Blancmange/Heaven 17 - Hangar 34, Liverpool, 11/11/2017

  by Karl Hamel

published: 23 / 12 / 2017

intro

Guest reviewer Karl Hamel enjoys a double bill of classic and up-to-date material from 80's electro giants Blancmange and Heaven 17.

It was my first visit to Hangar 34 and it felt like a 'feel at home' venue. It promised to be a night of 80's nostalgia which is not my normal sort of gig. I had, however, underestimated how good both Heaven 17 and Blancmange would be, having not seen them before. Blancmange opened with their often ignored ABBA cover of 'The Day Before You Came' and then gave us a real sprinkling of very listenable new songs such as the title track of their new album, 'Unfurnished Rooms' as well as much-loved back cataloge favourites such as 'Living on the Ceiling', 'Don't Tell Me' and 'Blind Vision'. Headliners Heaven 17 hit up '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang' from the off and set a very favourable tone for the rest of their set. Glenn Gregory still has that distinctive deep and chocolate-melting voice and Martyn Ware was looking good behind his synth, even a bit like a younger Jack Nicholson. Similarly, Heaven 17 ran through a mix of newer tracks as well as the more familiar 'Temptation', 'Crushed by the Wheels of Industry' and 'Penthouse & Pavement'. As a Bowie fan, I appreciated 'Life On Mars' as part of the encore as did a large number of the crowd who sang along. What can I say? 80's nostalgia just might be catching on? What do you think? Photographs by Darren Aston

Band Links:-

Picture Gallery:-