FRANCIS DUNNERY
Francis Dunnery’s now-annual sojourn to the Uk with a rock band is heralded by a decidedly non-PC voiceover intro, parts of which could have been scripted by the likes of roy ‘Chubby’ Brown.
Last year was an opportunity to hear the whole of the Eat me In St. Louis album, whereas tonight’s celebration of Dunnery’s It Bites’ past is built around the band’s debut, the diverse yet somewhat pop-leaning The Big Lad In The Windmill. Extricating himself from the kim Jong-un mask he’s appeared in, Dunnery and his band launch into the crafty contrapuntal riffing of all In red, followed by Big Lad… album opener, the throbbing punch of I Got You Eating out of my hand. rejoining Dunnery are contemporary prog luminaries Luke machin on guitar and Peter Jones on keyboards with Paul Brown covering bass duties, while newbie Björn fryklund takes over the drum stool.
as is usual at Dunnery’s soirées, there are elements that go beyond the music. We get ribald self-deprecation in tales about It Bites’ early days; then there’s the story about a guitar long-thought destroyed in a fire being given back to Dunnery by an anonymous fan years later; members of the audience are invited onstage to sing backing vocals to Whole new World; the usual fox head makes an appearance alongside the gorilla suit, a refugee from mario Bros. and that bloody pantomime horse; and
fulsome praise is heaped upon the members of the band. This includes a substantial intro for Jones, who then gets a solo spot that morphs into the darkly comic The merry Vicar.
There are also surprises for diehard It Bites fans, including an outing for the B-side of Calling all The heroes, Strange But True, and a stupendous version of Underneath Your Pillow. We also get a rendition of Zappa’s Black napkins and an acoustic version of Solsbury hill, plus a handful of songs from Dunnery’s own enviable solo back-catalogue.
We’re also treated to British fusion guitar god Guthrie Govan coming on and soloing with the band on Wanna Shout!
Ultimately, it’s Dunnery’s astounding playing and songwriting, and that It Bites legacy, that matter, though – it’s inspiring to reflect that these songs still have the power to move people, to get people singing, heads nodding and air guitars out of moth-balls. as Still Too Young To remember rolls to an end and the crowd disperse, it’s a brave person who’d bet against us being back here for a certain once around The World next year.