Half Moon, October 2016
A few numbers from the first of two great nights at the Half Moon, October 2016
Paddie McHugh
Paddie, along with Frank and Dyan, moved from Liverpool to London in the 60s, leading to the formation of Arrival, who had a top ten hit with Friends in 1970. This trio, along with Tony O'Malley, formed the nucleus of the London sessions that led to the formation of Kokomo.
Angel, an Aretha Franklin number sung by Paddie, is on the first Kokomo album and has long been  a mainstay of the live set.
Here's a selection of songs  on which Paddie sings lead: Happy Birthday, Follow (the Stars Will Bring You Home) and, of course, Angel.
The Half Moon, Putney – 14-15th October 2016
By general agreement, these were the best gigs since the 2014 re-union – two sold-out nights with crowds in the weekend mood helped. For the record, Mel Collins was back on sax (“Bet you don’t get a reception like that with King Crimson” said Frank), and Andy Treacey from Faithless was on drums. Two ‘new old’ songs were in the set: “What You Waiting For” (AKA Turn Up the Microphone”), an obscure Norman Whitfield disco track originally recorded by Stargard (video from the night here), and the Quincy Jones number “Stuff Like That”.
Read Craig Chaligne’s review on Louder Than War (he liked it).
Thanks to Steven Cropper for these great photos. Check out the rest of his work at www.transientlife.uk
Lonely Town, Lonely Street
From the the first of two sold-out nights at Half Moon, 14 October 2016
The Robert Elms Soul Night at Boisdale, Canary Wharf, 8th April 2016
Boisdale is a up-scale ‘restaurant in Canary Wharf that has live jazz, blues and soul music every day. Robert Elms hosts an occasional Friday ‘soul night’ there, often with tribute bands. But Robert is a long-term Kokomo fan, so Sue Martin managed to get Kokomo booked.
This was a very different gig than Wednesday’s Half Moon show. Everyone was seated, and hardly anyone had come specifically to see Kokomo. However, lots of people had clearly come to dance, and the tiny dance floor in front of the stage was soon full to overflowing. It was great that Kokomo is reaching a new audience.
Here are some photos from Sue Martin, Doug Dean and Alan Jackson
Half Moon, 6 April 2016
Another memorable evening at a sold-out Half Moon, the venue of Helena-May’s first performance with the band in August 2014. Andy Tracey of Faithless played drums as if he’s always been in the band. Mel was back from Crimson duty. Ally and Richie from Tony’s band joined in on backing vocals for a couple of numbers. All was right with the world for a couple of hours.
Thanks to Julian Crook for these videos, and especially for holding his recorder/camera steady for Naked Flame and With Everything I Feel In Me, and to Steven Cropper for the great photos.
Photos by Steven Cropper.
Check out Steven’s work at http://www.transientlife.uk/
Royal Festival Hall, November 2015
The sold-out Soul Summit, also featuring The Average White Band. With only a 45 minute set, Kokomo needed to hit the ground running, and certainly did that. The standing ovation was well deserved. What a night!
PS Check out Frank’s boots
