From The Times:
This was an extraordinary concert in many senses. For one night only, Steve Harley and his eight-man band performed the first two Cockney Rebel albums — The Human Menagerie (1973) and The Psychomodo (1974) — accompanied by the Orchestra of the Swan and its chamber choir. Harley, 61, behaved as if it was the moment he had been waiting for all his life, and perhaps it was.
The singer came on wearing a battered bowler hat, a prop from the old days, which now combined the aesthetic of A Clockwork Orange with that of Steptoe and Son. Strumming an acoustic guitar, he seemed a little uncertain of the words and chords as he embarked on some of the more obscure songs at the start of the first album, including What Ruthy Said and Crazy Raver, and later admitted that he had been referring to a prompt at his feet.
The ensemble received its first standing ovation after Sebastian, a symphonic number that unfurled like a Shakespearian tragedy. Harley, an absurdly mannered and highly strung performer, poured so much of himself into the show that the cup was overflowing even before you factored in the efforts of the 50 or so musicians surrounding him. There was another standing ovation at the end of Death Trip, the long, prog-orchestral number that closed the first half with a flourish that was nothing short of bonkers.
The orchestra and choir, conducted by Andrew Powell, the man responsible for the string arrangements on the albums, added gravitas to a performance that was certainly not lacking in drama or ambition. Harley had put his money where his mouth was — a substantial investment — by promoting the sold-out show himself. He riffed about this endlessly, and seemed to know where most of the ticket-holders in the 2,200-capacity venue had come from, including locations all over Europe, the United States and Australia.
He did not disappoint them. The grand production brought out the strange pop genius at work in numbers such as Judy Teen and Mr Soft and underlined the pomp of more grandiose creations including Cavaliers, which ended with a rousing saxophone solo from Steve Norman (on loan from Spandau Ballet), earning a third standing ovation. Having thrown himself into the task, physically, musically, emotionally (and financially), Harley made an heroic speech at the end, in which he declared himself to be “exhausted and utterly and deeply moved by this experience tonight”.
The crowd, on their feet yet again, took over the chant at the end of the final number, Tumbling Down. “Oh dear, look what they’ve done to the blues, blues, blues . . .” they sang, as an exultant Harley exited the battlefield.
