CHINA CRISIS – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 11.9.26
As far as I can recall, it’s quite possibly been 22 years since China Crisis last performed live in Brighton. I suspect that their last date here was on 13th December 2003, when they played the Brighton Centre. This being their second appearance there, as they were there on 19th April 2002. You would have to go a long way back for their previous Brighton encounters, as these were in the 1980’s. As mentioned on more than one occasion this evening at the popular Concorde 2 venue by vocalist Gary Daly, China Crisis supported Simple Minds in Brighton in 1982. This was actually at Brighton Dome on 3rd December 1982 as part of the ‘New Gold Dream Tour’ and I was there, having previously seen Simple Minds at Jenkinsons on 19th October 1980. What Gary failed to mention was that China Crisis played their first headline show in Brighton at Mandela Hall on the Falmer campus of the University of Sussex on 26th January 1984 – I attended that concert as well.
China Crisis were formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and his “work colleague” guitarist Eddie Lundon. China Crisis were part of a wave of new Liverpool acts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, led by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) and also including Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, A Flock of Seagulls and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
This evening Gary discusses the burgeoning Liverpool scene and namechecks all of the above bar Echo & The Bunnymen, but does inform us about their involvement with Inevitable Records. This was an independent Liverpool record label run by Jeremy Lewis in the late 1970s and 1980s that launched several prominent post-punk and synth-pop acts. Gary flags up fellow labelmates Dead Or Alive (who morphed out of Pete Burns (RIP) Nightmares On Wax), Wah! Heat (Pete Wylie’s outfit), and cult Liverpool experimental pop/synth group It’s Immaterial. Although he omits those on the label that didn’t quite breakthrough, such as Modern Eon, Faction, Freeze Frame, The Light and Box Of Toys. China Crisis’ debut (and only) release on Inevitable was the legendary ‘African And White’ single which was recorded in 1981 and released on 25th January 1982. The only other band I can recall Gary mentioning this evening were Fiat Lux, a name which was met with universal blankness from the crowd. They were formed in 1982 by Steve Wright (vocals, percussion) and David P Crickmore (guitars, bass, keyboards), with Ian Nelson (sax, keyboards), younger brother of Be-Bop Deluxe guitarist and lead vocalist Bill Nelson, joining shortly afterwards. By 1985 they had called it a day.
Back to China Crisis. To refresh your memory, the synthpop band found major success in the UK with four Top 20 singles, ‘Christian’, ‘Wishful Thinking’, ‘Black Man Ray’ and ‘King In A Catholic Style (Wake Up)’ and three Top 30 albums ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms Some People Think It’s Fun to Entertain’, ‘Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two’ and ‘Flaunt the Imperfection’. Although Gary and Eddie no longer trouble the pop charts – they haven’t released an album of new material since 2015’s ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ – they have remained friends ever since first meeting at the Roman Catholic St Kevin’s School for Boys. Thus China Crisis have been an operating unit since 1979 and certainly show no signing of slowing down on the concerts front, as alluded this evening by Gary who takes the mickey out of acts with just a handful of dates left for the year – China Crisis (as of time of writing) have no less than 42 gigs still to perform this year, which sees the lads jaunting off to Spain, Germany and The Netherlands as well as a majority of concerts around our fair isle.
Tonight’s Concorde 2 show has no support acts as China Crisis prefer to reward their fans with two sets of material. They first take to the stage at 7:49pm and perform 9 tunes until 8:45pm, then vacate the stage for 20 minutes, and return for part two at 9:05pm and play us out until 9:59pm with another set of 9 songs. It doesn’t sound like many tracks, but when you factor in Gary’s Butlins Red Coat Paul O’Grady style (and Holly Johnson sounding) between-song sailing close to the wind cheeky banter, then it adds up to a great night out!
This evening there are no less than 7 chaps on stage, it’s the most in-depth China Crisis lineup I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness. These comprise founder members Gary Daly (vocals, tambourine, humour) and Eddie Lundon (guitar, vocals, handclaps) as well as Jack Hymers (Nord Electro 4D keys with Yamaha MODX6 synth and M-Audio unit, laptop, backing vocals) and Swiss born Eric Animan (sax, electronic flute, tambourine), which is the quartet I last witnessed back in 2023 at The Ropetackle in Shoreham. Tonight they are joined by Stuart Nisbet on Fender guitar and backing vocals, as well as bassist Dave Knowles, and a drummer and percussionist Vidar Norheim.
Throughout the performance Gary shamelessly promotes the band’s 1994 ‘Warped By Success’ album which has recently been remastered, repackaged and available for purchase from their merch stall (and other outlets) from their manager Kimberly. Gary has a copy of the 12” album up on stage with him which is waved around with great abandon! With no new material coming from the band, merch is a really big thing for the band and we aren’t allowed to forget it.
