THE CHRISTIANS at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Nov 08

One of the finest bands the city has produced, The Christians, played a unique show at the spectacular Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Friday. A near sell out crowd were taken through a journey from an acoustic start to a magnificent crescendo featuring the strings of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The show opened with a 4-piece band (Garry Christian with Joey Ankrah guitar & vocals, Stewart Boyle, guitar and Jay Irving, drums) acoustic versions of Bob Dylan's- I Shall be Released, Cat Stevens- Where do the Children Play and The Beatles You've got to Hide Your Love Away.

With the audience now warmed up, Bobby Kewley (bass) and Mike Triggs (keyboards) joined the stage to launch into a number of The Christians hits starting with Born Again, the no 1, Words and tremendous Hooverville. True to The Christians tradition, Joey Ankrah's voice delivered perfect harmonies with Garry Christian throughout.

The set included songs written for a new album due for release next year, and judging by the audience response, the album is poised for success. The first part ended with the classic The Bottle which got the audience on their feet and adding their own vocal energy to the finale of the first part.

The second part of the show was joined by the string section of the RLPO, starting with Here Comes the Sun- the song The Christians performed in the Capital of Culture opening ceremony many months ago- a tribute to

Liverpool itself and its most popular group! The strings group added tremendous depth during Father and the timeless lyrics of  Ideal World finishing with the BBC soundtrack that started it all Forgotten Town.

By now the crowd were dancing and singing throughout and demanding an encore. The band and the strings obliged, adding Greenbank Drive and finally, Harvest for the World nowadays inexorably linked to The Christians rather than its original performers!

The audience left the historic Hall with their minds and bodies thoroughly entertained, with the sense that this band is back to its musical best and raring to go further.