Saturday the 19^th of March had a buzz in the air around Blyth, as the front-man from The Bluetones Mark Morriss was heading to the North-East coastal town for his debut gig at The Tavern pub. Upon arriving, there were plenty of punters already down early waiting for support act Trevor Cox the front-man from local band The Longsands to take the stage.

A new stage layout was in-place for this Gig, situated to the left corner rather than the right and many agreed that it was a good idea. Lots of local music fans were having mini-reunions and anticipating the evening ahead prior to the lights going down and Trevor impressing many with his distinctive soulful voice. Performing songs from The Longsands back-catalogue, he had local fans singing along to the likes of ‘Worlds Collide’ Little Britain’ 'Tomorrow We Vote' & ‘Let Love Rain on You’ along with treating us to some covers by Oasis & Ocean Colour Scene. ‘Get Blown Away’ & classic b-side ‘Robin Hood’ were great choices and there were plenty of smiles on faces coupled with arms around mates shoulders.

He finished his 45-minute set with a recent Single ‘Standing in The Shadows’ by The Longsands which is due to be on their second album. This song really does showcase how good a singer Trevor is and you can check it out on Youtube or on itunes.

*Photo taken by Richard James Bilton*

After a journey from his Hotel, Mark arrived at the venue and proceeded to delight his fans with almost two hours of songs interspersed with comedy, wit & good banter with the crowd. Combining a mixture of songs from his two solo albums ('Memory Muscle' & 'A flash of Darkness') with tracks by his band The Bluetones, he showed Blyth what a humble and funny character he is. The Bluetones have had six studio albums since 1996 with their debut 'Expecting To Fly' reaching number 1 on the UK album charts upon it's release. The place was bustling with many laughs & sing-a-long’s to hits such as ‘Bluetonic’ 'Cut some Rug' ‘I’m Sick’ ‘Space Cadet’ and of course, the closing tune of nineties classic ‘Slight Return’. He also gave the crowd snippets of his renditions of Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’, East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’ and Take That’s ‘Back For Good’ which had people waving their imaginary lighters in the air. All good craic'.

Many people said they would love to go on a night out with him as his crowd-interaction included some classic banter and he certainly does not take himself too seriously. He reinforced that opinion after he finished his set by mingling with the punters for a good while, allowing everyone who asked to pose for Photo’s with him, chatting about life & music and I witnessed him signing a lad’s vinyl record cover with a personalised message, which was rather touching to see.

 (Photo of some of the crowd, taken by Vince Race^)

I managed to ask various attendees of the Gig what they thought of the evening, with one fan having travelled back from Manchester to see Mark Morriss perform in her former hometown local Pub. Jill Hunter said: "What an ace night….My favourite songs were ‘I’m Sick’ & ‘Space Cadet’ and of course, ‘Slight Return’ was a winner. Mark is such a humble guy too.’’

Mark Watson, from Seaton Sluice also enjoyed the evening: "Both singers were good and it was a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed Mark Morriss’ covers and he was good with the crowd. The new stage and layout seemed to work well."

Huge music fan David Kidd, from Blyth said "It was brilliant to see a great musician in Mark Morriss play at The Tavern. Well done to Vince Race in getting a 90s' iconic singer to my home town. Well done to Trevor Cox too for his solo performance, creating a great night of music to make the people of Blyth feel proud of."

Another music lover, Chris Haxon said "He connected with the audience brilliantly and showed The Tavern punters what being a top-performer is all about. ‘Slight Return’ is a song which defines the 90’s for me, which was a real treat to see being performed in my local hometown. A great night, as agreed by everyone who I spoke to saying they also had an amazing night."

Chris was right down the front and managed to get these shots of Mark on stage....

Mark’s wit and rapport with the crowd was noted by David Glass who told me "Mark was funny and worked the crowd well. He seemed to really enjoy his time on stage in Blyth."

Rebecca Race, from Blyth was also impressed: "What a stand-up guy Mark is. We loved him and his sense of humour."

Mark will be returning to the North-East on June 12th at The Bottle Shop Bar in Newcastle, then on July 9th at Corbridge Festival and also as the singer for The Bluetones - who are performing at Newcastle’s Times Square on July 30th along with Ocean Colour Scene, Shed Seven, Hyde & Beast and many local bands.

Saturday night proved that a packed out pub can have a completely friendly night in Blyth where everyone has a shared passion for music. The owner of the venue, Aiden Campbell was telling me how nights like that were what he had in his vision when he decided to take on The Tavern - giving his full support and trust in promoter Vince Race in managing to book so many bands and solo artists of varying styles.

The future is bright for Blyth with plenty more musical entertainment coming in the next few months at various venues.

*Photo’s below were taken & kindly provided by Richard James Bilton*……