THE MERSEY SECT

...the revelation of "Festival Beat ‘98", if you want my opinion. This fivepiece outfit from Milan really bowled me over, which is no mean feat when you've already seen more than a dozen bands and you didn't even get to bed the night before. But in François, the Mersey Sect have a singer who can wake the dead. Think of the passion that is an essential ingredient of black music, of rhythm & blues or soul, served up by a singer of Latin origin in all his glory. Imagine the visual impact: his whole stage act is "over the top", entertaining, theatrical -- in short, incredible! He dances, mimes, pulls faces and, above all, sings wonderfully well.

As their name suggests, the band members are all enthusiasts of Merseybeat, of rhythm & blues and rock & roll. With regard to the contemporary scene, their favorite group are the Kaisers, and Dominic, an Englishman who has been living in Italy for several years, has been lucky enough to find some Italian friends who share his love of the great songs of the period. Quite honestly, I don't know many bands who can play material like Lies and, moreover, play it damned well. They also offer staggering versions of Love Potion Number 9 and Do You Love Me?, and my only real regret is that the group's set was limited to half an hour. No problem, we'll pull out all the stops to get them to come to France, and there might even be a recording project on the horizon. I'm referring to the tribute to Arthur Alexander that I've been dreaming of for some time now. I really think I've found a band capable of doing justice to this Genius.

(the slushy rain)