#Review – The Christians – The Cavern, Liverpool

There’s palpable energy and expectation in the capacity crowd crammed into the subterranean Cavern Club. This isn’t a crowd that’s come out on a whim; this is a group of Christians fans here to see one of their favourite bands in action.

Early on, lead singer Garry Christian asks us how many of us have seen The Christians play live before. It’s virtually all of us. ‘Well, we’re still playing the same songs’, he says. It gets a laugh that turns into a cheer – with a back-catalogue that includes tunes as great as Forgotten Town, When The Fingers Point, Hooverville and Born Again, why wouldn’t it?

There can’t be many bands who could cover classics like Gil Scot Heron’s The Bottle, or Harvest for the World by The Isley Brothers, without their own songs seeming somewhat insipid by comparison. Here, something different happens: whilst completely honouring the originals, the covers sound like they might be the band’s own compositions, suiting and enhancing their set perfectly, rather than dominating it.

As great as these choices are musically, they also point to one of the band’s other great strengths: their social conscience. This is never more evident than in their rendition of Big Red Sky, the song they wrote in honour of the then 96, now 97 people unlawfully killed in the Hillsborough disaster, with all of the proceeds from its sale going to the bereaved families.

They also appeared on the charity version of Ferry Cross the Mersey for the same cause, and the (presumably quite sizeable) income from Harvest for the World went to Unicef.

As worthy as all these things are, and as much as we love them for their integrity, it’s the music that we’re here for. If you’re familiar with their stuff, it will probably come as no surprise that The Christians have opened for artists including James Brown and Fleetwood Mac. I wish I’d been there; I bet they went down a storm.With Joey Ankrah* on vocals and electric guitar, Neil Griffiths on acoustic and vocals, Bobby Kewley on bass and backing vocals, Mike Triggs on keyboards, and Craig Connet on drums, the whole band is on great form – tight when they want to be, loose when it suits. A great incarnation of a band I’ve loved since I was a teenager, too many years ago to remember.

Garry Christian is as consummate a host as he is a front man. As for his voice – and despite his claims to otherwise be feeling the effects of age – it remains as it has always been: simply glorious.

Go and see them if you get the chance – they’re as soulful, as bluesy, as funky as they ever were, and perhaps even funnier. 

*In a link to the history of this fine venue, Joe Ankrah Snr was a member of The Chants. Managed by Brian Epstein, when The Chants played at The Cavern many moons ago, their opening act was a band made up of four lads from Liverpool you might just have heard of.