By the time we got into the Purple Turtle we had already missed the first band and THE DeRELLAS were already on, the club was already packed and almost everywhere we looked were either musicians or people we knew. It was a very cool crowd from which any number of super groups could have got up to play with Walter Lure.
Still onstage were The DeRellas a very good garage punk band who sound like a cross between The Ramones and The Heartbreakers: lots of good speedy punk tunes to get everyone going. I should have seen the DeRellas several times by now but somehow they had eluded me and it was good to finally see why they have the live rep that they do. They lived up to expectations I only wish we had caught the full set.
In between chatting with friends before Walter came on I went upstairs to use the loo. On the way back down I stopped halfway down the stairs to let the little old man with the walking stick and his two friends up the stairs passed me, it turned out they were actually going to the dressing room whose door is halfway up the stairs. They banged on the door a few times and the woman was nice and chatty but the blonde guy barked at me asking if I knew the code to the door. I said no and I don't work here, sorry, just then the door opens and the security guy inside asks blondie what he wants to which the barked reply was. "Get out of my way I've got Billy Rath from The Heartbrerakers here and he's coming in!" At which my jaw dropped and the little old guy with the walking stick and Beret perks up and follows Blondie in. Blimey it was true Billy Rath was showing up and I had been standing with a real life member of The Living Dead, who looked every bit of it. It almost seemed a miracle that he could stand up and walk let alone play bass.
Soon after that encounter we saw the blonde bloke clearing the way for Billy to walk through the audience led like he was the King with his own entourage, still everyone who recognised him paid respect. Then on came WALTER LURE and his current band who were the same as last year's show at The 100 Club. Walter was dressed like he was in the 60's Batman as a villain, possibly the Riddler, but without the make-up.
They opened the show with a blast of Get Off The Phone: a tune that only gets more needed by the year in this phone obssessed world where loads of people are pointing their phones at Walter and the band and he tells us to hang up and get off the phone coz there's no one home. After saying good evening to us they did Sorry and damn they sounded great with Jez Miller on the other guitar shaking his dreads and as it is with Walter just about everyone joining in on the vocals.
Walter name checked Billy Rath before (I think it was) You'll Never Get Away from Me which sounded just great. The band had bags of attitude and energy as they dusted off the classics and stomped all over Cry Baby before really getting us all going with a storming version of London Boys. Walter's great deadpan introductions were working a treat as he introduced I'm Busted by telling us it was another song by a dead friend - in this case Ray Charles - and as punk as the band is they still really swing the blues out of this old classic . One Track Mind still sounds great; a tune I have loved ever since first hearing it, how it was never a hit single is still a mystery to me. Needles Nolan's classic Countdown Love was next for the Dead friend introduction that also applied to Johnny Thunders' Pirate Love. No wonder they once had a band called The Living Dead.
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Walter then introduced the first "special Guest" of the evening, Paul-Ronney Angel of the Urban Voodoo Machine with some nice ribbing about P-R's upcoming trip to New Orleans before getting P-R to blow some mouth harp on the old Doc Pomus classic 7 Day Weekend. It fair barreled along with the expanded backing vocals and Mouth Harp with Paul-Ronney staying up there for Born To Lose which seemed to be the fate of many of Walter's old friends that's for sure.
Staying on similar subject matter they got most of us singing along to Too Much Junkie Business with Walter miming the actions that go along with the lyrics as he tied off and shot up a great version of a great tune after which he put out the shout to "Find Billy Rath" who emerged just behind his blonde minder onto the stage and a hero's welcome as this meant we actually had two members of The Heartbreakers and The Living Dead on stage before us. They posed for photos, Billy had a huge mainly toothless grin on his face before they did Chinese Rocks together and Billy did indeed look like he had been living on a Chinese rock for most of his life. It was a brilliant close to the main set.
Of course they came back for a much deserved encore with the Take A Chance With Me. Well of course we'll take a chance with Walter as you are assured of a great gig if you take that chance, but then Walter may well Let Go of you the first chance he gets. But still, a stonking good version of that one before he found Billy Rath again and persuaded him back on stage so they could finish with the old Berry Gordy classic Do You Love Me: a song the Heartbreakers made their own and just the joy on the faces of Billy and Walter while they were playing this tune made the show worth seeing. It was great to see how happy they looked playing together up there.
It was also good that they were both very happy posing for photos afterwards with all sorts of reprobates. A great night out that makes me a little sad that I missed Billy Rath's recent London show. I hope I get a chance to see him play a full set while he is in good form in the not too distant future and he is also hoping that Walter will be back again next year. Don't miss him if he plays anywhere near you as he's a true punk legend. Oh, and most of this show is already up on Youtube if you want to see any of it.
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