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REVIEW: Cupid's Inspiration
The Prince of Wales Hotel, Southport, 16/2/14 The band were playing this glorious Victorian style hotel in the seaside town of Southport as part of a 60's music weekend which included performances by The Nashville Teens, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Union Gap and many more. The room holding the event was just about perfect for the job, fabulous décor, a large spacious downstairs seating area, ample dance floor space, a lengthy balcony offering great views of the on stage action while the stage itself was spacious and equipped with (as the evenings performances proved) a quality PA/sound system. Apart from the grandiose setting another thing that impressed me was the enthusiasm and friendliness of the sell out audience who were obviously enjoying a fantastic weekend of music. This was a very special gig for the band as it heralded the return to the fold of original Cupid's drummer Roger Gray after 40 odd years away from the bands drum stool and he played an absolute storm with a smile on his face throughout, although hanging around with the band this came as no surprise as they have an incredible band chemistry. The set included the bands two hit singles 'My World' and the more well know 'Yesterday Has Gone' the latter especially sounding magnificent |
and fantastically received, the rest of the set was made up of a selection of well known numbers from the era and a certain Bryan Adams number with a 60''s relevance.
The band have quite a rocking sound possibly more so than some of the other bands on the 60's circuit and not surprising as guitarist Paul Shanahan and bassist Bernie Weedon (both part of the Cupid's line-up between 1970 and 1985) have a rock pedigree with 80's 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal' band Chevy while (Mr Cool) vocalist Paul Thomas is a power packed but soulful vocalist with oodles of stage charisma. Highlights from the covers included the brace of Stone's numbers 'Let's Spend the Night Together' and 'Honky Tony Woman' which along with The Kinks 'You Really Got Me' were full of drive, power and energy and they showed the bands quieter side on a soulful 'My Girl'. 'Summer of 69' the Bryan Adams 1980's hit was an unusual but surprisingly effective choice for a 60's festival and had the audience waving their arms and singing along. It is not surprising that this type of festival is so popular if this is the standard of the performances. Andrew Lock |
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The Beat announce cupid's return
read full article: http://beat-magazine.co.uk/2013/cupids-inspiration-back-on-the-road |
