Thom Morecroft at the Unity Theatre, September 2014. Photograph By Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Sometimes, occasionally, as rare as a night in which the stars seem to come out and take a bow for the beauty they provide and in which the moon trespasses on the Sun’s heavenly position in the sky, something just catches the attention of a collection of musicians and they give a performance so exciting, so unreal that even the moon knows it’s time to go hiding in the moment of eclipse.

For Thom Morecroft and his band, Adam ‘Danger’ Lewis, the man who surely is some sort of wonderful offspring of Birmingham’s living musical legend Jeff Lynne, Luke Moore, Chris Cousineau, the multi-talented Mike Neary and the sheer beautiful voice that resides in Elle Schillereff, the moon, perhaps even just for one night, disappeared and skulked off, throwing its collection of teddies out the pram but acknowledging begrudgingly that some things are meant to be.

For the audience inside The Unity Theatre, this was a moment in which to really understand that Thom Morecroft really is just somebody within whom talent resides in huge bundles and comes carefully placed like a series of Babushka Dolls, just when you think he cannot get any better, along comes another impressive layer.

The addition of Liverpool’s own interviewing maestro Mike Neary on keyboards might have been one that could have caused confusion with the sound, competing against Luke Moore’s always expertly played cello and Adam Lewis’ sublime bass but completion of a sound is always paramount in the Shropshire man’s cognitive reasoning and as the band played tracks such as He Popped Round, George, Hard To Hear, Give Me A Why, Then The Light Went Off and the utterly charming Daisy, that reasoning was confirmed and enjoyed by all completely.

Thom Morecroft has never given anything but his best when performing since he first appeared on a stage in a city that had adopted him as one of their own. It is the highest compliment Liverpool can ever give someone, that acknowledgement of your talent, of your worth to its music/artistic/sporting life that it will take you under its wing and treat you better than anywhere else in the country. When you have talent like Thom’s, it’s no wonder that he has carved a name as wide as he has in the community.

This was a night in which all three acts appearing in the vocally resonating Unity Theatre were on the very highest of form and for Thom Morecroft and his band of musical minstrels, this was arguably his greatest and most enjoyable night yet.

A stirring and sensational set, something in which the stars could only bow their heads in honour too!

Ian D. Hall