THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY

As a huge fan of Simon and Garfunkel I was delighted when Cameron Potts agreed to an interview on my Radio Saltire show on a Saturday Morning, so I was really looking forward to seeing them live.

 

Cameron Potts who plays and sings the part of Art Garfunkel, who along with Adam Dickinson make a great Simon and Garfunkel.

 

What a great show, and as they are currently on a World-wide tour I would urge everyone to go and see it. It is more than a concert or a tribute act, it is as the title suggests The Simon and Garfunkel story.

 

It starts with The Sound of Silence and with their full backing band and a backdrop of black and white tv shows highlighting some of the key issues of the 60’s. After that the duo took to the stage on their own to play some of their early folk music from their first album “Wednesday Morning 3am”.

 

Going along and playing their music of time they told the story of the duo and how they ended up going their separate ways with Paul Simon heading over to the UK and then getting back together to record the album Sound of Silence in 1966. Adam Dickinson performs some songs from that period on his own.

 

With the show in two parts, it included some great film backdrop including some footage of the Vietnam war while playing “Scarborough Fair” they then went on to play a number of tracks, with the band, from their 5 albums, yes they only recorded 5 albums together.

 

While the harmonies for all the songs were excellent the highlight for me was the songs from their 25 million plus selling album “Bridge Over Troubled water” with Cameron Potts doing a fantastic solo rendition of the title track that Art Garfunkel himself would have been proud of.

 

Overall it was a fantastic show and one I would urge you to go and see. This is as good as it gets as you will not get to see Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel together as both turn 81 this year and have had a number of major fall outs over the years with their last studio album being the afore mentioned Bridge Over Troubled Water in 1970, although they did get together and do the odd concert, including the Central Park concert in 1981 which was attended by 500,000 people, such was their popularity.

 

They are at the start of a comprehensive world wide tour which includes a Large number of venues in England, Wales, Ireland, USA, Canada, Sweden and the Czech Republic. They will be back in Scotland in May 2023 and in particular The Queens Hall in Edinburgh on the 7th of May, which I will make sure I am in attendance.

 

Overall, a fantastic show that I highly recommend.

                                                                                                                        Reviewed by Radio Saltire's Colin Torley 29th September 2022