Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel live in Athens April 2011

When I heard the news of the recent loss of Steve Harley, I remembered that I had seen him and Cockney Rebel back in 2011 at Gagarin. They were much loved in Greece, their previous gigs were all sold out (or almost sold-out, anyway), but not that time. People's abstention from gigs (but also from nights out and entertainment in general) because of the recession and the punishing measures imposed by the IMF and the EU had started to become apparent. Even so, they rewarded us with an unforgettable night, where apart from Hideaway they also played Sebastian and Mr.Soft among others. They even included Star For A Week, which, as Steve informed us, was inspired by a real story with a young bank robber, that had actually taken place in Greece. 

As someone commented on the Hideaway YouTube video: "Amazing concert, in my opinion, of priceless value !!! Its second part started with Hideaway, after a 20 minute break !!! Mr. Harley is like good old wine : As he grows old & matures, he becomes better ...."

And he bid us farewell with something more optimistic: Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me). Let's all remember him like this...

 

SETLIST:
First Set:
01. Audience With the Man
02. Here Comes the Sun
03. Psychomodo
04. Judy Teen
05. Sling It!
06. Red Is a Mean, Mean Colour
07. (Love) Compared With You
08. Star for a Week ('Dino')
09. True Love Will Find You in the End
10. The Best Years of Our Lives
11. No Bleeding Hearts
Second Set:
12. Hideaway
13. This Old Man
14. The Last Time I Saw You
15. Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean)
16. The Lighthouse
17. Journey's End (A Father's Promise)
18. Mr. Soft
19. Sebastian
Encore:
20. Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)