It was a brave decision to invite a group of elderly blind singers to perform gospel songs at the Mean Fiddler, a some-time disco next to a sex shop. It was an even braver decision for those singers to kick off with that cringe-making tear-jerker, I Believe, and to choose Danny Boy for their encore. But the result was a show that was poignant and exhilarating, even though there were moments when one feared for the health of the performers.
The Blind Boys of Alabama are an extraordinary institution. Founded in 1939 by Clarence Fountain, who still leads the group today, they first got together as students at the Talladega Institute for the Blind in Alabama. They were taught pop songs by their white teachers, and they studied the black gospel styles of classic groups such as the Golden Gate Quartet.
From this they developed their own eclectic approach, and the ability to match their four-part harmonies to anything from hymns to R&B, pop or funk. It's a process that still continues, as Fountain and long-term colleagues Jimmy Carter and George Scott prove on the Blind Boys' fine new album, Spirit of the Century, in which they mix gospel standards with songs by Tom Waits or Ben Harper.
Their vocal power is still immense. They came onstage (or were helped on) wearing grey collarless suits, gold shirts and dark glasses, looking like frail retired gangsters, and they often sat motionless when they were not singing. Then they would burst into life, sometimes shaking with enthusiasm as they swapped lead vocals and added rousing harmonies. Much of the set consisted of traditional gospel favourites, from Nobody's Fault But Mine through to Run on for a Long Time, with the songs revived and updated both through the passion of the performers and their often modern new arrangements.
Amazing Grace was treated as a gutsy rewrite of House of the Rising Sun, and What a Friend We Have in Jesus was tackled with fervour and some almost screamed vocal embellishments worthy of the young James Brown. By the end, they had transformed the Mean Fiddler into an unlikely revivalist meeting. They told touching, funny stories of how they had been saved by their faith, and ended with a frantic gospel workout, while Jimmy Carter was led out into the crowd, dancing and shaking hands.
