LOS PACAMINOS FEATURING PAUL YOUNG
A couple of years ago, my very good friend and synth twin, Tanya,
suggested that we go to a Los Pacaminos gig.
I didn’t know much about them and if I’m honest, I agreed to go because
Paul Young fronts the band. However, I
checked out the Los Pacaminos website and some You Tube videos and loved what I
saw. The first thing that struck me was
that Los Pacaminos reminded me of The Eagles with their chilled melodic
country-rock sound. And of course I’m a
massive fan of The Eagles!
In the early 1990s, Paul Young formed Los Pacaminos and enlisted his
friends; a group of highly accomplished musicians from varying musical
backgrounds, to play Tex-Mex/Border/Americana music. The band was initially formed just for the
love of the music and played when existing work commitments allowed but,
inevitably, word of Los Pacaminos soon spread and before long, the band were
being booked to play gigs up and down the country.
The Los Pacaminos band members formed firm friendships over the years,
all having worked with Paul Young at some stage during their impressive music
careers. The depth of these friendships
is obvious from the interactions and constant fun and laughs they have together
on stage throughout each gig. This is,
for me, Los Pacaminos’ magic ingredient; their on-stage energy is highly
infectious and underpins the special connection they have with their audience. It is clear to see why Los Pacaminos have
such a loyal fan-base.
Los Pacaminos sing a mixture of well-known classics and their own
brilliant original material, which more
specifically, combines the Mariachi & Norteno styles of Mexico and the
Country/Blues sounds of South-West America. For me, the music that Los
Pacaminos make and perform is simply summarised as fun, melodic, country rock
sounds from the heart that instantly evoke the desire to get up and dance!
Paul Young obviously needs
no introduction – he shot to fame in the 1980s as a solo
singer/songwriter. I first became aware
of Paul Young as a solo artist when ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat’ reached No 1 in the
1983 singles charts, and his stunning debut album ‘No Parlez’ topped the album
charts. Unsurprisingly, Paul swiftly
reached global superstardom status and I personally became a big fan of his,
and I remain so to this day.
It is clear from the audience reaction whenever Paul takes the lead vocal on a song that he is still, all these years later, quite rightly, held in great affection.
Shadows On The Rise
Girl From Tennessee
From the second the Pacaminos walk on stage to excited cheers, the
endearing banter between Paul Young and Jamie Moses opens the show. The atmosphere is set for the night and the audience
is ready for a Tex-Mex party.
And that was my first introduction to Jamie Moses.
Jamie is a supremely talented lead guitarist and vocalist and takes the
lead on a lot of Los Pacaminos songs. It
quickly became obvious to me that he is a firm favourite with the fans. Jamie’s humour and charm are perfectly suited
to the songs on which he takes the lead, such as ‘I Told Her Lies’, ‘Battered
& Broozed’, and ‘Come A Little Bit Closer’.
Each performance by Jamie is a standout performance. He is a natural entertainer and his strong
vocal has an attractive rich warm tone.
It was therefore no surprise to me to later learn of Jamie’s impressive
career as a musician.
Lies
Battered & Broozed
Come A Little Bit Closer
Outside of Los Pacaminos, Jamie is an incredibly gifted session
guitarist who has played with some of the biggest names in the music biz,
including Queen, Tom Jones, Bob Geldof, The Hollies, Joe Walsh, The Pretenders,
U2, Lionel Ritchie, Annie Lennox, and Gloria Gaynor.
Jamie is also a member of The SAS Band – Spike’s All Star Band – a band
of world-class musicians put together by Spike Edney, Queen’s musical director and keyboard player.
As the evening progresses at a Los Pacaminos gig, it is clear to see
that the band (AKA ‘The Pacs’!) love every minute of the performance. Paul and Jamie steer us through the evening
and introduce each song, but another lead vocalist is Drew Barfield.
Drew plays the guitar, but the versatile tone of his voice is perfectly
suited to the emotive ballads he is known for, such as Caballero and Belle, and equally suited to the more up-tempo songs such as ‘Our Favourite Things’ and
‘Jump Back Baby’.
Belle
Caballero
Jump Back Baby
Our Favourite Things
An enduring memory of mine from my very first Los Pacaminos gig when I first
heard Drew sing Belle, is how the fans were completely absorbed in every note
during the performance. It was a real
crowd-pleaser.
Outside of Los Pacaminos, Drew has written songs for Go West, Joe
Jackson, Level 42 and Paul Young.
