Monday December 12 - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel at The Cockpit, Leeds
I have a fond memory of 'discovering' Steve Harley, long ago as a 17 year old with an unplayably cheap guitar, hungry to discover more and more music. He was, of course, a familiar figure in the charts of the 70s but it was a friend who would introduce me to the more 'substantial' songs of his albums. One song in particular gripped me. I can still vividly recall listening to 'Cavaliers' in my bedroom one warm summer evening, enraptured, and deciding to try my own hand at songwriting. Not that I would ever write anything to touch that sublime dirge, replete with words like 'masturbation' and a riff that made me realise that songs didn't all have to go in 4/4 time. Trips to the local library supplied more albums of his that I would eventually buy, once I had the cash. Years later I would see him play a free festival in Leeds and be blown away by those songs in all their strident expansive wonder. 'Best Years Of Our Lives' remains one of my favourite albums to this day.
So I'm excited about seeing him, resplendent with full band, at The Cockpit. And I duly arrive sufficiently early to take my place at the front. I'm with all these gnarly old diehard fans and word has it that he's going to play at least 2 hours. Sadly, though, my record of the gig is marred because - unbeknownst to me - Harley doesn't like being filmed by his fans. And even though I'm respectfully discrete with my camera he still objects when he spots it and his road manager snatches it from me and turns it off.
Later, between songs, Harley tells a story of losing his rag with a fan who was filming one of his acoustic shows. And when the band are taking their curtain call, he's grinning and doing mock model poses for my benefit. Although my camera is now securely bagged up again, out of the reach of roadies. It strikes me then that Steve Harley is from a time when artists had full control of the distribution of their material. He says his objection is to the distracting impact of the camera light. But I suspect he's just a bit of a prima donna. And I have to say that, although it's a disappointment not to be able to capture a full song from a songwriter I've admired all my life, he's kind of earned the right to be awkward. I still love his music and I'm hoping he'll play out again soon. Next time I'll stay further back - although on the evidence of YouTube, his eagle eyes may well still root out anyone trying to capture the performance.
Here's that camera confiscation moment, in full ...
