Ulla!

No-one would have believed…

Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds albums has been a fixture in my life for as long as I can remember. Any time that Dad was working in the garage he used to run the extension cable out from the house so he could take the old red stereo with him and listen to the well worn tape. I was often there with him, probably never helping much, but the music became ingrained in my mind. It wasn’t until many years later that I heard the end of the album as the second LP was too long for Dad’s C-90.

So it’s fair to say that the music is something of a bonding experience for Dad and I, so Mum bought us tickets to go and see the live show that is currently touring.

I was slightly apprehensive about it being in the SEC, given that the place is just one big shed, and although my fears weren’t dispelled completely I still had an incredible evening. Richard Burton’s reanimated head acted out the words I knew so well, the Black Smoke Band and Ulladubba Strings sent shivers up my spine (despite some oddities in the sound mix) and the large tripod that came down from the ceiling zapped as much of the audience as it could with black smoke and heat ray.

There was an impressive age range in attendance which at first surprised me but on reflection I realised that I’d been listening to the album since I was 5 or 6 so there was no reason to think that the tradition wasn’t still being passed on.

The disappointing parts were that the screen was obscured by hanging speakers and that Justin Hayward’s voice just isn’t what it used to be. Perhaps we saw him on a bad night but he just didn’t seem to be putting much effort in. Conversely, the Voice of Humanity and the artilleryman sang their hearts out. You really would have believed that Thunderchild could defeat the martians and the we could start a new life underground.

Now I just need to pick up a 5.1 surround system so that I can really make use of the remastered sound on the album.