Latest issue of Goldmine [Goldmine - Spring 2016 - Pg. 34 Vol 42 No. 5 ISSN: 10552685] has a really good Ken Sharp interview with Todd, with him talking about song inspirations (Open My Eyes: "That whole introductory thing was "I Can't Explain" with a slight variation. We just essentially stole stuff from all the different things that we liked. We had that whole kind of almost jazzy Beach Boys bridge in it. The song was a pastiche of all the influences that we wanted to exhibit.") , the Utopia reunion ("you shouldn't hold your breath but it would be nice if we could"), Bowie ( "I have to be quite honest and say that I was not always impressed with him artistically"), and a few other things.
I think this was Todd's first appearance at the Forum since he recorded a live album there back in 1994 on the No World Order tour. He was all alone for that one. Tonight, things could not have been more different as Todd brought the Arena tour to London. What can I say. It rocked. Playing the same set that he has been doing for the whole tour - opening with Love in Action, Open my Eyes, Black Maria, I Saw the Light etc, before playing Arena in its entirety - this was guitar rock heaven (and let's face it, probably the last time you'll see Todd doing this kind of tour in the UK). The band were tight, the backing vocals near perfection, and a few ropey moments aside, Todd's vocals strong and good. It was a real joy to see him playing so much lead guitar, after recent years of being more of the 'singer in the band'. There were a few technically issues near the start, when Todd couldn't get the clean guitar sound he wanted, and one amusing moment when he manag...
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