The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Live. Scotland's Greatest Albums, by Billy Sloan

It was directed at a lone figure on stage, illuminated by a single spotlight, who stared defiantly out into the darkness.

He wore brothel-creeper shoes, vintage Levi jeans, a battle-torn leather jacket and his trademark black and white hooped t-shirt.

As the hate-fuelled tirade reached a crescendo it was time to see who’d blink first.

Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, he wielded a schoolteacher’s cane menacingly, stepped up to the mic and said:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I’d like to introduce you to my band … The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.”

At the push of a button an electronic “dum-dum-dum-dum-dum” pulse beat boomed out over the PA … the hypnotic intro to an epic song called The Faith Healer.

Guitarist Zal Cleminson, in white face mime

make-up, and bassist Chris Glen, in a superhero costume with blue codpiece joined him.

They looked like characters from a Marvel comic book.

Completing the line-up were Hugh McKenna on keyboards and Ted McKenna on drums who were almost normal by comparison.

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The hostile mood instantly evaporated. The discerning audience realised they were seeing something very special.

The gig was the opening night of a UK tour by Slade at Green’s Playhouse on May 31, 1973, admission £1.25p.

The group’s singer, Noddy Holder, has vivid memories of the occasion.

“There was always a great atmosphere at our shows, so the last thing we needed was anything which went against that,” he recalled.

“But Alex loved to challenge our audience. He’d insult them. I remember the reaction he provoked in Glasgow, which was his hometown,

don’t forget.

“By the end of the set the crowd had warmed to him. The band got booed on but went down such a storm that they could have got an encore. That’s how good they were. We loved them.”

Within two years S.A.H.B. would record one of the most acclaimed live albums in rock history.

Their first four releases - Framed (1972), Next (1973), The Impossible Dream (1974) and Tomorrow Belongs To Me (1975) – established them as a powerful music force.

“After we made Next I realised just how good we were musically,” said Chris.

“You’ve got to remember Framed was done in just three days and that included mixing it. But when you were working in a studio that cost £100 an hour you had to work fast and really capture a performance. So we were a very tight unit musically.

“But it was on stage that people saw the real essence of S.A.H.B.”

That was captured perfectly at Hammersmith Odeon in London on May 24, 1975.

“We spent a lot of time on the road but never got to hear our show in the way the audience did. We had no idea what we sounded like on stage,” revealed Chris.

“Our manager Bill Fehilly hired the RAK Mobile from producer Mickie Most to record the gig. It was a private thing. There was no plan for a live album.”

The recording contained arguably THE ultimate

live versions of Tomahawk Kid, Give My Compliments To The Chef and Vambo.

Crucially, the band also covered Delilah, a hit for Tom Jones in 1967.

When bosses at Phonogram Records heard the tapes they rush-released Delilah as a single with an album to follow.

“We were on tour in American with Jethro Tull and first knew about the single when we got a call to say Delilah was in the charts,” Chris recalled.

“We were p***** off they’d released it without asking us.

“During the tour, our van had been stolen and we lost all our gear. So we flew home to the UK and had to hire instruments to appear on Top Of The Pops.

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“Delilah reached No. 7 but we were worried people might write us off as a covers band. We’d rather have been known for Midnight Moses.”

In the following 12 months, S.A.H.B. scored two more hit singles, a re-work of Jimmie Rodgers’, Gamblin’ Bar Room Blues, and their own composition, Boston Tea Party.

But it was their colourful – and often controversial – live shows that made the biggest impact.

None more so than their Christmas concerts at Glasgow Apollo later that year.

“Alex always treated the songs very seriously but he wanted to present them in a visual way. I think that came from his time playing in the band in the stage musical, Hair,” revealed Chris.

“We always had a moment where he’d use a bit of choreography. The first time was on Runaway – the 1961 Del Shannon hit – when we did a little Shadows-style dance. We did something similar during the musical break in Delilah.

“When we played Tomahawk Kid – influenced by Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson –

Alex would dress as a pirate.

“I got to watch him every night, but it was at too close range. I didn’t get the enjoyment of seeing what the audience were presented with.”

But Alex surpassed himself in the Apollo festive gigs. He decided to interpret Cheek To Cheek - written by Irving Berlin – which had been sung by Hollywood legend Fred Astaire in the movie Top Hat in 1935.

“Alex hired three female models for the show. He said, I’m going to dance cheek to cheek with them but it’ll be a little play on words,” recalled Chris.

