PRETTY THINGS LIVE AT WORCESTER PARK CLUB

Sunday 7th October 2001

This hastily organised gig proved to be a triumph over various adversities - a nice metaphor for a band with a colourful history. A hastily organised warm-up for a forthcoming Royal Festival Hall gig, and a raging storm outside failed to dampen spirits as one of rock’s original bad boy outfits once again ignited the rock & roll fuse.

The 1966 line-up of the Pretty Things featuring as ever Phil May (with maracas), and Dick Taylor, 25 years on are a curiously compelling outfit. Curious because apart from the raucous energy, the set is an unusual melange of classic r&b, snippets of the brilliant “SF Sorrow” compilation album, and snatches of psychedelia. Opening with a double whammy of 60’s Bo Diddley influenced nostalgia, The Pretties roared into “Road Runner” and “Don’t Bring me Down” before blasting full throttle through the magnificent “Havana Bound” from the underrated “Cross talk” album.

Then followed a clever merging of history with the present as the self titled ode to original drummer “Vivian Prince”. The song appears on the band's new album, but is a reference to wilder times.

The set gathered momentum with the introduction of “SF Sorrow”, and a 6 song sequence from the band’s hugely underrated Rock opera proved surprisingly potent. The emotive “Loneliest person in The World” remains an outstanding ballad. By this stage Phil May was clearly enjoying himself, and had long eschewed the black tie and jacket, while Skip Allen blazed away on the kit seemingly unperturbed by his recent health problems.

By the time of a return to the r&b years with a cracking rendition of “Come See Me” the Pretties were on full throttle, and all too soon its was over.

Just time for a few punters to shout out for “Midnight To Six” in vain as it turned out, as it was hastily explained, “Skip hasn’t played it for over a year”! Happily the show climaxed with a rousing version of arguably the band’s greatest moment as “Rosalyn” was resurrected, before a parting whiff of psychedelia with a rapturously received “LSD”.

The Pretty things still clearly have much to offer, with aRock opera that still remains impressive after all these years, a batch of magnificent r&b hits and a band that has finally grown up and is eager to make up for the lost years. In sum, a memorable night from a band that should long ago have been inducted intoThe Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Pete Feenstra