20/10/2006 Bill Hurley & The Enforcers in Barnet

Subject	Bill Hurley & The Enforcers in Barnet
PostedDate	10/20/2006
	I was interested when I spotted a poster in The Bell & Buck with Bill Hurley's name on it - I remember seeing him years ago when he used to front R&B outfit The Inmates - I mean proper R&B - not that crap that takes it's name in vain these days and contains only souless computerised rhythms and no blues whatsoever. Bill Hurley & The Enforcers in a local pub for free had to be worth checking out - I wondered if he still played any Inmates stuff like 'The Walk' or 'Dirty Water'? I arrived to find a bog standard typical pub rock blues band playing - the guy singing wasn't Bill Hurley. As with most bands of this type, they were excellent musicians - but as it often the case, as dull as (dirty) ditchwater. This was the Enforcers? I'm afraid it was. The only thing they were likely to 'enforce' on me was sleep. Mr Hurley was sitting this song out - as he did with several during the band's first set of rather predictable pub standards. It could have been worse I suppose - at least there was no 'Mustang Sally' or 'Brown Eyed Girl'. When the by now slightly portly and long grey haired Bill Hurley decided to grace the stage with his presence for a few songs his voice was strong and powerful, but nothing to get that excited about - I've seen older and fatter singers give more lively and enthusistic performances in local pubs. The second set wasn't much of an improvement - not too much solid rhythm but plenty of blues. Once again Bill left his harmonica player to sing a lot of the songs and if I'd paid to see this I would have felt cheated. They weren't bad band at all musically, but this seemed like yet another pub blues band just going through the motions. They never did play any Inmates songs.

PS: This pub is now shut.