dedicated to the late Walter Becker of Steely Dan, a key influence who produced Flaunt The Imperfection, while Bigger The Punch I’m Feeling is a homage, he says, to older sisters – of whom he and Lundon have five between them. During Hands on the Wheel’s dreamy saxophone break Daly encourages the women in the audience to “imagine they’re in an episode of Loveboat with Eddie as the captain”.
After the break, it’s hits all the way, with added audience participation. From their early synth-pop incarnation, African and White and Christian (“as made famous by Pebble Mill at One”) remain stand-outs. Daly reminds people that their labelmates at their first indie record company, Inevitable, were Dead Or Alive, Pete Wylie of Wah! and It’s Immaterial, all of whom went on to have chart success. “But I think you’ll agree we’re the best,” he says mischievously.
The bouncy Arizona Sky has fans “ba-ba-ba-ing” in full voice, while Black Man Ray, Wishful Thinking and King in a Catholic Style are sure-fire crowd-pleasers. At the start of the “12-inch version” of Tragedy and Mystery Daly encourages the crowd to “give it up for Mr Nile Rodgers on guitar” – aka a funky Eddie Lundon.
They bow out with Working With Fire and Steel and a promise from Daly to return to The Old Woollen as soon as they can because it’s “such a great venue”. For once, he’s not joking. In this sort of form, one suspects they’ll have no difficulty filling it next time, either.