Support slots often pass unnoticed. Audiences use them as an opportunity to find their seats, order a drink or continue conversations interrupted by the venue's opening bell. That made the appearance of John Parr at the Olympia all the more surprising.
As the audience settled in before Jeff Beck's performance, word began circulating that the evening's opener was a singer named John Parr. Surely not that John Parr. Surely not the voice behind some of the most gloriously unapologetic radio rock of the eighties. Yet when the lights dimmed, out walked exactly that John Parr, armed with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a catalogue that instantly transported at least a few audience members back several decades.
Judging by the crowd's reaction, most people in attendance had little idea who he was. Their loss. Parr may no longer dominate radio airwaves, but he remains an engaging performer and a gifted songwriter. Stripped of their original production, his songs revealed a sturdier construction than many might expect from an artist often remembered primarily for a handful of MTV-era hits.
His brief set included only a couple of songs immediately familiar to everyone who grew up during that period, notably "Naughty Naughty" and, of course, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," a song that somehow manages to remain both inspirational and completely over the top. A cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" fit surprisingly well alongside his own material and demonstrated once again how comfortably classic rock and eighties radio rock coexist when stripped back to their essentials.
Stylistically, Parr and Jeff Beck occupy very different corners of the musical landscape, but that contrast ultimately worked in the opener's favour. Rather than attempting to mirror the headliner's virtuosity, Parr offered something simpler: strong songs, an expressive voice and a reminder that pleasure should never be treated as a guilty emotion. Some songs may be guilty pleasures. They are still pleasures. And when it comes to pleasure, it is usually best to take it wherever you can find it.
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