Miscellaneous - HMV Store, Oxford Street, London, 19/1/2004

by Anthony Strutt

published: 27 / 12 / 2003

Miscellaneous - HMV Store, Oxford Street, London, 19/1/2004

At HMV's London flagship store to plug his new album 'Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets', man-of-the-moment Gary Jules finds that all his audience are interested in is a certain cover song

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The guy on the stage in front of me spends the first couple of minutes of his set, posing for photographs for the paparazzi, not by choice, but simply because he is being mobbed by them. He wears a Geordie-style style Northern flat cap and is big and tattooed. For his 5 song set , he plays solo, assisted for the first 4 songs by only his acoustic guitar, and he is a very fine guitar player indeed, but this is not what this audience require. Here he is plugging today's release of his album 'Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets'. Those first 4 songs are beautifully played but go over everyone's heads. We are not really interested in tales of L.A. folk played in a style more suitable to that of the 12 Bar venue around the corner in Denmark Street. He finishes his set with the song we wanted all along-the song that held the Darkness off the Christmas Number 1 slot, a song that was tailed on the end of a cult movie about a boy, death and a 6 foot bunny rabbit, and was originally penned in the early 80"s. Now it is piano based and played by Gary Jules a self-confessed non-piano player who plays most of Tears For Fears 'Mad World' with one hand until the end where his left hand joins his right. It is very wonderful and leaves a lump in my throat . Not that I"m a fan of Gary or Tears for Fears, but this was special, even if he may be remembered as a one hit wonder.