There are some concerts that stick in your mind forever.
For me, it was seeing Dr Feelgood, more years back than I care to remember, at the ballroom at the back of the old Douglas Hotel on Aberdeen’s Market Street.
Apart from it being a belter of a show, it’s hard to forget as, midway through one particularly rousing number, the charismatic frontman, Lee Brilleaux, announced he was thirsty.
He jumped off the stage and the crowd parted to allow him to make his way to the bar where he downed his drink and returned to the stage without missing a beat.
That night also sticks in the memory of the group’s drummer, Kevin Morris, who has been with the band, who play the Ironworks, Inverness, tomorrow night, for more than 30 years.
“I remember Lee doing that and clearly remember playing a Sunday-night concert at a pub on the outskirts of Inverness, where we and the fans, there was more than 600 of them, drank the pub dry.
“It made headlines in Melody Maker the following week.”
So are the band planning a repeat this time around?
“No, we’ve calmed our drinking habits down a bit over the years, but we do still like a drink,” said Kevin.
“I’m into whisky now. The last time we were up north, we visited Glenmorangie Distillery and had lovely haggis, neeps and tatties at a nearby hotel.
“We’ve always been a good-time band and started out in pubs.”
Formed in 1971, in Canvey Island, Essex, the group had a distinctive British rhythm and blues sound, which came partially as a result of Wilko Johnson’s choppy guitar style.
His habit of moving constantly around the stage also added to their reputation for being a high-energy band with a raw and uncompromising style.
With a string of hit singles including Roxette, Back in the Night, Milk and Alcohol, Down at the Doctors, She Does it Right, Going Back Home and See You Later, Alligator, they quickly became an unforgettable act.
Although the lineup changed several times, Brilleaux was considered the voice of Dr Feelgood, so it came as a huge shock to the band and fans alike when he passed away in 1994.
“In 1991, Lee kept getting flu-like symptoms which wouldn’t go away, so we insisted he went to see doctors who ran a few tests and established he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” said Kevin.
“We were out of action for a full year while he underwent chemo, but he desperately wanted to play a couple of nights at a little club in Canvey, so we played there, and recorded it.
“It became his swansong, as he died a few weeks later.
“I remember telling an interviewer at the time that that was it, we couldn’t carry on without Lee. But in the following year, we had numerous requests from fans and friends who wanted us to carry on.
“Although we were all busy doing other things, we missed each other’s company and being part of the gang.
“We have a situation now where Phil (Phil Mitchell, bass) and I have been in the group for 31 years, the guitarist (Steve Walwyn) has been in it for 25 years and the singer (Robert Kane) has been in the band for 14 years, so this is the most stable lineup we’ve ever had in the group’s history.
“I still have as much fun as I always did, as being a drummer is all I ever wanted to do.
“Since leaving school, I’ve never done anything else, so I consider myself very lucky.
“My first outing was when I was still at school and playing in an embryotic version of Dr Feelgood called The Wild Bunch, with Lee and Sparko (John B. Sparks), who were a bit older than me and had left school and had jobs.
“I didn’t want a regular job, so I joined a band on a cruise ship, which was great experience, then I joined a soul band backing American artists: my first tour was with Sam and Dave and was an amazing apprenticeship.
“I ended up in France, playing with French band Trust, who were the number-one band there at the time, when Lee phoned and asked me to join the band.”
Former band member Gypie Mayo passed away a few months ago and no mention of the band is complete without touching on the health of Wilko Johnson, who is fighting cancer and wasn’t expected to survive past last October.
Thankfully, he’s still with us.
“I’m very grateful to be in the position I am, but what has happened to others made me think about what I want to do,” said Kevin.
“At the age of 58, I’ve finally got around to doing a solo project called Shamen Spirit, and an album called We Are Infants, which is what I’m working on at the moment.
“On my ‘bucket list’ is a wish that it’s a success, but it doesn’t matter if it sets the world on fire or gets ignored; I enjoyed working on it.”
Dr Feelgood are at the Ironworks, Academy Street, Inverness, tomorrow. Doors open at 7.30pm. Call 0871 789 4173 or visit www.ironworksvenue.com