Scotland has given the world some great music Paulo Nutini, Franz Ferdinand, Annie Lennox and Lulu, Bert Jansch and the banjo playing of Billy Connolly, well maybe not (I apologise for the Bay City Rollers). However one of Scotland's greatest sons has to be Alex Harvey, especially in front of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. As a band they were innovative, quirky, highly entertaining and could certainly play a bit. But with Alex out front they were truly sensational. The music of SAHB was the soundtrack of our drunken parties. We moshed, before punks did, to Giddy up a ding dong and Ain't nothin' like a gang bang. SAHB's music was made to accompany excess or vice versa but he could also make you a bit more cerebral by his unique interpretations of songs for example the Hitler youth anthem from Cabaret, Tomorrow belongs to me.
The song that Alex made all his own is the Jacques Brel song Next, a song about the brothel trucks for the French soldiers during the first world war. The feeling and venom that Alex brings to the song is amazing. The video below is SAHB performing it on the Old Grey Whistle Test.
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