The , West Drayton, on a Sunday night is fast becoming a residency for Elliott Tuffin's band. It is quite a small venue, but it makes for a great atmosphere and the rapport between band and audience is spot on. I had arranged to meet up with Bruno previously, as he was over from Switzerland on holiday, so it was ideal that this gig was on tonight. We arrived at the Anglers a little early and bumped into Rob, the bass guitarist with the band. We chatted and he informed us that Mick Tucker, who regularly watches Elliott perform, was probably not going to be there that evening, which was disappointing, especially for Bruno as it has been some years since he met Mick and he was looking forward to seeing him again (link here for Bruno's Story - Woody). The good news was that the band were going to play their full Sweet set which they hadn't performed at the Angler's before.
It wasn't long before some familiar faces showed up. Stewart, Henrik, Woody, followed closely by 'Hat', then VC10 who promptly had to return to his car for fear of it rolling into the car in front (bloody handbrake left off). It was fun catching up with everyone and it was good to see Owen who had made the journey from Brighton especially and also Eamonn Farrell and Lee Farrell who had ventured all the way from Birmingham. I kept bumping into Mrs. F in the ladies toilet. I think she thought I was trying to do a Woody
and catch her on film....
The gig kicked off with the infamous siren to Blockbuster which got everybody warmed up. Second of the night was my ultimate fave live track, Burn on the Flame. I think when The Six Teens, as this appears to be the name that Elliott is going to go with, do Burn, they really kick ass and as I say, in my opinion, is by far the best track they do live. Next up was a ZZ Top number 'Give me all your lovin'. Then back to the Sweet set with Hellraiser, Rampage, a blinding version of Action, cooling down slightly with 'you're not wrong for loving me'. The dance hits love em or hate em Poppa Joe and Coco which got everyone grooving. Next up was Oxygen which I thought was excellent, Elliott left the stage for a breather while the band played the instrumental, it was SO cool. Wig Wam and Little Willy were next up with Elliott making light of the fact that the band were definitely NOT going to be known as the 'Little Willies'. 'Maybe we'll be called the Big Willies' he joked. The last track before the interval was a Quo number, "Down Down".
There was a short interval of about 15 minutes for us to chat and catch up and for Woody to try and get as many people going into the toilet as possible. I am waiting for the day when he managed to catch the hat going for a Jimmy :-) Shame he ran out of film just as Stew got in there.
The second half kicked off with the bands likely new name 'The Six Teens', I love this song and it always reminds me so much of Brian when I hear it. Next was Elton's Saturday night's alright for fighting'. Back to Sweet with 'Are you ready Enzo? huh huh! Paul? yeah, Drew? OK, Well alright fellas - Let's Goooooooo Halfway through Blitz Enzo the keyboard player couldn't
wait any longer and sauntered off to the gents, promptly coming back and handing Elliott a toilet brush which he continued to hold while singing before realising it wasn't particularly hygenic especially with it splashing everywhere as he shook it around. 'What the hell am I doing with this' Elliott was heard to mutter.
At this point Elliott dived behind the drums and introduced a guest singer who belted out Free's Alright now followed by Drew Murphy's rendition of Bad Company's 'Feel like making love'. With Elliott having given his lungs a rest he launched straight into a little RnR with 'Johnny be good'. Peppermint Twist and Foxy were next followed by 'Everything is alright'. The encore proceeded with a couple of Joe Cocker hits, 'A little help from my friends' and finishing with Delta Lady.
It was certainly a full set and the band give 100% in their performance. It was a great night, it was good to meet up with old friends and meet new ones too. Hopefully 'The Six Teens' will become a really successful Sweet tribute band, they certainly deserve some credit for the amount of effort and energy they put into their shows. Watch this space!