Paul, Jamie and Drew are the lead vocalists but all Los Pacaminos band
members have an impressive career credentials:
Melvin Duffy is attributed
with the accolade of Britain’s finest young pedal steel guitar player. He has worked with Jimmy Nail and Leo Sayer,
and toured with Robbie Williams.
Steve Greetham plays bass
guitar and provides vocals. In addition
to Paul Young, he has worked with Joan Armatrading and Julia Fordham.
David Levy plays bass guitar
and provides vocals. He has previously
played with Roachford and Chris de Burgh.
Integral to the band, responsible for the rhythm of each song, is Los
Pacaminos’ drummer, Mark Pinder. In addition to Paul Young, he has also worked
with Alison Moyet.
Jim Russell also plays
drums/percussion with the Pacaminos, but as a session drummer, has previously
worked with Elvis Costello, Scotty Moore, Bob Geldof and The Human League.
Steve Oakman plays the
keyboard and the accordion. Prior to
joining Los Pacaminos relatively recently, he was part of 1960s band ‘Vanity Fare’, and during that time, worked with many artists of that
era including Peter Noon, Brenda Lee, Little Eva and Wayne Fontana.
Last but certainly not least are the Los Pacaminos technical team:
Radar Walton
Roger Bird
Other well-known and much-loved artists who intermittently perform with Los Pacaminos include Toby Chapman, Hamish Stuart, Robbie McKintosh, Matt Backer and Midge Ure.
During each half of the show, the band start playing The Tequila Song
and this is the cue for the Tequila Babes, chosen prior to the show, to serve
shots of tequila to each band member on stage as they play. It is, and always has been, an incredibly
popular part of the show.
Being asked to be a Tequila Babe is indeed and a much
sought-after role but brings with it a mix of nervousness and excitement; I
know because I’ve done it! In fact, so nervous was I the first time, I dropped
empty shot glasses from the tray on stage, which Paul Young very kindly
retrieved for me (!!) and I then proceeded to exit the stage the wrong side,
prompting Paul to ask my friends in the audience if I’d got lost! Needless to say I was mortified!
There is always a sense of sadness when a Pacs gig comes to an
end. However, the guys often come out
into the crowd after a show to meet their fans and pose for selfies! It certainly makes for a perfect end to a
perfect gig.
The mix of incredible musicianship, infectious melodies, humorous banter
and endless fun never fails to deliver the ultimate party atmosphere and Los
Pacaminos do it in glorious Tex-Mex style.
I will be eternally grateful that Tanya suggested we go to that first
Los Pacaminos gig. I have been to
numerous gigs since and get to as many as I can, particularly when they are in
the West Country.
Los Pacaminos tour the country all year round. Gigs are already being booked into 2018 and
new dates are announced all the time.
Check out their forthcoming tour dates and get yourself along to a Los
Pacaminos gig as soon as you can; it truly is a special night out.
Richard & Cally Langhurst set up the merchandise stands at each Los
Pacaminos venue so there is a supply of CDs, T-shirts, etc, available to purchase at each gig, but merchandise can also be purchased from the website ……
The last word goes to the Pacaminos themselves. View this video to learn more about the
history of the band, in the words of Paul, Jamie & Drew …...
LOS PACAMINOS AT THE
EXCHANGE, STURMINSTER NEWTON
The most recent Los Pacaminos gig I attended was at my fantastic local
venue, The Exchange, in Sturminster Newton, North Dorset, on Saturday 19
August. News of Los Pacaminos appearing
at The Exchange always creates a buzz amongst us locals and we feel so
privileged that musicians of this calibre play locally.
Los Pacaminos gigs at The Exchange are always sold-out and 19 August
was no exception. When the Pacaminos
walked out on stage, they were met with loud cheers and rapturous applause, and
as the lights went up, everyone was ready to embrace the Tex-Mex party
atmosphere.
Each song was as enthusiastically received as the next, and the
audience needed no encouragement to participate in the performance as and when
directed to by Paul and Jamie. And as
usual, the charming and amusing banter between Paul and Jamie was met with as
much delight as the musical performances.
There were the usual breaks for the Tequila Babes to serve tequila
shots to the band to the sound of The Tequila Song, and I was delighted to be
asked to be one of them!
The evening was a massive success and it’s no surprise – a Los
Pacaminos gig has all the essential components throughout – it's packed with
great music, dancing, amazing musicianship, endless fun ……. and tequila of
course!
