Reviews

Artist: Cry No More
Venue: The Turks Head
Town: St Margarets, Twickenham
Date: 27/12/08
Websites: http://www.crynomore.co.uk http:www.strawbsweb.co.uk

The posters described the 2008 Cry No More Annual Farewell concert as "Music, Mayhem and Mirth", so of course, I'm planning on suing against the Trades Description Act. As far as I could tell, there was very little Mayhem.

Music and Mirth were there aplenty, but I mean, if they promise you mayhem, then you'd expect mayhem.

Roy Hill, (Cry No More's lead guitarist, lead vocalist, writer and commedian) explained the problem. They'd broken the habit of a lifetime and had actually rehearsed!. To rectify the situation, Roy did his best to completely throw Chas Cronk (bass, 12-string, vocals and possibly better known for his work with the Strawbs) off his stride, by selecting songs at random, playing them in the wrong key, stopping in the middle for some audience chatter, or adding an extra chorus or chord progression. There was a planned set-list, but a planned set list at a Cry No More concert is like a spare tyre on a cheese grater. Part of the pleasure of seeing Cry No More is to watch Chas wondering what on earth is going on.

Chas takes it all in good spirit, no matter what Roy says or does. They both are true professionals, and produce excellent music with a very unusual, yet very enjoyable stage show.

Even Chas had to laugh though at the end of "The House on the Corner of Albany Drive" in the middle of the medley at the end of the second set, when Roy turned to Chas and said "That should have been a D".

Afficianados of Cry No More may be disheartened to learn that Roy has reformed. He no longer swears. At all. Ever. Well, not very much. We had to wait a full three minutes before the first "F" word.

As well as their fantastic music, Cry No More concerts are characterised by Roy's monologues. To the uninitiated, these may seem like manic ramblings, but they are well crafted vignettes, delivered with the perfect timing of a true raconteur. No matter how many times you hear "Sheep" or "Positive Twirling" you cannot help yourself but laugh.

There were a couple of songs they played that were new to me. "Pineapple Dreams" and "The Last Bus". "Pineapple Dreams" is fabulous. Like many Cry No More songs it has many levels, and includes a very naughty double entendre: "I can't wait to see your finger in my ring."

The highlight of the evening was "I Love Roxy". Many Cry No More songs invite audience participation, very much in the spirit of a modern day pantomime. Whenever Roy mentions Chas' name, the audience break out into a Chorus of "We Love You Chas Cronk". Some songs, like "On Holiday" or "Are You Looking for Something, Mr Templar" have lines that are so well known by the audience that Roy no longer has to sing them, the audience don't just join in, they take over. "I Love Roxy" was different. Someone in the audience called out prompts before each line; such as "Where's the train?", before Roy sang "As the train rolls out of view", or "What time is it?" before Roy sang "It's almost quarter two".

Another major highlight was "Oh Sharon". This was their big hit on the continent, and actually charted in Germany, (if you count selling one or two copies as charting). Chas switched from bass to his twelve string, whilst Roy took hold of his long-leaded microphone to wander out into the audience.

At half past eleven, Roy announced that they had promised they would finish by twenty to twelve, so that there wouldn't be time for much of an encore. He then launched into a five minute series of monologues followed by a five minute performance of "Sixties Baby". We assumed that would be the end of the evening, but they then launched into a fifteen minute medley opening with "Are You Looking for Something Mr Templar?", and comprising various other songs such as "Singing at the Wheel". Not only that, they still played an encore.

My attempt at a set list follows. Tracks who's titles I'm not too sure about have a question mark. I also distinctly remember that they played "You Don't Hurt", but don't seem to have written down when they played it.

First set:
Eastbourne (?) - a duologue - yes Chas also had a line - telling a tale of spotting a Kangaroo on the beach, only to discover that it was a tennis ball.
Sheep - a monologue.
The Taller of the Two
Lord's a Leaping (?)
Little Davis-on-Sea -(?) a monologue
One Time
Marion Jones
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Pineapple Dreams
Falling
Jenny Takes a First Look at Life
The Last Bus
On Holiday
A round of "We Love You Chas Cronk" (audience)
Jimmy and Johnnie
Don't Leave Me Here

Second set:
Fashion
Sweet Talk
Another round of "We Love You Chas Cronk" (audience)
Keep Away From Me
I Love Roxy
George's Bar
Forgotten Now
I Like, I Like, I Like
An example of Roy's fine skill in the art of mimicry. (monologue)
Oh Sharon!
Positive Twirling - a monologue
An example of some of the swearing that Roy doesn't do anymore. (monologue)
Refugees - a monologue
Sixties Baby
A medley beginning and ending with Mr Templar, featuring Singing at the Wheel, Wooden Heart, etc

Encore:
Lying in a Stranger's Bed.

Pete Bradley