Starsailor is in Paris as part of a tour celebrating their 25th anniversary. As luck would have it, it's also 24 years to the day since the release of their debut album Love Is Here which made up the bulk of the setlist. The core quartet of James Walsh (vocals and guitar), James Stelfox (bass), Barry Westhead (keyboards) and Ben Byrne (drums is joined by guitarist Tony Foster who gives their tunes a bit of a rock edge and adds grit even to the poppier leanings of their repertoire.
And that repertoire is why the audience, now comprised of graying forty-somethings, is gathered at the Trabendo on Wednesday night. It's easy to forget or under-estimate the amount of great tunes, many of them mega hits, Starsailor has. When they are all put together in one evening, it becomes something more than a catalog or a career... It becomes something like a legacy. Tracks like opener "Alcoholic," or the absolute banger "Four To The Floor," introduced by Walsh as their only number one song...
But even as the familiar songs unfold, there is no real sense of nostalgia to the recital, but rather, like their latest album (an orchestral reworking of familiar tunes,) a fond look in the rearview mirror with a like-minded audience.
A silver anniversary is quite a landmark, and using The Rolling Stones as a benchmark, Starsailor are now in the Steel Wheels era of their career. Where they'll go next is anyone's guess, but this was a perfect night to pause and appreciate what they had accomplished so far.
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