Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Wah! & launching his brand new album Pete Sounds, Pete Wylie put on a show for his fans at Glasgow's King Tuts. Armed with more than 4 decades of stories, songs & struggles, Pete pulled together a cabaret of over 2 hours entertainment for his fans nestled in the famous wee venue.
Choosing to tour without the backing of a full band, Pete was joined on stage by Anders Johnson who helped Pete mix his new album & provided the extra backing tracks on the night. The stage was set up with a video of the Clash & Bowie in their prime playing on a loop & cut-outs of famous faces of Liverpool, Shankleys famous outstretched arms in celebration, Elvis & Liberace!
Decked in a Tupac / Makaveli shirt the set kicks off with his very first single Better Scream, Pete set the tone for a nostalgic look back not only at his hits of the 80s, but those people & friends he has lost over the years. Every story had a song, as he talked us through each of the tracks in his set. For each older song played, there was a peek at the new ones appearing on the Pete Sounds album too.
As a campaigner for justice politics was never far from his agenda. Brexit, Trump, May & the Justice for the 96 campaign so he knew the people of Glasgow would be more than happy to hear & join him in his anthem “The day that Margaret Thatcher dies". The first half of his set finished with Sinful, where everybody was in the mood for a singalong. An expected Q&A between sets had to be cancelled due to technical issues with a talking Elvis doll (yeah you read that right)
Pete kept the songs coming as he strolled back on stage for the 2nd part of the night in a sparkling gold suit, retelling the story of how he met Eric Cantona & trying to plan a night out in Liverpool with him. The sight of a mechanical Elvis head on stage wasn’t out of place amongst the legendary tales from Pete's encounters with the good, bad & crazy aspects of his life.
New single People was sandwiched by the classics Come Back & Seven minutes to Midnight before Heart as Big as Liverpool, Pete's tribute to the people of his hometown & their fight for justice for the 96 people who lost their lives at Hillsborough.
There was still time for The Story of the Blues to send everyone home happy, & although I was too young to enjoy the songs from Wah! all those years ago, it was great to hear them live, even if the night was a little surreal at times!
