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 On
June 29th 2001, days after appearing in his own solo show at the Royal
Festival Hall in London, David Gilmour appeared as part of the bill of
"A Tribute To Leiber and Stoller", the famous songwriting partnership.
Billed as "The Best Indoor Music Event of The Summer" (see poster to
the left, click on it to see a larger version in a new window), it
featured such other artists as Tom Jones, Meat Loaf, Sam Brown, Chris
Rea, Keith Emerson and the fabulous Leo Sayer.
For those unfamiliar with the
output of Leiber and Stoller, they wrote many classics, principally
from the rock'n'roll era: Hound Dog, Yakety Yak, Stand By Me, Jailhouse
Rock, the list is (not literally) endless!
David Gilmour's main contribution
to the show was a rendition of Elvis's "Don't" which by all accounts,
was one of the high spots of the show.
Starry, starry nightmare
These days teenage frustration is
expressed in the crudest terms imaginable. No one's going to waste
their life analysing the lyrics of Limp Bizkit (though that potential
Nobel prizewinner Eminem is a different matter). But once, a long, long
time ago (George VI was on the throne) Jerry Leib-er and Mike Stoller
became rock's first famed writing partnership, penning literate and
witty classics such as "On Broadway", "Stand By Me" and the immortal
"Yakety Yak".
So what better way to commemorate
their 50-year association than this extraordinary event to raise funds
for Nordoff-Robbins music therapy. A veritable constellation of stars,
including, yes, Edwin Starr will perform some of the team's best-known
songs. You know an event promises something special when a breathless
press release announces that "Hot Lips from M*A*S*H" is a late edition
to a bill already boasting giants such as Tom Jones, Chris Rea and
Brian Conley. (What? No Davro?)
The employment of the Blockheads
rhythm section is a promising sign, but with comperes such as DIY
superstore shill Neil Morrissey, reading off an autocue obviously
bearing instructions such as "attempt sincerity", and a seemingly
endless queue of has-beens such as Steve Harley, the lost Leo Sayer and
Bob Geldof, the heart sinks. Mark Lamarr's "Framed" comprehensively
beats Sir Bob's embarrassing Jagger impersonation on "Riot in Cell
Block #9", a victory for comedy over commerce.
Such events are memorable, if at
all, for truly surreal juxtapositions such as Stefanie Powers (who
knows why?) introducing Heather Small's Bond-theme audition of "I (Who
Have Nothing)", Barry McGuigan (ditto) welcoming Paul Carrack, or Jimmy
Tarbuck (golf connection, obviously) praising Elkie Brooks.
Stranger still is Nasty Nick
Cotton's rendition of "If You're Looking for Trouble". Oh yes, he is
evil, don't mess around with him, even if he does look like a squat
undertaker. The vile Brian Conley's "Yakety Yak" is just Cackety Cack
however, a low spot matched only by the tributees' offering of their
latest song, a collection of clichés so predictable it beggared belief
that it was written by men once noted for verbal sharpness.
Still, Sam Brown's energetic
"Saved" was terrific, and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour proved that
everybody's got a little Elvis in them (except for Brian Conley, the
anti-Elvis) with a lovely rendition of "Don't". Hot Lips turned out to
be the movie's Sally Kellerman applying an appropriate, if bizarre
Teutonic accent to the great "Is That All There Is?", Dietrich-style.
The crowd, old enough to still
bother voting, soaked up Tom Jones's spirited bash at the lyrically
bizarre "Jailhouse Rock" (Jerry Leiber has admitted he knew exactly
what he was doing) and even laughed at Tarby's gags. Though no match
for seeing the Eurovision Song Contest live, parts of this show will
stay with me forever. I may need music therapy myself, and as is known,
therapy can last a lifetime.
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