Town Hall, Selby
Friday 14th February 2025
It might be hard for me to believe that I am old enough, but I remember the Cutting Crew when they had their all too brief moment in the spotlight. Their 15 minutes of fame might have been relegated to seldom visited sections of my memory but they are still there and when they do reappear they are welcomed.
Their first album, Broadcast, demonstrated a vast amount of talent and bubbling potential, spawning two hit singles that are still regularly rotated on soft rock video channels. Apparently, according to one fan at the concert, they are sometimes shown a couple of times a day, which might be gilding the lily, but they are great songs so, why not?
I had the album, singles and follow up album, The Scattering, was also well played. Then, despite a 3rd album coming out, the record label seemed to lose interest and they disappeared from the charts and people’s consciousness. A faded remembrance as they were relegated to the category of fond ‘could have been a contender’ rather than music legends. Many take the same path but most fall by the wayside and sadly they seemed to have done that. There were brief reformations and albums but nothing to relight the fire of the general public and the continued obscurity seemed to be their fate.
Then, out of the blue, I saw that they were doing a tour to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. Fond memories were there and I thought that I had to go, if only to see if they could still solicit the same emotional connection that they had when I was a love struck teenager identifying with the pleasure of being held, or the previous experiences of love. Oh, to be a pretentious teenager again? No thanks.
And what of the concert? Selby Town Hall is hardly the biggest of venues but it was a full house and, on speaking with a few of the audience it seemed to be an equal mix of die hard fans, people with fond memories and those who had no idea about the band, other than the two singles, and were just curious and wanted a good night out.
The Cutting Crew started off, as they meant to go on, with As Good as New and continued with an assortment of their own songs, familiar and less so, along with plenty of fairly popular covers. Great songs delivered with energy and when it came to them playing I’ve Been in Love Before I felt that it had more musical power and emotion than the original. Perhaps, I can relate to it even more than I did in those long ago days of being clueless teenager and the words have more resonance.
There were a scattering of songs from the first two albums and other later Cutting Crew songs with the only original band member, Nick
van Eede, taking on most of the lead vocal duties, however both Tom & Gareth were given lead opportunities on a couple of cover versions. Tasks that they both carried out well, but it was Nick’s singing that impressed me the most.
The highlights, for me, were three songs from the debut album, the aforementioned I’ve Been in Love Before, along with One For the Mockingbird and (I Just) Died in Your Arms. But there was one cover that I definitely enjoyed and that was Follow You, Follow Me, by Genesis. I have heard quite a few cover versions of that song but they definitely added a certain power and emotion that seemed to add something to the original.
There was plenty of audience interaction and opportunities for participation along with some hilarious anecdotes relating to incidents at previous venues they had played on the tour. It showed that they had a sense of humour and do not take themselves too seriously. They enjoy the music and endured the bad behaviour of some in the audience, being able to laugh rather than be angry. After all they got some funny stories from the frustrating occurrences.
It was a wonderful concert, and I will definitely see them live again, if I get the chance, however for me they missed a golden opportunity to truly shine and promote the Cutting Crew brand. I know that they were aiming to please a wide selection of the audience and capture new fans, but, to me, I’d have been happy if they had cut out most of the cover versions and done a full retrospective set to celebrate the anniversary of the release of their first album. After all it had enough great music to grab the attention of the most unfamiliar member of the audience and it would have avoided them possibly coming across as a cover band, albeit a talented and enjoyable one.
SETLIST
As Good As New
Any Colour
Till The Money Runs Out
I’ve Been In Love Before
Keep the Car Running
One I love
Cloud Cover
2040 Lullaby
One for the Mockingbird
– Interval –
Sahara
The Scattering
Difficult Times
Girl Crush
Oh Darlin’
Berlin in Winter
(I Just) Died in Your Arms
~ Encore:
Follow You, Follow Me
Can We Go Now
MUSICIANS
Nick van Eede – Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Gareth Moulton – Electric Guitar, Vocals
Tom Arnold – Keyboards, Cajon, Percussion
LINKS
Cutting Crew – Website | Facebook | YouTube | X
