Nashville Rooms
Details
- Date
- February 28, 1978
- Venue
- Nashville Rooms London, England (West Kensington)
- Billed As
- The Soft Boys
- Gig Type
- Concert
Notes
Also playing that night: Dave Edmund's Rockpile
Date confirmed in Kimberley Rew's Soft Boys scrapbook. Note: Kimberley lists the other band playing as The Brakes; it's possible all three bands played, though the review below also only mentions The Brakes as playing that night with The Soft Boys.
Setlist provided by Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry
Newspaper listing from 'Record Mirror' dated February 25, 1978
Live photo is a representative shot of The Soft Boys at The Nashville, not specifically this show.
Photo courtesy of Nick Harman. See more of his work at his website.
Date confirmed in Kimberley Rew's Soft Boys scrapbook. Note: Kimberley lists the other band playing as The Brakes; it's possible all three bands played, though the review below also only mentions The Brakes as playing that night with The Soft Boys.
Setlist provided by Kimberley Rew and Lee Cave-Berry
Newspaper listing from 'Record Mirror' dated February 25, 1978
Live photo is a representative shot of The Soft Boys at The Nashville, not specifically this show.
Photo courtesy of Nick Harman. See more of his work at his website.
Set List
- Give it to the Soft Boys Robyn Hitchcock, Robert Lamb
- Look into Your Mirror
- Hear My Brane Hitchcock, Windsor, Davies, Metcalfe
- The Pigworker
- Where are the Prawns?
- Postman's Knock Traditional
- Ugly Nora
- Reggae Song
- Cold Turkey Plastic Ono Band
- Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole
- (I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp
- Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley
- Wading Through a Ventilator
- That's When Your Heartaches Begin Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm
Reviews
Review from 'Record Mirror' dated March 11, 1978 - page 25
THE SOFT BOYS
The Nashville, London
I went to see The Soft Boys. Therefore I shall not dwell on the success of the support band The Brakes, or stress the great appreciation given to their long fine set by the enthusiastic audience.
That would not be nice, for The Soft Boys were for some unbeknown reason afforded a totally lack-lustre reception, and had to fight to hold the crowd's interest, a difficult task as the show was generally less than commanding.
They produced an extremely varied set, incorporating rhythm, blues, rock, reggae and even a smattering of folk; but in their efforts to achieve constant variety, the set as a whole suffered. Although It came as a very welcome surprise to find a band with the confidence to experiment In several fields of popular music, their continual darting from one style to another left the show somewhat disjointed.
With such a diverse collection of material it is difficult to make generalisations. The only common factor seemed to be a tendency to over -ambitious arrangements, leading to an overall lack of synchronisation.
Two songs which did provide a fresh approach, and avoided the aforementioned pit-falls were 'Postman's Knock' and 'Ugly Nora (I Wanna See Your Jellies Roll)'. The first, with Its tight harmonies could have been straight out the Steeleye Span songbook, and proved to have the chorus with the most staying power of the evening.
‘Ugly Nora' had a similar introduction, and shared the prize for the most interesting song of the night with their final number, 'Heartbreak Hotel', with its menacing overtones which Elvis never quite grasped.
These consecutive goodies appeared towards the middle of the set, regaining waning interest, but when followed by several less stunning numbers, the band quickly lost their struggle for acceptance
Their appearance too was unexciting, with dress drab and mobility both minimal and self- conscious; although vocalist Robyn Hitchcock did try (between songs only) to build up a rapport with the audience, who stubbornly remained frigid.
KELLY PIKE
THE SOFT BOYS
The Nashville, London
I went to see The Soft Boys. Therefore I shall not dwell on the success of the support band The Brakes, or stress the great appreciation given to their long fine set by the enthusiastic audience.
That would not be nice, for The Soft Boys were for some unbeknown reason afforded a totally lack-lustre reception, and had to fight to hold the crowd's interest, a difficult task as the show was generally less than commanding.
They produced an extremely varied set, incorporating rhythm, blues, rock, reggae and even a smattering of folk; but in their efforts to achieve constant variety, the set as a whole suffered. Although It came as a very welcome surprise to find a band with the confidence to experiment In several fields of popular music, their continual darting from one style to another left the show somewhat disjointed.
With such a diverse collection of material it is difficult to make generalisations. The only common factor seemed to be a tendency to over -ambitious arrangements, leading to an overall lack of synchronisation.
Two songs which did provide a fresh approach, and avoided the aforementioned pit-falls were 'Postman's Knock' and 'Ugly Nora (I Wanna See Your Jellies Roll)'. The first, with Its tight harmonies could have been straight out the Steeleye Span songbook, and proved to have the chorus with the most staying power of the evening.
‘Ugly Nora' had a similar introduction, and shared the prize for the most interesting song of the night with their final number, 'Heartbreak Hotel', with its menacing overtones which Elvis never quite grasped.
These consecutive goodies appeared towards the middle of the set, regaining waning interest, but when followed by several less stunning numbers, the band quickly lost their struggle for acceptance
Their appearance too was unexciting, with dress drab and mobility both minimal and self- conscious; although vocalist Robyn Hitchcock did try (between songs only) to build up a rapport with the audience, who stubbornly remained frigid.
KELLY PIKE