Carla and her two supremes did a very entertaining and highly humerous rendition of 'Stop in the name of love' but it was back to the real reason we were there. To hear some of the greatest musicians of all time, Jack Ashford once again took the mic "The last time I was over here was in 1964 and all your smiling faces it really is wonderful to see. You wanna come on the road with us?" Well Jack if I had the chance I certainly would. "Y'know when we was at Motown we used to take Smokebreaks now we take Pillbreaks".
Johnny Ingram stepped up to the mic and that powerful voice gave us another great rendition of a Stevie Wonder track this time 'I was made to love her'. Carla took the mic "I hear you guys like some of the lesser known stuff" She then went straight into back to back performances of Brenda Holloways 'When im gone' and The Velvelletes 'Needle in a haystack'.
Steve Winwood came back on stage and took up his position behind the piano this time for 'Function at the Junction'. He then walked over to the mic in the center of the stage "Ladies and Gentlemen it is an absolute pleasure to be here tonight and to be able to sing with these magical musicians. Are you ready to feel the FUNK?"
'Whats going on' a track that is as relevant today as when it was first recorded by Marvin Gaye gave Steve his last song of the night. A great performance by Steve Winwood which really impressed me. After that it was time for the introduction of the group and their support tonight. This was led by Alan Slutsky.
Keith Bedson, Michael Petterson, Steve Jenkowski, Paul Fisher, Jade Davision, Dimitrius Preshurst. Then it was time for The Funk Bros:
"He played on all the early Motown hits such as 'Heatwave', 'Dancing in the streets' - JOE HUNTER"
"This guy was a big part of the Motown sound from the early days - EDDIE LEWIS"
"Another integral part of the Motown sound - JOE MENSINA"
"This guy came into stand in for James Jamerson and played on a few minor hits such as 'Aint to proud to beg' - BOB BABBIT"
"He brought a new dimension to the Motown sound a funkier sound he played on records such as 'CAN'T GET NEXT TO YOU' , 'CLOUD NINE' - URIEL JONES
"The Percussion expert and one of the legends of Motown" - JACK ASHFORD
Jack Ashford now with tears in his eyes as im sure the rest of The Manchester Apollo had recounted a very emotional story. "Berry Gordy had a dream he had no money all he had was a dream, he got us together and we became part of that dream. We played on every hit that came out of Motown between 1958 and 1972 yet nobody knew who we were."
"We felt like we was forgotten. It makes us so thankful because so many of us passed before we got to were we are today. There used to be thirteen Funk Brothers now there are seven of us. Its like loosing a family because we were a family."
Funk Brothers in spirit:
Benny 'Pappa Zitta' Benjamin (Passed on in 1968)
James Jamerson (Passed on in 1983)
Eddie 'Bongo' Brown (Passed on in 1983)
Earl Van Dyke (Passed on in 1992)
Robert White (Passed on in 1994)
Jack took up the rest of the story "RICHARD 'PISTOL' ALLEN passed away a couple of weeks before the film was premiered and JOHNNY GRIFFITH went to bed the night before the premier and never woke up." I can't imagine how painful it must be for Jack and the rest of The Funk Brothers to go through something like that and still carry on to this day keeping The Funk Brothers alive.
At this point I had tears streaming down my face Jack reached the end of his emotional speech and dedicated the next track to all "The Funk Brothers and everyone who keeps the spirit of The Funk Brothers alive, because if it wasn't for people like you we wouldn't exist."
The Rhythm section kicked in the vocalists stepped forward and for just a split second it felt like we were all in Studio A listening to the first time 'Aint no mountain high enough' was recorded, and as fast as it had began it was over this may well have been one of the last chances we will get to see heroes like this performing these legendary songs the way that made them the hits they are.
"This is the time we all hate, we have to say goodbye to you, but were going to say goodbye Funk Bros style"
Johnny Ingram stepped up for the last time to the mic that he along with Carla Benson had made their own tonight and gave us 'I know im losing you'.
Alas it was time to say goodbye after two hours and fifteen minutes, twenty five legendary songs and the performance of a lifetime. A capacity crowd at The Manchester Apollo had just witnessed it all.
First published in Togetherness issue 14 Spring 2004.
Sean Livesey