One For The Road - Ronnie Lane Tribute

Royal Albert Hall, London   -  April 8  2004

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This show was my first at the Royal Albert Hall, which is probably the most beautiful concert venue in the world (excepted some Operas).

The concert started as announced around 7:30 PM, with Small World,  who played
I Can't Make It
I've Got Mine
I'm Only Dreaming
Don't Burst My Bubble

They were followed by the Deborah Bonham Band playing
Every Little Bit Hurts
Maybe I'm Amazed

Then came 17 Black for :
Rene
Lazy Sunday
Here Come the Nice
Hey Girl
What'Cha Gonna Do About It

Not much to say about these acts, who received a polite response from the audience.

The first really intersting act was Midge Ure, who played 2 great acoustic songs.
Mad John
In My Mind’s Eye

The last act before the 20 min. break was Ocean Colour Scene, who opened for the Stones in Stuttgart in 1999. They played the best performance we had during the 1^st part of the show.
Wham Bam Thank You Mam
Done This One Before
Song of a Baker

The 2^nd part of the event started around 9:00 PM with Ronnie Lane’s band Slim Chance.
They reformed especially for this occasion after 25 years and were backed by very good guests :
Cat's Melody (Rat's Tails)
Kuschty Rye
Anniversary
Anymore for Anymore – with Chris Jagger on vocals and guitar (see photo above)
How Come – with Chris Jagger on vocals and guitar (see photo above)
Flags & Banners – with Sam Brown
Debris – with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols)
You’re so rude – with Mick Jones (The Clash) and Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols)
Stone – with Pete Townshend
Harvest Home
The Poacher – with Paul Weller and Sam Brown
Spiritual Babe – with Paul Weller and Sam Brown
Lad’s Got Money – with Sam Brown
One For The Road
Ooh La La – with Ronnie Wood, Paul Weller and Sam Brown

Paul Weller and Pete Townshend received a great acclamation when arriving on stage and gave us memorable performances, but theu were nothing compared to Ronnie.
He was looking very well and seemed happy to be there.
His rendition of Ooh La La was awesome and the audience really went wild. The 2 beautiful cabaret dancers who danced on stage during the song added even more joy and madness to the song.
After this song, everyone was waiting for the encores, hoping to see Ronnie on stage for more than just this single song which wasn’t really a surprise since he played it a few days before with the Stereophonics and 2 days later with Jools Holland’s band .

At 10:00 it’s the Jones Gang who took the stage. Their singer has a nice voice that could be compared to Rod Stewart like voice, so we all understood that the last part of the show would be dedicated to Ronnie Lane’s carreer with The Faces and The Small Faces.
Odgen’s Nut Gone Flake
Maggie May
Gypsy Lane
Itchycoo Park
Afterglow
If You Think You’re Groovy
Tin Soldier
Heart To Hang On To – with Pete Townshend
Had Me A real Good Time – with Ronnie Wood
Stay With Me – with Ronnie Wood
All Or Nothing – with Chris Farlowe

Again, Ronnie really stole the show during his 2 songs. He played some bottleneck, and was really conducting the band.
Chris Farlowe also was a great surprise. His powerfull voice gave us a great version of All Or Nothing before the end of this greta show.

What to say as a conclusion ?
I was glad to discover a great venue, to discover more of Ronnie Lane’s music thanthe few classics I already knew, to see Pete Townshend on stage for the 1^st time, and od course, to see Ronnie in excellent shape, visibly sober, and without a cigarette. A great night !!!