LORKS! IT'S THE PICTUREDROME - review by Helen Burns.

Never been to Holmfirth before but it oozes Northern charm and the venue is an old cinema right in the centre, across a river. We fight our way through driving wind and rain to meet up with the usual posse - Liz, Maggie and Sarah (aka Glenn's Hens) plus tonight Discography Gary and chum, and some other jolly nice people I've seen many times before but whose names I didn't catch.

When the doors open, rather embarrassingly we're the only ones who stand up by the stage, looking like ineffectual roadies. Everybody else chooses to sit on the cinema-style bank of seats with a yawning gulf of dance floor (and us) between them and the stage. But we brazen it out and Glenn saunters by giving us a sardonic 'Bloody 'ell, not you lot again' smirk. The place rapidly fills up until it's packed to the rafters.

Then we're into it. For the sartorially fascinated the get up was black shirt with sleeves rolled up, stone coloured slightly shiny combats and trainers, and optimum curls still intact. Glenn was in very good humour in spite of Man Utd v. Charlton being called off that afternoon and he seemed to enjoy the venue and the packed house. Many in the mainly civilized crowd hadn't seen him before and he introduced himself as 43 years old and a former member of Squeeze which "dissolved gradually, bit by bit" but that it wasn't and entirely unhappy experience being on his own.

He played many of the usual and much loved plus some unusuals.

Annie Get Your Gun - had everyone rocking, warmed up and on their feet and prompted a spontaneous "That was excellent!" from my hubby at the end.

Take Me I’m Yours - with Boomerang toy which does the rhythm track and which developed a life of its own (a replacement for Chris?)

Tracks of my tears - I'm actually getting the cue right now!

Goodbye Girl - unplugged around the audience, including some singing lessons

The Truth and SFP back to back - thank you Glenn.

Wichita Lineman - Achingly beautiful and very knee weakening.

This Is Where You Aint - lovely single and very moving acoustically

A cornucopia of goodies.

Interestingly, as a contrast from when I saw him last year he was not only
taking requests (Vanity Fair, for instance, which he resisted doing through lack
of knowledge but in practice only slipped up with one line) and 2 unusually
EXCELLENT guests up from the audience for CFC and Sunny Afternoon, but he
played hardly any new songs. It was back to the 'recreational' acoustic show tonight
 - he must be saving the new stuff for the band tour next month.

It was a wonderful night with such a consummate performer on top notch form, and
such a nice bloke willing to talk to and sign stuff for so many people after the show. I always say in my reviews that we have to travel such long distances to see him, as we did this time, but it's always worth every ounce of effort to experience the pure joy of a Glenn Tilbrook concert.