The set list for the evening included the following:
Little Sister
Caballero
Poor Boys
Girl From Tenessee
Jump Back Baby
Shadows On The /rise
Come A Little Closer
Battered & Broozed
Belle
Favourite Things
Raised on Margaritas
This video was actually taken at The Exchange on 19 August of Los Pacaminos performing ‘Raised On Margaritas’ …
This summer marks the 10th anniversary of The Exchange and Los
Pacaminos posed for a photograph with my very good friend Karen, The Manager of
The Exchange.
Years ago, Sturminster Newton was a thriving market town. However, its Cattle Market & Creamery closed on 30 June
1997 and The Exchange was built on the site, filling the gap left by the market
as a centre for the town and the area.
In the planning and development stages of the Exchange in the early
2000s, it was said to be ‘one of the most exciting things to happen in this
community for years’. This sums it up
perfectly.
In August 2007, The Exchange was officially opened by Julian Fellowes; actor, author, Oscar-winning script-writer and successful film director.
The Exchange is a Community Arts & Business Centre situated in
Sturminster Newton, centrally located in the heart of North Dorset. It is a multi-functional building
and has a number of rooms available to hire which are suitable for a range of
purposes, eg: conferences, meetings, rehearsal space, training courses,
celebrations/parties, trade fairs, auctions, indoor markets. Room sizes vary and can accommodate 20 – 300
people (or 400 standing capacity in Stour Hall). A full catering kitchen and Coffee Lounge
& Bar are available with multimedia facilities, sound and lighting
equipment and Wi-Fi access throughout.
The Stour Hall is the largest space at The Exchange with a seating
capacity of 300, half of which are tiered, (or standing capacity of 400). It has one of the widest well-proportioned
stages in the county and is therefore suited to all types of performance,
whether it be music, dance, or drama. It
also has a 16ft wide cinema screen so the latest blockbusters can be viewed
there without having to travel to a cinema.
A wide range of events are booked at The Exchange year-round, including
music, cinema, theatre, dance, comedy and varied community events. Check out the website and keep an eye out in
social media and the local press for up-to-date information about new shows and
events, which are being added all the time.
The Exchange has become a popular venue for concerts in recent years,
offering a wide range of music events ranging from tribute artists to iconic
music artists from the 1970s and 1980s.
In recent months alone, the following artists have appeared at The
Exchange: Paul Young & Los Pacaminos, The SAS Band, Howard Jones, Roachford, The Real
Thing, China Crisis, The Christians, Hazel O’Connor, The Three Degrees, Martin
Kemp (Spandau Ballet) …..and Heaven 17 are appearing there in just over a week.
I have to admit, despite being a Dorset girl, having grown up in a Dorset village 4 miles from Sturminster Newton, and having attended Sturminster Newton High School, I didn’t really know much about The Exchange until I moved into Sturminster Newton around 18 months ago. I had moved around a fair bit since I was 18 for work, but still, North Dorset has always been my home! So I got to thinking ….. if I am a local and I only just discovered The Exchange, does the general public out-of-area know of its existence? Because if they do not know of The Exchange, they really should!
As soon as I discovered The Exchange and realised how amazing our local venue and its team of staff and volunteers is, and how so many big names in the music and entertainment business appear at The Exchange throughout each year, I made it my mission to tell everyone I know about The Exchange! Sure enough, some of those living out-of-area had not heard of it, and were astonished and thrilled to learn of the calibre of shows and events being offered.
Check out this video of Tom Robinson interviewing Spike, Fish and Toyah the day after the gig. You will see that such was the audience's appreciative and enthusiastic reaction, Spike has now renamed Sturminster Newton 'Rockminster Party Town'!!
So if you've not heard much about The Exchange before, check it out now!
There is free parking just outside of The Exchange or decently-priced
parking just a 2 minute walk away.
If you plan to stay overnight in
Sturminster Newton or the surrounding area, there are a wide range of
hotels and B & Bs nearby, ranging from a 2 minute walk from The Exchange, to a short drive/taxi fare away.
Local hotels/B & Bs include:
The Swan – http://www.swaninnsturminsternewton.co.uk/
The Fiddleford Inn - https://www.thefiddlefordinn.net/
The White Horse – http://www.thewhitehorsehinton.co.uk/
The Crown – http://crownhotelblandford.co.uk/
The Royal Chase – http://www.theroyalchasehotel.co.uk/
So ..... whether it’s for business or pleasure, check out The Exchange’s website
for full details, or call the staff to discuss.
There is sure to be something to suit your business needs or something
to meet your musical/comedy/theatrical tastes, or something to meet your
celebratory/party needs. I cannot
recommend The Exchange highly enough in every single regard.
Photos by Tanya Raftery & Lorraine Brown
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