Thanks to John Peacock, I had the massive pleasure of visiting Red to see Ben Ottewell, Healy and Luke Porter.
With a theatre and recording studio, Red is a recently opened multi-purpose venue bringing creative life to a North Shields industrial estate.
A welcome addition to North Shields’ renaissance.
The line-up was ex-Gomez frontman Ben Ottewell, supported by local talents Healy and Luke Porter. A night of guitar songwriters drawing on life and its experiences, exploring their emotional range and taking a very appreciative audience on a very rewarding journey.
Ben Ottewell, who won a Mercury prize with Gomez, was excellent, his blues rock guitar suited his growly, raspy vocals and great lyrics and delivered a powerful set of old and new, refreshingly paced songs.
Healy, Sam Healy is well known in the Northeast as a band and a solo artist with a gritty, earthy rock style that won over the audience and is maturing into a real talent.
Playing with dual guitars it provides more space for the songs to develop and is a different experience to the dynamic rock sound of a full band.
First up was Whitley Bay’s Luke Porter, a relative newcomer with amazing musical connections for someone so young. A throwback to the days of Indie Sleaze, who wears his influences proudly but manages to put his own spin on his slightly melancholic songs with humour and a great voice.
There’s more to come from these, I’m certain, and well worth a listen.
