Gig review: NORDA MULLEN- The Half Moon, Putney, London, 28 April 2024

May 5th, 2024 by andynathan

With heritage bands augmenting their touring line-ups with additional musicians, there is a category of highly talented musicians good enough to play with the best, yet virtually unknown to the wider world. One such is Norda Mullen, who for over 15 years after the retirement of the late Ray Thomas, toured the world with the Moody Blues as a flautist and multi-instrumentalist.

Raised in the South, then domiciled in California, the American has been a resident of Richmond upon Thames for many years now, and most of her infrequent live shows have been local affairs down the road (or river!) at the Half Moon. Many of the audience- which also included some Moodies family and crew- were from her local South-West London community. Indeed- full disclosure- the reason this show came to my notice was through a wine group of American expats in the area that my partner belongs to.

Indeed, adding to the sense of being at a private gathering, the support came from Quinny and Company, a folky 4 piece fronted by a father and daughter combination in Jim- another American and neighbour of Norda’s- and Sarah Bernard, who had flown in from the States, supported by a bassist and cajon player. Sarah sang lead- and played ukulele!- on opener ‘Drifting’, but Jim sang and played harmonica on the Neil Young-esque ‘Under the Willow’ and on ‘Dreams’ and ‘Hold Me Tight’ the two harmonised beautifully. ‘Suzy and Alexander’ had a rockier feel and a very enjoyable set concluded- appropriately enough with the Amy Winehouse biopic big news right now- with Sarah’s take on The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’.

Compared to what for so many years was her day job, Norda Mullen faced a fresh challenge as lead singer and frontwoman, and had assembled a seven piece band. Opening with ‘yeah yeah’ harmonies, most recent single ‘Down To The River’ was a pleasant and well-constructed opener, enlivened when she picked up her flute half way through for a solo.

The first of many anecdotes about her life and songwriting inspirations led into a cover of ‘California Dreaming’ then ‘I Like It’ saw her playing another refreshingly different instrument in a melodica. ‘Steal My Thunder’, with a lengthy, almost proggy, instrumental, was edgier, yet- courtesy of sister and backing singer Christie- featured a totally un rock’n’roll instrument, the xylophone. ‘It’s OK’ saw Norda’s instrumental prowess extend to both harmonica and recorder.

A recurring theme of the night was to cover songs by women who had inspired her, and a version of the Pretenders’ ‘Back On The Chain Gang’ felt very authentic. Among the others, she showed a bluesier side I think she might have developed further on Michelle Shocked’s ‘Love Is a Train’ and took over keyboards for Annie Lennox’s ‘The Gift’.

The celtic-tinged ‘Give it Up’ featured a military style drum pattern from Chris Bailey not unlike Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk’ while ‘Strange Imagination’, sung by tousle-haired guitarist Noris Schek, featured Norda’s recorder and some great work from the rhythm section of Chris and bassist Richard Cartwright.

The majority of the songs were her own originals including ‘Live for Today’ and ‘Pray For You’, which I could have easily imagined on a Radio 2 playlist. Perhaps surprisingly there was just one Moody Blues song, but it was a goodie, a beautiful, flute-led instrumental version of ‘Nights In White Satin’ during which you could have heard a pin drop from an appreciative crowd.

Sadly few rock songs prominently feature this most mellifluous and beautiful of instruments, but one such of course is Focus’ ‘Hocus Pocus’, which proved very lively as guitarists Noris and Alan Wishart rocked out, while Norda’s flute playing covered both the original flute parts and, wisely, Thijs Van Leer’s yodelling lines. On a cover of Eddi Reader and Fairground Attraction’s ‘Find My Love’, Richard switched to mandolin, and the sibling harmonies were beautiful, while ‘Home’ had a strong Motown inspiration.

She closed with another rock classic which prominently features flute in Canned Heat’s ‘Going Up the Country’. She’d already played for an hour and a half but after a speech of thanks manager, songwriter and husband Kelvin Cheatle, needed little persuading to join the band for a reprise of ‘Down to the River’.

I did not really know what to expect before the gig, but was hugely impressed by the sheer variety of material, ranging from pleasant folk pop originals to new takes on other people’s songs, given a fresh dimension by her playing instruments less often heard in a rock context. I left with the conclusion was that Norda Mullen is a talented and personable live act who I hope a wider clientele can get to experience.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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