Lindisfarne at St Mary in the Castle: from left, Charlie Harcourt, Steve Daggett, Rod Clements and, half-hidden, Paul Thompson on drums.

Lindisfarne return on top form

After well-received performances from both Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span at St Mary in the Castle this past year, it perhaps came as no surprise that it was time for that other giant of the late 60s/early 70s folk-rock: Lindisfarne. HOT correspondent Darren Johnson reports on the return of a well-loved band. Photos by Richard Broady.

The band had been on hiatus for around a decade but the Lindisfarne name was resurrected in 2013 when founder member Ray Jackson began touring with a number of other former members from various eras of the band. They were soon to find that there was clearly a huge amount of affection out there for the Tyneside folk-rockers but after a couple of years Jackson stepped back and retired.

Rod Clements has taken the place of the late Ray Jackson.

That was not the end of the reunion, however, as in stepped another founder member, with Rod Clements from the band’s classic line-up taking Jackson’s place.

Audiences are no longer treated to Jackson’s brilliantly distinctive and instantly recognisable mandolin-playing (the man who came up with the mandolin intro on Rod Stewart’s Maggie May, let’s not forget) but Clements is a gifted musician, switching between electric fiddle, mandolin and slide guitar, and an engaging presence on stage.

He’s joined by Dave Hull-Denholm, son-in-law of original front-man the late Alan Hull, on vocals/guitar; Charlie Harcourt, who originally played with the band in the mid 70s, on guitar; Steve Daggett, who toured with the band in the 80s, on keyboards; Ian Thompson who, like Hull-Denholm, has been around since the 90s, on bass; and, finally, former Roxy Music drummer, Paul Thompson, on drums.

Dave Hull-Denholm.

Plenty of classics

Denholm-Hull’s voice is surprisingly reminiscent of Alan Hull’s distinctive vocals, and he does the band’s legacy, and his late father-in-law, proud. There are plenty of Lindisfarne classics to keep the Hastings crowd entertained, too: Lady Eleanor, Road To Kingdom Come, Wake Up Little Sister, We Can Swing Together, Meet Me on the Corner and, of course, Fog On The Tyne.

Newcastle’s finest produced so many unforgettable songs back in the day, and the band tonight cram so many of them into two hours.

With bands like the aforementioned Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention going from strength to strength in recent years, it’s nice also to also see Lindisfarne firmly back in business – and playing and sounding great. Maybe it’s time for an album, too, guys?

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