0c Fair
Make me smile
STEVE Harley, who found fame with Cockney Rebel, spent his formative years holed up with a fellow musician, drinking and watching home-taped videos of cult TV show The Prisoner.
So when he was offered the chance to play at Portmeirion, where the 1960s show was filmed, and also raise cash for charity, he was quick to say yes.
Steve, who penned the 70s anthem Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) says he’s had a long-time affinity with the Italianate village near Porthmadog.
He said: “My friend Mark Bowman would come to my flat every Tuesday night, and we would watch the series and stay up all night, drinking brandy and writing music.
He’s previously visited the village and is excited at performing there. “It’s fantastic – it’s an amazing and ridiculous concept, the idea of going down there to perform,” he said.
The concert, which also features Show of Hands and Australian musician Chloe Hall, aims to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease, a cause which Harley fully supports, although he’s not experienced the affects of the devastating brain disease himself.
“Thank heavens, there is no-one in my family I know that suffers from Alzheimer’s,” he said. “My dad is nearly 84, and he’s incredibly forgetful, but looking back, he always has been, and forgetfulness comes with age. But Alzheimer’s is horrible. I have to try and imagine the frustration of losing the communication skills you’ve had since infancy, and losing your sense of time.”
The concert itself will be an intimate one, with only 120 tickets available, which he believes could prove to be more daunting than performing before thousands of fans.
“I haven’t played anywhere that small since 1972, before I was in a band. I play to more than that at my house!” He laughed. “I’m really looking forward to it, but it’s more scary than playing a bigger venue.
“People like me get used to the spotlight. You get used to the light in your face and communicating with people on a grand scale.
“I’ve often stood up and performed a few songs with some friends in a pub, but I do that for fun. Performing an intimate concert, on the other hand, is pretty scary, the people are in your face, and at your feet.”
He also has a great admiration for Show of Hands and event organiser Chloe, with whom he will perform Make Me Smile.
But does Harley still get the same buzz from performing it 35 years on?
“It never goes, it never leaves you,” he said. “Just the other day we were playing to 8,000 people, and to see that sea of bodies jumping up and down and singing and clapping with you, it’s phenomenal. Performing is something I want to carry on doing; it’s so important to me. After my family, that’s the most important thing.”
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Portmeirion,September 8. Tickets £30 from 01766 772337 or www.portmeirion-village.com. More tour details at www.steveharley.com
