Clyde Auditorium |
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Mon 20th Nov 2000 |
Well, Glasgow was now upon us and I had front row centre seats oh sugar !

Strangely enough after our surprise encounter in Café India the night before I was somewhat calmer than I had been at any of the previous gigs. I knew what to expect song wise, the only thing was, this was Glasgow, so absolutely anything could happen. Instinct told me there was going to be something that little bit different . . . not just like any other day.

Billy Sloan from the Daily Record and Scotland Today was in attendance tonight but as far as I know unfortunately never did a report or interview for the newspaper or the Scottish news, or if he did I never saw or heard of it.

As if Glasgow wasnt enthusiastic and fanatical enough already, with the animated curtain teaser and 'Sweet Little Mystery' as an opener the whole place erupted. 'Wishing I Was Lucky' and 'East Of The River' were greeted with equally as much wildness with everyone singing along. Yeah, Marti was home, we knew it and HE knew it !

Marti gave his customary speech of thanks to us all which meant even more tonight with it being the Glasgow audience then did the first new song of the evening, Did You Ever Wake Up, which by now I was able to sing along to parts of after only hearing it three times. It has a great feel to it which is hard to describe but it's just one of those well balanced songs, not too ballady and at the same time not dancy, with a nice sprinkling of guitars, just right !

He told us a funny story about going down Loch Lomond earlier that day and having Haggis for his lunch which left him feeling not too brilliant. Now how was it he put it, 'I feel like s**t', once again giving out more info. than necessary so long as it wasnt the Indian the night before !

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Leo obviously hadn't lost his adventurous streak, after his mishap in Newcastle, as he was up on the piano again during 'Temptation' waiting on his cue from Marti to jump off. When he was signalled he held back a few seconds to add to the tension for everyone watching, then took off with a more reserved landing than the other night and proceeded to play up to Marti following him around the stage with the sax. 'Oh! You Pretty Things' kept up the livelyness especially during the chorus as Marti went spinning across the stage to a piano sound I could have sworn was Jools Holland, if I'd had my eyes shut.

Throughout the tour Marti had been very emotional while singing "Hard To Cry" and tonight was no exception but even more so than usual, I think with it being his first night in Glasgow. The whole audience was touched by his emotion I think and hung on his every word. We were left in almost complete silence in a stunned awe at the overall power of the song which was cut only by Leo's intro to 'I Don't Trust You' while Marti gathered himself together.

As ever, 'New York Vibe' got a great reaction from the uninitiated followed by 'I Can Give You Everything' which hadn't lost any of its groove from the early days.
'Been Around The World' - amazing, that's what it was called the last night. This was another song becoming a firm favourite to some of the regulars, me included, plus it had easy lyrics to remember and join in with. I'd say it's almost as catchy as 'New York Vibe'.

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Jackie was well received for her first night in Glasgow, the crowd loved her and her voice. Marti was showing off again as usual swinging around beside her and loving every second of it. He was as much indulging himself in listening to such Memphis talent as we were in listening to both of them. As he said, he was having a blast !

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Obviously we were all well versed to join in with the next three songs from the days of the Wets which took us up to the first encore. Everyone certainly let it be heard that we wanted more !


I felt that the crowd were rather rowdy tonight especially during his quieter new numbers like Hard To Cry and The River. Although it was more shouts of encouragement rather than for the songs being quiet or unknown, I felt it kind of took the edge off them a little and didnt give the rest of the audience a chance to listen to and appreciate the songs as they should be heard in silence. Who wants to hear someone yelling out, 'G'on y'er sel Marti', in the middle of such peaceful and moving songs.

However, Marti wasnt really worried at this and carried on like a true professional, as always. Some idiot right behind me (that I didn't know) even tried the 'yes please' stunt at the end of 'Close To You' but Marti didn't bite this time. None the less with the great and prolonged applause that he got after them and some of the other new songs, Marti was completely amazed and stood back praising the crowd in admiration.


'Gypsy Girl' gave everyone the shock of the year when Marti introduced an old friend, GRAEME DUFFIN, who came on to play guitar and sing with Marti. He got a brilliant reception, it was so great to see him again and you could see he really enjoyed himself. He remained on stage during 'Angel Eyes' and joined in again with his guitar towards the end during the more heavily instrumented part of the song. Wow, that just left everyone speechless, apart from screams.

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The place was buzzing more than you can ever imagine as Marti went off leaving us to make a noise before the second encore. 'Close To You' got a huge cheer and despite any unnecessary crowd interception it still sounded the best.

'Love Is All Around' showed Marti just how much love was all around him. Glasgow had taken him to their heart all those years ago, following him with pride and now were only too delighted to welcome him back with open arms.

Not normally my choice of words
but how else can
you describe moves like this other than SEXY !!!
It was a home coming for Marti after so long, a special night with the appearance of Graeme Duffin for Gypsy Girl and Angel Eyes. I don't think any night the whole tour could surpass this.
A very emotional night was had by all !
