PUPPET MAN - ELIO PACE (Live on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Weekend Wogan’ - Sunday, 28 November 2010)

Taken from Elio Pace's social media post:

WEEKEND WOGAN 10th ANNIVERSARY SERIES - Show 32/35

12.03pm, live on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday, 28 November 2010… 'Puppet Man’ written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield in 1969.

After Neil Sedaka had recorded his original version, The Fifth Dimension had the first big hit with this song in 1970, then Tom Jones brilliantly made it his own a year later. I’ve always loved this track and OH MY WORD did my band make me a happy boy this week with this live performance! How HOT do they sound on this?!?! 🔥 The sound that Kirstie Roberts, Sue Acteson and Chloe Buswell make… Ooh La La!!!👌 Darren Loveday’s tight, funky electric rhythm guitar and Neil Fairclough’s big beautiful bass grooves. The chaps in the horn section, Paul Newton on trumpet, Peter Effamy on alto sax, Adrian Fry on trombone and Adrian Revell on baritone sax, sitting my newly-written lines right in the pocket. Just magic all of them. 💎

But you know, we have a saying in this business that “a band is only as good as its drummer”… and it is so SO true! And my drummer for every single one of those 35 ‘Weekend Wogan’ shows in 2010 was Bryan Hargreaves. If you’ve been enjoying these posts, you don’t need me to tell you how incredible a drummer Bryan is. The variety of styles and genres I asked of him, which he nailed every time, is ridiculous. But it’s his performance on THIS track, ‘Puppet Man’, that if pressed for an answer, I would probably say is my favourite of the whole year. Why? Well, I can’t quite put my finger on it but there’s just something so perfect about how he compliments and seems to mimic my vocal phrasing in the verses. Or maybe it’s the way he drives the groove along masterfully and musically, binding the piano, guitar and bass together. Or maybe it’s simply the way his performance is so playful and colourful. Just check out what he does against my vocal between 1.58 and 2.02, a gorgeous piece of tension and release with his awesome control of the bass drum punching out wonderful unexpected accents. It’s just a brilliant and exquisite performance which I defy you to sit still to and it was an absolute joy to sing with. Thank you Bryan.👊🥁💥

And thank you also to our sound engineer this week, Jerry Smith, for capturing and broadcasting the power of the band so magnificently.👊📻

At the end of the year, the show's producer, Alan Boyd was asked to compile two episodes of ‘The Best Of Weekend Wogan’ to be aired on Boxing Day and 2 Jan 2011, featuring all the guests we had had on the show. Alan asked me to choose two of my performances from all of the 35 shows for inclusion in the broadcasts. A very very tough decision to make but I eventually plumped for ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ (from back in July) and this performance of ‘Puppet Man’. ❤️
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Terry's special guests this week were Russell Watson, OMD, Brenda Edwards and Richard Craker.
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For more info, tour dates, CDs and DVDs and more, please visit https://www.eliopace.com/

Photo credit Hayley Madden https://www.hayleymadden.com/