Hothouse Flowers gig at The Wardrobe, Leeds - review

HOTHOUSE Flowers are a four-piece band made up of guitarist Fiachna O’Braonain, singer and multi-instrumentalist Liam O’Maonlai, bassist Peter O’Toole and tour drummer Dave Clarke.

Formed in Monkstown, Dublin in 1985, school friends O’Manolai and O’Braonain began busking as The Incomparable Benzini Brothers, winning the Dublin Street-Performer of the Year Award before recruiting O’Toole and then renaming themselves Hothouse Flowers.

Originally signed to U2’s Mother Records after being spotted by Bono on a late-night Irish TV show, the band released their debut single in 1986 to local critical acclaim, establishing themselves as Ireland’s new favourite sons.

The 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin following Johnny Logan’s win the previous year, saw the up-and-coming Hothouse Flowers invited to perform during the interval as the judges administered their scores.

Hothouse Flowers in Leeds

This exposure catapulted the band to international fame and, now with London Records, they released debut album People to critical and commercial acclaim.

Recorded intermittently during relentless touring, the band’s sophomore 1990 album Home was followed by their third but less successful 1993 release Songs From the Rain.

I last saw Hothouse Flowers on May 27,1988 and, almost 35 years to the day later, the band end their UK tour at The Wardrobe, Leeds for what is an intimate and at times party-like musical adventure of their Celtic soul, folk and gospel sound.

Shaped by decades of playing together, each Hothouse Flowers show is improvised, unscripted and unique.

Taken from their 2020 album Let’s Do This Thing, the beautiful Sunset Sunrises is Doors-like and poetic as the charismatic O’Manolai draws the crowd in.

The band’s classic Hallelujah Jordan sings of a young man’s lost love, lyrics 'Hallelujah loves the bottle more brittle than her body, More brittle than the heart that she'd broken’ telling of a tormented life and an early tragic death.

The band blends old and new releases as their raw energy, spirit and commitment to their art are reminiscent of Springsteen and the E Street Band as well as of a young Astral Weeks-era Van Morrison.

There is humour, wit, pure ‘jamming’ and highs and lows as their song choices provoke laughter, distant memories and provide escapism to many of the audience.

Tonight’s show is refined, chaotic and celebratory, the band inviting cover song requests to blend with their own, one which includes a moving homage to the late Tina Turner while the gospel-like Give It Up moves the band and audience to another level of chorus and community.

It was a privilege to have witnessed Hothouse Flowers at this intimate venue for what was a special evening when everything just comes together and as their tour draws to a close.

Review  and photos by Gareth John