“The girls were dressed in very elegant evening dresses. What the audience didn’t know was that he’d cut the a**** out of the gowns.

“So when they turned their backs to the crowd their bare bums were sticking out. Alex went along the line and gave each one a wee kiss.

“I don’t know if you’d get away with that today, but you probably wouldn’t be able to do half the stuff Alex got up to on stage.”

But the visuals never detracted from the music.

“Back then, if somebody asked you to describe S.A.H.B. everybody always talked about the show,” said Chris.

“Our sound incorporated rock, blues, jazz and vaudeville. So there was a lot going on in the songs.

“I always think of us as being like Leicester City

FC. Zal was a unique guitarist, Hugh a fantastic musician, Ted a solid drummer and I’m an okay bass player.

“We weren’t Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. But at that point we were the biggest grossing live act in Britain.

“So just like Leicester, we managed to win the league. I think that is a very good analogy.”

What Chris did get to see at close range was how Harvey could command an audience.

The singer’s first claim to fame was when his Big Beat Band opened for Johnny Gentle at Alloa Town Hall in 1960.

Gentle’s backing group were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe, then known as The Silver Beatles.

He played the Star Club in Hamburg years before they became the venue’s resident act.

He also won a newspaper competition to find Scotland’s Tommy Steele.

Those valuable years of experience paid dividends for S.A.H.B.

“Alex could get an audience’s attention by doing absolutely nothing,” revealed Chris.

“I remember him saying to me, always look at the very back of the hall, not the front. You’ve already got the people at the front.

“He also used to hold the mic close to his mouth and make this little whooshing noise. If the crowd were boisterous, they go … shut up, I can’t hear what he’s saying. So he got them back again. “Alex was almost like a schoolmaster. It was all based on what he’d seen in the theatre. He knew exactly how to get their attention WITHOUT saying …’Shut the f*** up’.”

The bassist’s current music project is new group The Outfit featuring Chris Glen, whose set includes several S.A.H.B. classics.

He still rates the Live album highly.

“It was produced by David Batchelor who’d been lead singer of Tear Gas – the band Alex recruited to form S.A.H.B.,” revealed Chris.

“David mixed it with us in mind. Another producer would have tailored it more towards the record company or general public.

“But he knew OUR sound and exactly how we wanted to hear it. The record was without doubt one of the finest live albums of that era. I’m incredibly proud of it. S.A.H.B. was one of the happiest times of my life.”

* THE Billy Sloan Show is on BBC Radio Scotland every Saturday at 10pm.

WHEN Alex Harvey first saw Scottish rock band Tear Gas he told them: “You’re loud, you’re good, but you’re wrong.”

The singer – who died in 1982 aged 46 – joined forces with Zal Cleminson, Chris Glen and cousins Hugh and Ted McKenna to form a new group.

“Alex was playing with The Giant Moth and we supported them at the Marquee Club in London,” recalled Chris.

“He said, you’re a good band, but with me as lead singer you could become a great band.

“The first song we rehearsed was Midnight Moses in Thor Studios just up the street from Burns’ Howff in Glasgow.”

When it came to a band name, Harvey looked to Motown Records for inspiration.

His choice of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band was a real throwing down of the gauntlet.

“Alex wanted a name like The “fabulous” Temptations or The “great” Four Tops,” said Chris.

“But we thought we were setting ourselves up to take a hit. What band ever called themselves sensational?

“We reckoned audiences would say, just who do you think you are?”

S.A.H.B. played their first gig at Clouds disco opening for Stone The Crows, who featured Harvey’s younger brother Les on guitar.

The singer took another risk when they made their debut on The Old Grey Whistle Test presented by Bob Harris.

They played Next – title track of their 1973 album – which was written by Jacques Brel.

Harvey was a fan of the Belgian musician who was also an influence on David Bowie and Scott Walker.

He hired string players from The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra to guest on the track but insisted they wear stocking masks and ill-fitting wigs.

“Next was a controversial choice even for a late night show like Whistle Test,” recalled Chris.

“We’d been given this great opportunity. That one performance could have changed everything for us.

“The song was about a guy in the Foreign Legion who looked forward to the brothel truck arriving once a month.

“I thought, are we going to get away with this? I was certain the BBC would beep out any lyrics they thought would cause offence. But they didn’t.

“So God love Whistle Test for letting us do it. It brought us to a much wider audience.

“The clip is on YouTube. Fans still talk about it to this day.”