Justin Hayward + Mike Dawes - Union Chapel, London 20/09/22

The Union Chapel is a Grade I listed Victorian gothic-styled structure constructed between 1874 and 1877, with further additions from 1877 to 1890. In 2022, the chapel is now a registered charity that hosts live entertainment, runs a homelessness drop-in centre and is still in use as a church. The octagonal building seats 900 in the original pews and includes a balcony level where I found a spot to take in the show. Seating is first come, first served, so you’ll need to get in the queue early if you want to warm a bench down the front.

Mike Dawes plays the guitar with inventive dexterity born of many years of endless practice. His approach to fingerstyle guitar is certainly visually and sonically impressive as he utilizes every bit of the instrument, tapping and scratching his Cuntz Mike Dawes signature guitar with abandon as he stalks around the stage. This approach to guitar is not new, as, over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to see equally fine exponents of the style; Jon Gomm and the late Eric Roche. What Mike Dawes certainly has are the chops and an engaging personality, with a witty line in stage banter, combined with an intuitive mind and a love of technology (check out that pedalboard). Opening with an original tune ‘Boogie Shred’ which does what it says on the tin, Dawes instantly had the crowd clapping along, obviously knowing his material and in on the joke, before a hidden guitar tech with a cardboard stop sign gets involved in the good natured mayhem. ‘Jump’ (the Van Halen tune) was up next morphing, via some light explanation of his technique, into a lovely version of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know'. Dawes followed this by stripping back all the flash (not to mention a large array of guitar effects to sort out the various signals he employs) for a gentle take on ‘Be My Mistake’ by The 1975. Dawes completed his set with a tricky interpretation of ‘All Along The Watchtower’. The Dylan tune, best known in guitar quarters for the Jimi Hendrix version, is inspired by another influential guitarist Michael Hedges. Mike Dawes delivered a fun, technically impressive set full of flashy guitar and good humour.

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As guitarist and vocalist with The Moody Blues, Justin Hayward OBE has sold 70+ million records while also enjoying a successful solo career. I did wonder how Hayward and his three-piece band would reinterpret the slew of Moody Blues tracks that punctuate his set. The Moody Blues were at the forefront of what became known as the progressive or art rock scene, often involving a symphonic element in their sound. In later years this would evolve into a slightly more streamlined AOR approach via the likes of the excellent ‘Long Distant Voyager’ (my introduction to the band, beyond the odd single, in 1981). As it turned out, Justin had chosen his band wisely and, via some sympathetic arrangements, did a fine job reinterpreting his catalogue.

At a frankly remarkable 75, Justin Hayward cuts quite the debonair figure as he strolled on stage in a dark shirt and trousers. Opening with just a guitar for company, Justin immediately reminds us he’s no slouch at fingerpicked acoustic guitar by performing 'The Eastern Sun' solo before slowly inviting the rest of his band to join him on stage. Moody Blues alumni Julie Ragins is first up adding keys and vocals to the reflective ‘Driftwood’. Mike Dawes returns to ease bass notes from his acoustic guitar to flesh out Tuesday Afternoon’ alongside the flute contributions of Karmen Gould who would play a major role throughout the set.

Justin mixes up songs from his time in The Moody Blues with songs from his solo career and tells a few stories. We learnt that ‘The Voice’ didn’t have a title until it was actually being pressed (the less than snappy “song three” was the working title) before he performed the song as an almost duet with Julie Ragins taking vocal lines, which I thought worked well. Likewise, the crowd-pleasing ‘Forever Autumn’ from Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds might not have been recorded at all because Justin only wanted to record his own songs at the time. A  young lad working in The Moody Blues record shop told Justin it was perfect for him (it would be almost two more years before it was actually released). Justin recalled that the band did have a record shop under their offices where you could hear new records in comfort…before going down the road to Woolworths to buy them cheaper. Looking back, he’s since decided this wasn’t perhaps a perfect business model.

Justin’s set is littered with fine songs. I was especially struck by ‘The Western Sky’, lovely guitar work from Mike and Julie and Karmen’s backing vocals were spot on. As I mentioned earlier, the strength of Justin’s show is the songs and the careful arrangements they’ve received in the small group setting. Justin muttered “Wish Me Luck” as he crashed into the fast-paced acoustic guitar that opens ‘Question’ while ‘Nights In White Satin’ must be a hard one to sing at 25, Justin can still do it justice at 75 (that escalating chorus hook must be tough) which is incredibly impressive. I’m sure more seasoned Justin watchers than I will know better, but I thought he sounded terrific. His voice will have aged naturally, but it still has a lovely, warm timber that I rather liked.

Justin Hayward is an artist with nothing to prove, who still seems to enjoy hitting the road and playing the songs that so many people love and can relate to. He also slipped in a new single, ‘Living For Love’ which nestled comfortably in the set and reminded folks that the creative juices are still very much flowing and he isn’t quite ready to rest on his laurels just yet. Long may he continue.

Review by David Vousden