Alan Price at The Bull's Head

Last night we took a trip into the unknown and went to The Bull's Head pub in Barnes to see Alan Price. The pub runs a jazz club - I wasn't sure what to expect but it turned out to just be the back room of the pub with a small bar staffed by a bloke wearing the wrong glasses who must've been in his 70s. The event was more popular than anticipated so loads of us had to stand at the back beside the bar which, from the look of the chairs, was probably just as well for me.

With no fuss or fanfare, Alan walked onto the small stage, sat down and started playing the piano - wow, that's Alan Price up there! As he played, he was gradually joined on stage by a drummer, bassist, guitarist and finally by Zoot Money on more keyboards. Alan was dressed for comfort, not style. After the first song he looked at the London Jazz Festival banner and said, "Jazz festival .... hmmm... well, we do a lot of improvisation so I suppose we qualify..." and went into another song. He's not jazz but I don't know what he is, what category to put him in, so I won't try. He's Alan Price, enough said.

He played two sets - or one set of two halves - with a half hour break when he walked through the crowd (brushing past me as I silently wowed) and into the pub to stand at the bar and chat to his mates and the band. He lives in the area after all, so this was his local. Each band member had their moment in the sun, either singing a song or doing a solo, which was very egalitatian, and Alan has a nice line in patter inbetween songs. Mainly about how rich he is and how poor Zoot Money is. Talking about the woes of the modern world with a glum face, and then breaking into a sly smile. At least now I know how useful swimming pools can be. He reminded me of my uncles a bit. He'd be great on 'Grumpy Old Men'.

And the music was great, well tight with the band feeding off each other. My first big grin coincided with the wonderful, 'Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear' (but I couldn't see the bear, maybe the stage wasn't big enough?). He did a medley of songs from 'O Lucky Man' and told us he was never that keen on the film. The set list included 'O Lucky Man', 'Poor People', 'Sell Sell', 'Hi Lilli, Hi Lo', 'I Put A Spell On You' and 'Don't Stop The Carnival'. The final song was a nod of the head to The Animals with 'We Gotta Get Out Of This Place', an extended powerful version that ended with him telling us to go so he could pack up. It was a bit odd since he couldn't just leave the stage without walking through the audience - it's that kind of place.

It was a delight to see and hear him, the great Alan Price, one of the original '60s icons. Wow. I'd love to see him again, but next time in a proper venue with proper stage and stuff. It might not be rock'n'roll but I'd rather a nice seat and a good view. The only thing that would've made the night even better would've been for him to sing 'Jarrow Song'... maybe next time?