With the centre full and with nowhere to hide - there is no back stage at the John Peel Centre, it was interesting to see David Gedge & the band walk through the crowd either un-noticed altogether or with fans doing a quick double take.. was that???
There were no formalities or introductions, the crowd knew who they were here to see, so once the roadies had the stage sorted the set got underway with Charles Layton drumming the audience to order, Pepe adding some bass, Patrick bringing in the rhythm ahead of the cheers as David joined the stage starting off with one of the band’s first songs “My Favourite Dress”.
There followed a journey through thirty plus years of Weddoes music blending old and new seamlessly and delivered with a passion not lost on those in the room. True aficionados of The Wedding Present will each have their favourite number, we rather liked “Dalliance” but what brought the house down towards the end was a recorded loop of John Peel introducing The Wedding Present on air. Hearing the late John’s voice in the arts centre that bears his name left many a grown man in that room with a tear in their eye.
As an arts centre The John Peel Centre is in its infancy. There is much work to do to turn the centre into the state of the art venue we want it to be. Already in our short existence we have hosted some amazing gigs. The Wedding Present was one of them and we are indebted to David Gedge and the band for giving their time to our project, thank you.
We must also thank the audience, many of whom travelled quite a distance to be with us. Others made journey from as near as 200yds down the road. We must mention one quick thinking local fan who, on seeing the queue for the loo, simply popped home & back to speed things along!
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