Album review : LINDISFARNE – Brand New Day The Mercury Years 1978-79 (3 CDs)

Cherry Red [Release date : 24.05.24]

This is one of Cherry Red’s finer moments. A concise snapshot of Lindisfarne when they were at their best.

CD1: Magic In The Air (1978)
CD2: Back And Fourth (1978)
CD3: The News (1979)

Newcastle band, Lindisfarne folded after five albums. This was 1975. Dominishing returns after the huge success of their third album, Fog On The Tyne, led to intergroup bitterness and ultimately, an acriminious split.

The band’s resurrection, 3 years later, was engineered by NE music enterpreneur, Barry McKay. A lucrative, one off Christmas gig at Newcastle City Hall was on offer.

For Alan Hull, Rod Clements, Ray Jackson, Simon Cowe and Roy Laidlaw, who had all gone their different ways, it was clearly time to “put all grievances aside and concentrate on this opportunity”.

The gig was extended by two more nights and a repeat performance a year later. This became Magic In The Air – CD1 in this collection.

In turn, the huge success of these gigs led to a financially rewarding contract with Mercury Records.

Back And Fourth (1978) was the debut album on the new label, and forms the second CD in this collection. 9 bonus tracks have been added… a mix of edits, demos and unused recordings.

The follow up, The News (1979), is CD3, with 9 bonus tracks, all previously unreleased, all live, all cherry picked from subsequent Newcastle City Hall Christmas gigs.

Looking in the rear view mirror, it’s clear that leader and principle songwriter, Alan Hull was a highly talented musician, a perceptive artist whose lyrics adroitly mixed romance with politics and the struggles of everyday life.

The band’s big songs are all featured across these three discs, either in original form or done live, or both. Listen, and all of Hull’s skill as a craftsman becomes apparent.
‘Fog On The Tyne’: a bleary eyed, yet perspicacious look at life on the dole.

‘Run For Home’: shows off Hull’s lyrical prose, as a family man coming off a long tour.
‘Meet Me On The Corner’: some claim this song has drug taking connotations, and they may be right.

‘Lady Eleanor’: is a nod to the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. There are many interpretations, but in the end it’s just a great folk/rock song.

As with all of these songs, and more, Hull manages that difficult task of sounding authoritative without increasing the volume or toughness of his voice. He has that elusive ability to sound empathetic and dramatic at one and the same time.

That’s not to diminish the contribution of the other members of the band.

This “Geordie Genius” died in 1995 as the result of a coronary thrombosis. He was aged 50. RIP. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

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