Lostock Rocks!

The grand Black Cat Airlift gig was billed as ‘a chaotic coalescence of two 1970s Bolton Bands which achieved absolutely nothing’. This sentiment was not reflected by the pent-up demand for tickets for the reunion concert at Lostock Tennis Club, which sold in numbers that would have crashed the Ticketmaster website. The band had this covered and outsmarted Viagogo by making the tickets available cash-only from Booths Music Store, satisfyingly just like buying tickets in the olden days. Desire to relive that heady night half a century ago meant a second date was squeezed into the band’s busy schedule.

Black Cat Airlift was hastily put together, comprising members of Berlin Airlift and Black Cat Bone to re-enact the legendary Airlift debut at the same venue 50 years ago. On that occasion the band was introduced with the words: “Good evening Lostock Tennis Club – are you ready to rock? – Berlin Chairlift.” That slip of the tongue might have been appropriate in 2022 given the audience’s average age, but wasn’t repeated. Rick Pilkington on guitar took time out from Blackheart Orchestra whose most recent album (Hotel Utopia) was riding high in the charts. Tony Wadsworth, lead vocals, strapped on his guitar and played some rock and roll. Andy Wright was bought a bass as he had not played for decades, but looked the part with his flowing locks, while Radcliffe battered his way around the drum kit and acted as MC, commenting later: “We made surprisingly few mistakes which – after two rehearsals – was little short of miraculous.”

The pavilion at Lostock Tennis Club has been described (by Mark Radcliffe himself in one of his books) as a shed on stilts. After the success of a certain gig in 1972 it is now a bigger shed on stilts. Given the magnitude of the event, security was surprisingly casual and the audience were greeted by Mark lounging around in the entrance sporting his Hawkwind t-shirt, sharing banter with the punters.

The bar was doing brisk trade and the excitement was building as showtime approached. Mark humorously drew us in with photographs from the era featuring band members, flares and haircuts and talked us through cine footage of the Moss Bank Free Festival which included live action from the band in their first flush of youth. Sadly, several of the participants are no longer with us and they were remembered. The audience absorbed the nostalgia as our MC set the scene.

The crowd was ready, the band were ready, nervous tension and expectation filled the air; fortunately the audience did not stamp their feet to urge the band on stage quicker as neither the floor nor the ageing limbs would have taken it. Rick Pilkington recalled: “I was more terrified walking onto that stage than at The Albert Hall or the Palladium. It felt like we were holding everyone’s memories in our guitar strings and drumsticks. But when we hit the first A-chord of Alright Now suddenly the whole room was 16 again.” The time portal opened, the intervening years disappeared and the crowd went wild! Kossoff and Fraser would have been proud of the delicate guitar/bass interplay during the opening number.

The audience were treated to anthems by the Stones, T Rex, Dylan, Bowie, The Who and Bad Company among others, while a Humble Pie track provided interest for obscurists. The highlight of the night was Steppenwolf’s classic Born to be Wild, everyone bellowing in unison at the right moments. As the last chords of the encores faded the crowd roared for more (well, clapped enthusiastically - it was getting quite late).

Drummer Mark Radcliffe said after the gig: “We were all blown away by how much those early gigs by both Airlift and Black Cat Bone meant to so many people who turned out.”

Tony Wadsworth reflected: “Fifty years seemed to have flashed by in the blink of an eye as we caught up with so many old school mates with whom we shared those incredibly formative few years. Music can do that to you! We had a blast.”

Unlike the original gig, the band did not jump into Mum’s Vauxhall Chevette, but hung around at the bar catching up with old friends. Maybe fortunately, this time around free halves of Watney’s dark mild were not available!

The evening was summed up wonderfully by Andy Wright who said: “The whole experience was far better than I hoped and had any reason to expect. It just was an unforgettable time. Like Rick, I was very nervous, not having played in a band for over 40 years, but in the end it just felt right. From a personal perspective I hope we can do it all again, hopefully those that were there will make enough noise to persuade the guys to give it a go again, but if it doesn’t happen it will definitely go down as one of my best memories.”

So come on audience, make enough noise so it can happen again. Thanks lads – it was a terrific night and a great opportunity to meet people not seen for far too long. Achieved absolutely nothing … I don’t think so!