What a great gig at the Fabrik in Hamburg! I arrived from Berlin earlier that day, and what a great night it turned out to be.
Doors opened at 20:00. I didn’t waste any time and bolted to the stage and, of course, ended up in the front row. Amongst several guitar amps, there were two drum kits on stage. A smallish one used by the drummer of THE HAMBURG BLUES BAND and Jon Hiseman‘s giant red Pearl kit. Since I’m a COLOSSEUM fan, this caught my eyes first.
It was incredibly hot that day; standing there felt like being a tomato in a greenhouse, but none of that mattered since I was there to celebrate my hero.
At 21:00, Dick Heckstall-Smith‘s son Arthur was announced. What a surprise! He welcomed us and told us how deeply moved he was that so many people had come to celebrate his father’s life and work. He seemed shy and nervous, but what a nice guy he is.
Now it was time for THE HAMBURG BLUES BAND. Dick has played with them on and off for many years. I’m not a fan, but they were very good and delivered blues-rock at its best. After six songs, singer Inga Rumpf joined them and took over the mic. Eight songs (I don’t remember the titles) and 50 minutes later, they left the stage to roaring applause.
A short break followed, and then COLOSSEUM took the stage. It was the classic line-up, with Dave Greenslade behind his Hammond organ, Mark Clarke on bass, Clem Clempson on guitar, Jon Hiseman on drums, his wife Barbara Thompson on saxophones, and the great Chris Farlowe on vocals.
As usual, they started with "Those About To Die". The sound was amazing…amazingly loud! The guys were on top form and brought down the house after every song. They played all their classics, like "Lost Angeles", "Valentyne Suite", "Rope Ladder To The Moon" and "Stormy Monday", as well as some of their newer songs, like "Tomorrow’s Blues" and "Big Deal". The sax solo in "Big Deal" was in fact Dick’s original solo that he recorded for the album, and was piped in from the mixing desk. They were all in great spirits and very playful. Dave, Clem and Barbara delivered some great solos. Chris Farlowe’s voice sounded better than ever, and Jon Hiseman was as great as always, leaving us drooling after a fifteen-minute drum solo.
Between songs, Jon Hiseman talked a fair bit. I remember him saying: "This is a celebration – not a funeral!" Right he was. I was glad that it turned out to be a happy event for all of us, without any sad faces. He shared some funny stories about Dick and just wouldn’t stop chatting. I loved it! After two hours of COLOSSEUM on top form, they left the stage.
After another short break, THE HAMBURG BLUES BAND took the stage again. This time, Clem Clempson, Mark Clarke, Chris Farlowe, Dave "Munch" Moore (Hammond organ), and Pete Brown (vocals, bongos) joined them for a sort of super session. They played a few more HAMBURG BLUES BAND songs, followed by "Politician" and "Sunshine of Your Love". Pete’s bongos were out of tune, but he simply brushed it off with a gutsy "Ah, fuck it!". They jammed for about seventy-five minutes. I was grinning from ear to ear during the whole thing.
At 01:15 in the morning, this unbelievable event came to an end. I was drenched in sweat, and so was everyone on stage. This night was Dick’s night, and I’m sure he was watching down on us all and enjoying every second of it.
I still had to drive back to Berlin, which seemed an impossible task at that moment, but I remembered Pete Brown’s words: "Ah, fuck it!" A final goodbye, DICK HECKSTALL-SMITH.
Marco Kilmer, Berlin, Germany
Photo © M. Kilmer 2005
