Walk into any popular music store in Colombo and the shelves will have their share of Smokie music.
The legendary British rock band of the 1970s is still alive and rocking, having its faithful followers across the world including Sri Lanka.
Thus it was no surprise when the ‘boys’ -- now aging rockers like the Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Eagles or bands of that genre – played their hearts out to a warm and appreciative audience at the Water’s Edge, Battaramulla.
Sri Lankans, particularly the 1960s to 1980s generation are not a very expressive audience. They love their music and sure, the appreciation is shown through applause and a few shouts. Dancing? Unlikely!
However, Smokie led by lead vocalist/guitarist Mike Craft turned on the heat with CCR’s ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain’ and the song that made them famous (didn’t I hear someone shout ‘Anney mage Alice’ in the audience?) – Living Next Door to Alice.
The audience simply went crazy, singing, dancing, clapping, and stomping the floor. Enjoy they did, in a vibrant way … the kind of excitement that one would see at a rap or teeny bopper show in Colombo with a younger crowd.
I was there; I felt the buzz; I was glad to be part of it: and Yes, I am a Smokie fan and sang my guts out.
Home is where your heart is … are the lyrics of a new song. And in the words of bassist Terry Uttley, founder and the only surviving member of the band since its inception in the seventies: “The stage has been our home for a while now … But we just realised our home is with you.” The still-popular band does 100 concerts a year made up of some 170 aeroplane flights.
Opening the show with a well-known hit, Smokie dished out all their favourites and crowd pleasers like ‘Something Been Making Me Blue’, ‘Mexican Girl’, ‘Lay Down In The Arms Of Someone’, ‘Needles And Pins’, ‘I'll Meet You At Midnight’ and ‘Oh Carol’.
At the beginning the audience was pleased, clapped and cheered but subdued unlike the heat generated at the recent Abba look-alike band concert in Colombo. However as the music and songs went along… the popular hits driving into the hearts and minds of an audience most of whom love these songs but listen to them on radio, cassette or lately CDs, Smokie-lovers came out of the closet and began shaking in their seats.
They sang along and clapped vigorously. Drummer Steve Pinnell was a bundle of energy with his infectious enthusiasm. A disappointing feature of a well-organised show however was that there were quite a few empty seats in the hall. Unfortunate indeed, because this is the real thing compared to the plethora of tribute or sing-like-them or look-alike (call it what you like) bands of famous bands or stars that have been regularly visiting Sri Lanka over the years, and drawing much bigger crowds.
For example the Beatles and Abba tribute bands drew powerful crowds, something that was missing at the Smokie (real-life) concert. Wonder why? Maybe it was the heavy downpour that Tuesday.
Whatever it might be, Smokie lovers (who’ll forget the everlasting Living Next Door to Alice?) who were not there would have missed seeing the band in the flesh. It’s rare that original bands come to Colombo and that’s not because they don’t want to come. It’s a matter of costs. For that reason, credit should be given to music promoter Ranjit Vethakan, the popular ‘Jim Reeves’ of the 1960s, for drawing original acts like Smokie, Lobo and Cliff Richard to the Colombo circuit.
They arrived from their Australian tour on Tuesday morning and left early on Wednesday – back home to the UK for Christmas. One slight hitch was the music being louder than the voices; unforgivable for a band that relies on voices and harmony. The voices should have come out crisp and clear instead of being drowned by sound, an unfortunate feature in the music scene here where sound technicians believe that ‘loud’ instruments make better music than voices.
Ronnie (‘the Leach’), where are you? If you were at the show, you would have loved every minute of it. If not, you missed something, buddy! You could have joined Smokie with your version of ‘Aney Mage Alice’. That would have really rocked the place. Cool and in Smokie’s own words; Hasta La Vista!
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