The Urge - Hard Rock Heaven
Written by John Hurd
Wednesday, 28 November 2007


Fun and a Bun. A good description of my visit to the Hard Rock Café
in Cologne this week. The Bun was a staple of the HRC menu, the Fun
came courtesy of Newcastle Rock Band The Urge who were there to
promote their current CD, have a few beers and meet the fans.

Right now they seem to be everywhere. There are even spoof Tshirts
declaring them in the most unlikely Cities/Towns/Villages but The
Hard Rock Café started life as an inspirational `accident' caused
bytwo hungry musicians. Eric Clapton wanted to reserve a table at
his favourite London Café in the 70's. The owners jokingly suggested
that he hang a guitar on the wall rather than a plaque on the table –
and so he did. Only trouble was that they had another celebrity
string bender named Pete Townsend who decided he would do the same.
So the `Hard Rock Café' found itself with two guitars hanging on the
wall, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In Cologne the HRC arrived in 2003. There's a pair of Keith Richards
trousers hanging on the wall but no sign of him (trouserless or
otherwise) at `his' table. Maybe he's just not a fan of tonights
live band `The Urge' from Newcastle. If he isn't, he may well be one
soon as they play his sort of fun rock music.

I arrive in good time to ask for permission for photos and to eat.
The HRC menu has a few oddities on it: Fancy a `Rock Chop'? or
an `S.O.B. Burger'? I settled for a `Legendary Burger and it was
good but not cheap (guess they have to pay for Jimi Hendrix' old
shirts somehow). So my stomach was satisfied – now for my ears…

You might remember my short feature on The Urge when they supported
Johnny Winter this year. They impressed me enough to buy the debut
CD `Lunch at the Lady Garden' and to make a date to catch the band
live sometime. When John Miles Jr & Co arrive at the HRC they seem
to know the entire audience and take the time to shake hands (the
men) and hug (the ladies) before heading to the dressing room. I
hold onto John Miles Jr's hand long enough to ask him about the music
and the parentage. There's a new CD to be recorded at a studio in
Newcastle for release next year and, yes, he did give changing his
name a thought but decided he was rather proud of his dad writing a
rock classic (`Music') and good thing too I think. And why is the
band based in Germany? Apparently the band isn't but the record
Company is, and for that reason so is JM Jr.

And he likes it here too – the music scene here in Continental Europe
is broader and financially better.

So, with the words and the meal out of the way, It's time for
music. Singer/Guitarist Jonny Boyle smiles at the 100+ audience,
straps on his guitar, and takes a comforting look at his mike stand
and the bottle hanging on its holder. It's definitely not lemonade.
(I knew there was something I was missing at all these blues concerts
lately). From the opening notes of "I'll come back to you" the band
can do no wrong. They recently did a successful show in Bonn
supporting Saga, but this is their audience from the start – they
came to see `The Urge' and have a good time and they most certainly
will not be disappointed. Boyle is a charismatic front man with a
strong hint of Rod Stewart about him and a serious haircut that
deserves sponsorship by his hairgel manufacturer. John Miles Jr on
guitar is a polar opposite with his lack of hair and unassuming stage
presence which reminds me a bit of Snowy White hiding out of the
spotlights. I want to shout at him `Get out there and jump about!'
like I wanted to with Snowy too – but I guess it's not his style.
Bassist Neil Harland is a mix of Boyle's hair and Mile's reserve,
whilst drummer Simon Perry is happy to just lay down the beat and
smiles amicably when a show of hands agrees he's a dead ringer for
Dudley Moore.

The band play every number from the latest CD and even introduce
two numbers still to be recorded for the new one. All challenges are
faced with humour and good cheer – A broken string "Show us a card
trick Simon while I sort this out" or a need to use the loo "There's
a bottle backstage John, I've already used it" The Urge are good
musicians and good fun. Blistering versions of `Crossroads'
and `Stay With Me' are proof of the former.

They are good now, they are going to get even better, and one day
they will be GREAT.

Watch out for that souvenir backstage bottle on Ebay!



Gallery-please copy this link into your browser:


http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c124/johnhurd001/The%20Urge%
20Cologne/



Links:

Hard Rock Cafe, Cologne:

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafes.aspx?
LocationID=182&MIBEnumID=3&MenuID=15



The Urge:

http://www.myspace.com/theurgeofficial

Last Updated ( Friday, 30 November 2007 )