Tuesday 12 June 2018

10 years ago, I went to Manchester to see Yazoo live


Earlier this year (2018) I saw Erasure live. 30 years ago (1988) I also saw Erasure live. But 10 years ago (2008) I saw another Vince Clarke group live. It was, of course, Yazoo. And I saw them at another Apollo venue, Manchester Apollo whereas I saw Erasure at the Hammersmith Apollo, both times (although back in 1988 it was called Hammersmith Odeon).
It all started through an internet fan forum when this question was posed by another user: "What is your synth-pop top 5?" My answer was this:
3.OMD
4.Yazoo
5.Erasure
However, I added an extra comment to my answer: "The only ones I haven't seen live are Yazoo (Pretty much impossible now, I guess... Although reunions are always possible...)". A few days later their reunion was indeed announced
in the form of their Reconnected tour and tickets went on sale. I bought one for Manchester on the 7th of June.
The night before, I flew to London and early the next morning I took the train to Manchester. I settled in at my hotel, found where Manchester Apollo was and once there I met my Swedish friend from the same internet forum for the first time in person and had a couple of pints at the local.



Then I went back to my hotel and had a chance to walk around Manchester for a bit. I was to return there again in 2011 for Roger Waters and in 2016 for the city's very own Stone Roses.
Unfortunately, back then I believed what was stated on concert tickets, ie that cameras were not allowed, so the only photos that I took inside the venue and during the gig are those that I took with my mobile, a SonyEricsson W880.




I even filmed one video with it, at a very low resolution, but I also manaaged to find one more on YouTube from another user.

What is true, is that compact cameras are allowed, it's professional (SLR) cameras and video cameras that are not usually allowed.
The gig started with "Nobody's Diary" a song that was never performed live before the 2008 tour (as indeed were all the songs from their second album "You And Me Both"). And because Yazoo had only released two albums, we heard a lot of our favourite tunes from back then.

After the end of the gig, I remember my Swedish friend stating that "this woman was born to sing!"
After the gig, we sat and waited outside the Apollo for a while; there was a rumour going on that either Alison or Vince may show up.

Finally, I took the bus back to my hotel.
The next day,at Manchester Piccadilly station from where I would take the train back to London, I spotted a billboard advertising a Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band concert at Old Trafford, that had already taken place. I was about to attend my very first Bruce Springstten gig at the end of that same month in Paris, but that is of course a subject for another blog post...

SETLIST:
01. Nobody's Diary
02. Bad Connection
03. Mr. Blue
04. Good Times
05. Tuesday
06. Ode to Boy
07. Goodbye 70's
08. Too Pieces
09. In My Room
10. Walk Away From Love
Interval:
      I Before E Except After C
11. Anyone
12. State Farm
13. Sweet Thing
14. Winter Kills
15. Midnight
16. Unmarked
17. Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)
18. Situation
19. Don't Go
Encore:
20. Only You

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