Dave Hull-Denholm and The Island
Cluny 2
Ouseburn
Newcastle upon Tyne
Tyne and Wear

2024-08-14

One thing I’ve really enjoyed (and been grateful for) on the back of…what almost feels like the re-birth of Lindisfarne has been the various side-projects & archival releases all this reinvigorated interest has catalysed. For the more casual fan, or traditionalist, there’s the customary Christmas Show. All the fun, all the hits - you pretty much know what you’re going to get and, boy, do they deliver. However, there’s an increasing number of us who have developed a more…serious condition. Yes, we’ll go and enjoy the main band wherever and whenever we can. But we now want a bit more, a deeper dive into the lesser visited reaches of the Hull & Co. back catalogue.

Dave Hull-Denholm has done more than most to…supply to those affected. The Alan Hull Songbook was a revelation. Dave’s latest outing took this a stage further - a full band made up of friends & family who tested the market with a special batch of shows earlier in the year. My hope was that they’d do some more - the combination of rarer tunes, new reworks of classics and the odd curve-ball covers in “close-up & personal” settings providing the stronger fix some of us now craved.

It’s been a month since our last show, Tempusfugit & myself having had our last dose at a somewhat genteel matinee on a Sunday afternoon. Fabulous though it was, we’ve been eagerly anticipating another taste of the more “esoteric” extremes of the canon.

The venue, Cluny 2, is the little brother of The Cluny - a pub-come-eatery-come-concert venue in Ouseburn - a rejuvenated enclave on the east side of Newcastle…a more artistic, bohemian area of repurposed warehouses. There’s art studios, the odd shop, lots of independent eateries & bars. Although I like The Cluny a lot, I prefer the smaller Cluny 2 for gigs. It’s down a few flights of stairs, might hold a hundred people (dependent on whether there’s seating or not - fortunately there was for tonight’s show), good sound, good atmosphere, no frills just a close-up experience with the band.

And Dave’s band now has a name - The Island - and has also added a keyboard player.

Some familiar faces in the (pretty much sold-out) congregation which adds some real conviviality to the evening.

As you might imagine, six band members and all their equipment makes for a very packed stage. When health & safety inspectors go to hell, this is what they’re confronted with.

At a shade after 8:00pm, and with no fanfare or any other “guff” Dave & the band take the stage and everyone’s instantly engaged as they get proceedings underway…Crooked Mile, 100 Miles To Liverpool, Never be The Same…ahhhh…

Might not be one of the lesser known tunes, but it was great to hear United States of Mind played…brilliantly. Another tune making an unseasonal, but very welcome return nevertheless is Cardboard Christmas Boxes.

Dave and the band are clearly enjoying all this almost as much as we are. No tension, all very easy, good banter and sparkling taste and musicianship throughout. Egos have been left at the door. Everyone’s playing for the collective, greater good. A palpable warmth to the show.

Surprise of the night is a rendition of REM’s Nightswimming.

Two sets of joy, the evening’s entertainment drawn to a conclusion by Dave’s now traditional show closer, a fabulously ethereal re-arrangement of a Lindisfarne classic.

And if that’s not enough, Dave hangs around afterwards & is happy to chat.

Whilst I never get the impression this band will be announcing a 40 date tour any time soon (to be fair, Dave already has one of those on the go) it seems like the band does have some future, the next date already announced as part of a festival on Lindisfarne/Holy Island itself.

Tonight’s prescription administered consisted of:-

Set One

S101 Walk A Crooked Mile
S102 100 Miles To Liverpool
S103 Never Be The Same From Today
S104 United States Of Mind
S105 Lady Eleanor
S106 Treat Me Kindly
S107 Drug Song
S108 Uncle Sam
S109 Hoi Polloi
S110 Unmarked Car

S111 Deep Forbidden Lake

Set Two

S201 Where Is The Little Girl
S202 Cardboard Christmas Boxes
S203 Band Intros
S204 Money
S205 Winter Song
S206 Wall Of Death
S207 When The War Is Over
S208 Nightswimming
S209 Statues And Liberties

S210 Accidental Times
S211 Save Yourself
S212 Clear White Light PT.II


Dave Hull Denholm - Vocals,Guitars,Keyboards,Harmonica
Paul Smith - Drums
Neil Harland - Bass
Darren Paice - Guitars,Pedal Steel Guitar
Evan Hull Denholm - Acoustic Guitar
Ray Snowdon - Keyboards

Lineage

SP-CMC-4U >
TASCAM DR-40 >
Sound Forge Pro 14 >
Trader's Little Helper (level 8) >
Torrent Site

No better deliverer of Alan Hull’s message than Dave Hull-Denholm.