Growing up together in Fulham Court, Lee and I had been friends for a good few years before I told him that I wanted to start a band. It was around midnight and we were swinging on the estate’s long & looping side-gate. I told him I could already play a little guitar and if he fancied taking up the bass, I was sure we could get him up to scratch pretty quickly.

We would practice at my mum’s house during the day and go to gigs at night. All the cool London venues of the 70s; The Roundhouse, The Rainbow, Hammersmith Odeon. And we came up as many ways of getting into each of them without buying tickets; back doors, roof-top windows, even once dressing as cleaning staff to see Paul McCartney & Wings at Wembley Arena

We saw all kinds of music, too. The Stones, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, and we just soaked it all up.

But the first time I stood up stairs in The Shepherds Bush Empire, I was smitten and Fulham Court now had another beautiful London building vying for my attentions. It reminded me of an old Victorian theatre with its deep velveteen circle and ornate balconies. The stage deep and wide, with a dazzling dance of light covering it’s well worn boards. It was a stage built for me and my band.

In my years as a solo artist, we were more used to filling clubs like The Troubadour & Ronnie Scott’s with between 200 & 400 people.

You’d need a thousand inside The Shepherds Bush Empire for it not to look empty. So I booked it almost a year in advance and spent the whole twelve months begging and pleading for all those Faith Brother’s fans that lived far and wide around the UK, to make the trip to London for a special night. And they did. Some even flew over from the U.S.A. I asked the people of my hometown, Fulham, to come and join us. It seemed like between the five of us on the stage, we knew everyone else in the building.

And what night it was. For almost two hours, I, the band, and a packed house sang our hearts out. We played through songs that covered almost three decades of writing, each one bursting with passion and joy.

After the show, I was sitting, sweating in the wings when Pete, the stage manager came over. “You know”, he said, “not only was that the best show we’ve had here for at least two years, but that was the nicest crowd I have ever seen take over this place. I have never seen so much love in that room”. To that I can add no more.

Billy

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