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A tribute to Alex Harvey

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Ulster punk legend and muli-instrumentalist Glenn Kingsmore – The Defects, Ashanti, currently drumming with Henry Cluney in XSLF etc. – has a new solo album out later this year, ‘Cairn Holy’, a homage to Scotland.

He’s just shared this song and SAHB-filled video from it, a doff of the cap to Alex Harvey. He has a knack for a memorable tune.

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Comments

    • You must have seen them in their prime. My brother saw him play live in Edinburgh when he was a student in the early 80s and said he was dreadful. Must have been close to the end.

    • SAHB did a whole free tour IIRC. They certainly did a freebie at Chelsea Village in Bournemouth. I saw that and thought they were pretty good. Saw them a couple of times later and they didn’t match that first show. Hardly alone in that I think.

    • I first saw them at the Reading Festival in 1974.
      They topped the bill on the Friday night. I hardly knew anything about them. I had missed them on OGWT.
      They were indeed astounding – opening with Faith Healer.
      Searchlights pointed up, their beams waving side to side. The sledgehammer bass riff began from off stage. Synthesised sounds swept from side to side. The band entered the stage one by one – I think Chris Glen was first with his bass. Zal’s guitar cutting through. They were creating a furious noise, almost beating us into submission.
      Alex entered. He walked to the front centre of the stage – looked out, raised and extended his arms Let Me Put My Hands On Youuuu.
      I was won over.

  3. I’d contemplated going to see the tribute band last night but went to see Eliza Carthy again.
    SAHB were a superb band and astonishing live. I saw the SAHB without Alex a few years back with the chap from the Shamen and despite not having the theatrically were still good too.

  4. Here’s Kingsmore’s most recent release (with his new band FluXion – a name shared by lots of other acts, it seems). I saw them live a few weekends ago – they rock!

  6. I didn’t see them, alas. I had a ticket to the December ’75 gig at the New Vic, but went down with the flu. I couldn’t give the ticket away either (they were a fairly niche band, despite or because of “Delilah”). It sat in a drawer for years.

    • Love SAHB, though I too never got to see them at the time.

      21 live CDs looks like overkill to me.
      Individual concert CDs would be good for people who were at particular gigs*, but otherwise, good as they were, the whole set’s going to be rather repetitive isn’t it?

      *In the back of my mind I’m sure a good few years back some band/artist or other offered a mail-order CDR service on request for individual gigs from a list they published.
      I can also recall being at an Astoria gig (can’t remember who, now) about 20 years ago where, at the end, you could order CDs of that night’s gig at the merch desk for a fee.

  9. I never did get to a SAHB gig. However, your post has reminded me of a lovely moment in the early 70’s. Back then, I had started to go along to gigs with my late brother Tom (that’s him in the box). A drummer, he had become quite well known in local musical circles. We went a few times on a Saturday afternoon to the Crazy Daisy on Sauchiehall Street to see George McGowan & the City Centre Sound. George, a drummer like my brother, had played with Alex Harvey’s Soul Band back in the 60’s. So, whilst having our free pie & peas at the interval one time, I heard ‘Tam, wee man, howsitgaun?’ My brother said hi and introduced me to Maggie Bell as well as her friends, Alex Harvey and Zal Cleminson. After a wee chat, they took their seats. Interval over, Maggie was called to the stage and gave us a song (Stormy Monday Blues) and then Zal went on to join the band. Heady days!

    • You did title the thread “A tribute to Alex Harvey”, which would tend to lead us to share our memories of the wee man.
      I did quite like Glenn’s song, though I would need to give it another listen for a better, more fulsome appraisal.

      • Ah… different interpretations of what I was meaning, I guess. I viewed the phrase as a shorthand presenting of ‘Ulster punk legend Glenn Kingsmore has recorded a tribute to Alex Harvey’…

  11. I never saw them but the OGWT performances won me over. Also there was a competition in Sounds in the mid 70s to win a Gibson SG and the full page promo for it featured a large picture of Zal, in full mock guitar hero pose leering at the camera with his SG. It was on my bedroom wall for years.

  12. I saw them at Knebworth in ’74. As I remember it they took to the stage after Tim Buckley. I can’t remember much more than that but I think they opened with Faith Healer or was it Framed? No it was Faith Healer.

  14. I saw SAHB at Reading Festival in 1977 so I’d be quite interested in listening to CD 21 of that 12 CD box set. But I’m sure I’d only be interested in that one and maybe a couple of others, so I won’t be splashing out north of £100 for the privilege. Hopefully they get separate releases.

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