Billy Kelly performing in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph By Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is genius at work in the world, there is courage and there is simplicity wrapped up in so much talent that sometimes as you sit back and take the view of artistry in, it can leave you feeling a little scared, not worried, not anxious but scared that one day it might not be around to be held by.

Billy Kelly is an obvious choice of musician to have play anywhere in the city, like many others of his chosen calling, he is an example of professionalism personified, of being able to carry on with no drama, no thought but for the entertainment of those who have come out to see him and even when the slight hiccup of sound goes astray, can still have the tremendous spirit in depth to give a performance that you cannot help but love and applaud.

As the sun continued to bake the old Bootle bowling green to the point where unseen ladybirds came out of hiding and the short shadows on the ground wiped away their own beads of sweat, Billy Kelly resumed the acoustic part of the Battle of the Bands in the Johnson’s Pavilions with glory in his voice, one that was not lost to the heavens or the Stanley Road passers-by when the low wind carried his tone and selfless intonation past the gates and made the normally uncaring glance and whisper that perhaps the day would be best served in the company of their fellow Bootle folk.

A man to whom Bootle means a hell of a lot, to whom the town is his in memory and in song and one who cares deeply about the way that Bootle is perceived locally and nationally, Billy Kelly is an act to care about.

As the sun started to lose its grip on the day, but not for a single minute relinquishing its hold over the heat felt below, Billy Kelly performed four great songs and with his normal commanding authority, for when Mr. Kelly speaks and sings, people do listen with attention and still voice.

The songs Gods and Monsters, High Heeled Sneakers, Thunderstorm and the ever popular By The Time I Get To Bootle, arguably the most fitting song of the day, all were received with the thanks of the crowd that had nestled with almost perfect endeavour on the old, slightly browned, green.

Billy Kelly doesn’t ask for respect but boy does he command it, pins don’t just make no noise in his presence, they wear comfortable slippers and carry a sign saying shush, till the final note is played and then the applause is magical, an experience that never gets old. A founding father of the renaissance of the town, Billy Kelly deserved with honour his space and time on the Bootle stage.

Ian D. Hall