They immediately kick off with, not surprisingly, a cut from ‘Warped By Success’, this being the smooth jazz funked ‘Everyday The Same’, which is the first of a trio of cuts from the record. During the tune Gary offers up dad dancing disco hands. It’s a smooth opener. Tune two is ‘No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool)’ from 1982’s ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’ album. This features some enjoyable sax from Eric who switches between his silver saxophone and his impressive electronic flute throughout the evening. The slower ‘Without The Love’ from ‘Warped By Success’ follows, after which Gary finally addresses the packed crowd “Good evening Brighton!” which was followed by cheery banter. The final cut of the night from ‘Warped By Success’ is up next, this being ‘Hands On The Wheel’ which is another slab of smooth jazz filled sounds which has Eddie on lead vocals for the first time tonight.
The musicians move on and play ‘Gift Of Freedom’ from 1985’s ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album, which is a more upbeat number, which again has Eddie on lead vocal duties. It’s a happy uplifting tune for a Friday night! After this Gary refers to past band members who have sadly passed away, the most recent being bassist Gary “Gazza” Johnson who died this year, and drummer Kevin Wilkinson is also mentioned, he passed away back in 1999. But keyboardist Walter Becker who was briefly in the band during ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ in 1985 is omitted, he passed away in 2017.
1985’s reggae vibed ‘Strength Of Character’, also found on ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’, is the lads next selection. There’s notable Nord Electro 4D keys at play here from Jack, as well as saxophone from Eric. Gary next discusses how both himself and Eddie’s music was influenced by their older sisters’ favourite music. We later learn that they both come from working class families and that Eddie is one of ten kids and Gary is one of eight. The next song, ‘Bigger The Punch I’m Feeling’ from ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’, is dedicated to their sisters. Jack’s use of the Yamaha MODX6 synth on this track is joyous. The first of two cuts from their last ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ album is next in the form of ‘Joy And The Spark’. It’s a slower tune with the vocals to the fore. They sign off set one with ‘Fool’ from the same album which has Eddie on vocals.
Set two contains the big hitters beginning with the classic ‘African And White’ from 1982’s ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’ album. It’s a fantastic delivery and well worth coming out tonight in order just to hear this! Gary – who has switched to shamelessly wearing a USA tour China Crisis t-shirt as another plug for their merch – is again on lead vocals for ‘Arizona Sky’ from 1986’s ‘What Price’ Paradise’ album. The “bup ba doo wah” chorus works very well here. The funky ‘Best Kept Secret’ which is also found on ‘What Price Paradise’ is given an outing next with guitarist Stuart certainly coming to the fore here. The distinctive keyboard riff kicks off ‘Black Man Ray’ from ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ follows, which understandably is a fan favourite. Gary and Eddie are both on joint lead vocals for ‘Wishful Thinking’ from 1983’s ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’, whilst Eric shines through on his electronic flute.
The performance now certainly goes up several gears with the arrival of both ‘King In A Catholic Style’ from ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ and ‘Working With Fire And Steel’ from the album of the same name, with its fabulous electronic beginning. For the former Eddie leads the crowd handclaps, and there’s further handclapping on the latter as well. Both tracks are very uplifting and the highlights of the night for yours truly! The guys then offer up a 12” extended version of ‘Tragedy And Mystery’ from ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ which twice incorporated riffs and beats from Chic’s ‘Good Times’, and indeed the punters were all having a good time! They signed off with the electronic flute heavy ‘Christian’ from ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’, but before which, Gary bigged up the Concorde 2’s sound and light guys (Tom and Paul) as well as the venues other staff, which I thought was a nice touch, for a nice bunch of people. At one minute to ten the musicians came to the front of the stage and took their bows.
If you missed tonight’s set, then fear not as you can catch China Crisis live again in Sussex at Mid Sussex Music Hall in Hassocks on Thursday 5th November 2026 – Purchase your tickets HERE.
China Crisis:
Gary Daly – vocals, tambourine
Eddie Lundon – guitar, vocals
Jack Hymers – synths, laptop, backing vocals
Eric Animan – sax, flute, tambourine
Stuart Nisbet – guitar, backing vocals
Dave Knowles – bass
Vidar Norheim – drums, percussion
China Crisis setlist:
Set 1:
‘Everyday The Same’ (from 1994 ‘Warped By Success’ album)
‘No More Blue Horizons (Fool, Fool, Fool)’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’..album)
‘Without The Love’ (from 1994 ‘Warped By Success’ album)
‘Hands On The Wheel’ (from 1994 ‘Warped By Success’ album)
‘Gift Of Freedom’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Strength Of Character’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Bigger The Punch I’m Feeling’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Joy And The Spark’ (from 2015 ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ album)
‘Fool’ (from 2015 ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’ album)
Set 2:
‘African And White’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’..album)
‘Arizona Sky’ (from 1986 ‘What Price’ Paradise’ album)
‘Best Kept Secret’ (from 1986 ‘What Price Paradise’ album)
‘Black Man Ray’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Wishful Thinking’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘King In A Catholic Style’ (from 1985 ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ album)
‘Working With Fire And Steel’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘Tragedy And Mystery’ (from 1983 ‘Working With Fire And Steel..’ album)
‘Christian’ (from 1982 ‘Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms’..album)
