Roy Wood rolls into Warrington!

ROY Wood brought his Rock ‘n’ Roll band to Warrington Parr Hall as part of the 40th anniversary tour celebrating the Christmas hit ‘I wish it could be Xmas Everyday.’
BBC’s Mark Radcliffe was Master of Ceremonies and extolled Woods contribution to popular music of the last 50 years as a founder member of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard and the songwriter behind numerous top ten hits.
He also shared with the audience that he and Roy had just come from the local Wetherspoons, a fact that became obvious as soon as Roy Wood took to the stage and where he carried on drinking between songs for the rest of the evening.
All his chart-topping hits were performed with great gusto by a well-rehearsed band that includes the bassist and drummer from the Climax Blues Band and a four-piece horn section. The set consisted of fourteen songs, five from his time in The Move, five from Wizzard and four from lesser known projects.
It is the quality of the band that saves the evening from being a fiasco as Wood seems intent on sabotaging his own show forgetting humorous anecdotes and which song to play next. Thankfully as soon as the music kicks in Roy is back in the zone and the consummate musician replaces the jovial drunk on stage.
His distinctive nasally voice was spot-on as he performed classics such as ‘California Man’, ‘See My Baby Jive’ ‘Flowers in the Rain’ and ‘Angel Fingers’. The evening draws to a close with rousing versions of ‘Blackberry Way’ and ‘I Wish It Could Be Xmas Everyday’.
Let’s hope that if Roy Wood visits Warrington again, he waits till after the show before hitting the pub!