China Crisis

I cannot believe it! But rather ashamedly, it has been thirty-six years since I have seen China Crisis on the live circuit, holiday’s and what turned out to be a lousy works Christmas party have intervened during this time in recent years to ensure that I have missed two of their previous three visits to Norfolk. Back in the day, when they were at their most productive they were regular visitors to the University with Norwich always being a shoe in on their tours right from their debut album Difficult Shapes And Passive Rhythm’s, that was released in 1982 to the 1989 release of Diary Of A Hollow Horse.
As a band they have always been top quality, without ever really getting caught up in any trends, they just got on with doing what they have always consistently done, making top quality music and always with a smile on their faces and a tale or three to tell during their gigs and tonight is no different with both Eddie Lundon and Gary Daly still on cracking form both vocally and comically.
There’s, many stories to tell in between the songs of life back home in Liverpool. Eddie’s Mum being drunk and telling them that they’ll do very well for themselves with their songs, working with Walter Becker (Steely Dan) on two albums, growing up and listening to their sisters record collections (the songs that inspired them), enjoying the likes of Rose Royce, David Bowie and Odyssey etc, etc and of course the story of whether they actually ever met George Michael back in the day at the Top of the Pops studio or maybe even in a next door recording studio.
Daly asks us to pause for thought and remember those that are no longer with us when they play, Down Here On Earth (Last Christmas) and he is visibly moved as are many of us witnessing his raw emotion, it’s a reminder to those of us of a certain age (99% of the audience) of friends we’ve loved and lost and for those that are not as fortunate as us to be in this very room this evening!
The first hour of the set, covers some of their finest works from their forty years plus career, with the final thirty minutes seeing them play the bigger hits such as Black Man Ray, African And White, Wishful Thinking and Arizona Sky much to the sell-out crowd’s delight. It brings the memories flooding back in of what an incredible band they have been over the past four decades.
As the evenings curfew passes, they close with the timeless Christian. It’s a beautiful and fitting moment to remind us all of their distinguished career and its humble beginnings on Merseyside.
I definitely won’t be leaving it as long to see them next time! As Daly pointed out they’ll no doubt still be going strong, but we most probably will not!
Praise be to China Crisis. Still original and oozing damn outright class after all these years, long may it continue. As effervescent as ever. Class personified.
Life is indeed a fever, so hang onto it people.