Take It or Leave It @ The Rhythm Factory
22nd November 2001
On this evening�s bill is Steve Ellis (former front man for the Love Affair) and 17 Black ( those Horsham boys, known to all Small Faces fans this side of the Falklands). It promises to be a good night.
The atmosphere is set with two great sets from the resident DJ�s Joe and Warren. They pay homage to all good mod genres, and already my feet are tapping. Drink in hand, I get myself comfy as 17 Black come out. I�m expecting good things from the sound system here, the sound check seemed to go on for about a week and a half, so I hope it was worth it!
As the band launch into a couple of classics, �Can�t Explain� and The Kinks �Til the end of the day�, I�m really starting to loosen up. �Renee� popped up next, sounding as dirty as ever, she gets everywhere, that one. A few more of the guys own numbers, including �She�s changing� ( a beatle-ish kind of track, which works for me because Steve, the drummer, is doing a Ringo thing with his head!). A heartfelt version of �Tin Soldier�, and then the new single - �Movers and Shakers�. Three quarters of an hour have really flown by, just time to catch my breath and then Steve Ellis takes to the stage.
Mr Ellis, I have to tell you this - you can surely sing, sir. What a treat for a young lady, all this and clean toilets (I said this was a favourite venue of mine, didn�t I?).
Soul is heaped upon soul as we have �Ain�t too proud to beg�, �Gimme some loving� and �Ain�t that a lot of love?�.
Back into the Small Faces, �Afterglow� which makes me feel like I�m in a warm bath with Steve Marriot (what can I say, I�m only human!). We reach the final song, which could only be one track really - �Everlasting Love�.
Paddy on keyboards gives it some welly and knocks up a respectable horn section, one handed - Go Paddy, go! Simon nearly melts his bass in a frenzy of thumping riffs and Brent and Andy (lead) keep the whole song driving towards its climax. Steve Ellis is one hell of a performer, and I feel like I have just watched something very special. All round it was one great evening, and I�m looking forward to the next time I can catch either of these two acts again.
It goes like this: 17 Black have a couple more tracks to put down for their new album which they hope to have on sale before Christmas. It will be a limited edition issue and can be bought from their website www.17black.ukgateway.net Here you will also find details of up and coming gigs etc. Brent told me that the next time they play will be at a charity bash called �Small Faces for Small Faces� (Kenny Jones� project) on 29th December in Horsham. They will also be in Hastings in May with Who�s Who and at Camber Sands in July. Check out their site for more information.
Steve Ellis is also just completing an album and says he �has a bit more work to do� before its release. He is also working on a book, more details to follow. He too, has a website www.steveellis.co.uk - check it out.
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