GOODBYE MR MACKENZIE // BARROWLAND BALLROOM, GLASGOW
LANARKSHIRE’S FINEST ARE BACK WITH MORE GOOD DEEDS AND DIRTIER RAGS TO CELEBRATE THE ICONIC 1989 ALBUM’S 30th ANNIVERSARY
GOODBYE MR. MACKENZIE PERFORMING AT GLASGOW'S BARROWLAND BALLROOM - 20.12.2019
PICTURE BY: | STEPHEN WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆ (4/5)
25 years since they last said goodbye, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie are saying hello again, and returning for a number of gigs throughout 2019, to mark 30 years since the release of their album Good Deeds and Dirty Rags, and will be playing the album through in its entirety. Tonight its the turn of The Barrowlands audience to turn back the clock and see the latest incarnation of the band again, up close and personal.
Goodbye Mr MacKenzie were formed in 1984 in Bathgate, situated between Edinburgh and Glasgow along the M8, when Martin Metcalfe moved on from his first band Teenage Dog Orgy, and he would be joined by John Duncan on guitar, Fin Wilson on bass guitar, Shirley Manson and Rona Scobie on keyboards and backing vocals, and Derek Kelly on drums. When the band split tho in 1995, Manson went on to bigger things with her band Garbage and has not rejoined for this reunion. Former Rezillo Jim Brady joins Big John on guitars too.
Its getting near lights out time, the hall is filling and the atmosphere is building. Its one of the most anticipated gigs I can recall in the Barrowlands for a while, and the crowd are buzzing, and true to form, as the lights are dimmed the roar from the dancefloor is deafening, as Big John takes to the stage, ably assisted by his walking aids, a fine effort due to him being diagnosed with MS. The rest of the band take to their stations, and we’re good to go.
As the gig is to promote the debut album, the band start as they mean to go on. Opening with Open Your Arms, Wake It Up and His Masters Voice, its clear to see the music stands the test of time, each song sounds as good as it did, and instantly tranfers you back, to a time long long ago, with every voice in the room joining in on lead vocals! Goodwill City, Candlestick Park and Dust, each track in the order of the original 1989 release, apart from the two main tracks, the ones the band are remembered for, and they will come later in the set.
The band are on top form, Metcalf an imposing figure at the front of the stage in his long tails and top hat and the voice as strong as ever, Big John Duncan showing his skills on the guitar and Shirley Mansons’s replacement on backing vocals, Marie Claire Lee giving no reason to miss Manson whatsoever. The set continued. You Generous Thing, Good Deed, Normal Boy, Face to Face then it was ime for the big guns. Goodbye Mr MacKenzie and The Rattler, the biggest songs of the bands repertoir, and with the crowd joining in, they nearly lifted the roof off the old venue. Magnificent tunes.
Time for a short break before the band return for a three song encore. The Way I Walk, Blacker than Black and 1991 single Now We Are Married, and the gig was over. The huge crowd left the hall hot, sweaty and happy, a nostalgic evening to say the least.
Goodbye Mr MacKenzie, one of the country’s most under-rated bands, up there in the history of 80s music with the likes of Orange Juice, Hipsway, Love and Money, The Big Dish, The Blue NIle etc and they could have been massive. Tonight, they owned The Barras, and on this showing lets hope its not so long before we hear and see more of them.
SETLIST: | GOODBYE MR. MACKENZIE : BARROWLAND BALLROOM, GLASGOW - 20.12.2019
Open Your Arms
Wake It Up
His Master’s Voice
Goodwill City
Candlestick Park
Dust
You Generous Thing
Good Deeds Are Like Dirty Rags
Normal Boy
Green Turn Red
Here Comes Deacon Brodie
Face to Face
Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie
The Rattler
ENCORE:
The Way I Walk - (Jack Scott cover)
Blacker Than Black
Now We Are Married