Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison at The Lighthouse, Poole (18.10.2025) with Steve Pilgrim supporting.
A quick note on this one. It was in the theatre of Poole Lighthouse as opposed to the larger concert hall. It holds 670 people in a steep single bank of seats and tonight it’s maybe half full.
It’s Ocean Colour Scene’s frontman, Simon Fowler, and drummer, Oscar Harrison, who are playing this acoustic treat. Oscar is mainly on keyboards and backing vocals but he occasionally swaps with the beat box drummer. It really is a very up close and personal feel – I’m in the third row. Simon Fowler plays and sings from a high chair, in the spotlights, centre stage.
No photos and no phones and everyone seemed compliant, and so I have no visuals to share. It made it extremely relaxing. Simon quietly, and with light humour, introduced the songs.
There are a few from the Ocean Colour Scene (OCS) first album ‘that none of you bought’. There are gems like Robin Hood, The Day We Caught The Train and The Circle. The Circle is about the 11C bus route that I and presumably they used to get out of Moseley, Birmingham.
Profit in Peace seems more relevant than ever. A classic protest song…almost an illustration of the genre. It’s quite emotional heard acoustic in days like these.
Better Day, another belter. I say belter: there are a few voices in the audience that shine out when the polite accompanying singing begins, spontaneously. The guy next to me is absolutely belting songs out, note and word perfect and especially notable in Robin Hood.
Fowler recalls his summer holidays of youth around Sandbanks and the Bournemouth beaches, before all the money went there. Maybe that influenced his decision to come to Poole, for which I am hugely grateful.
The Lighthouse does book the occasional gem from my world of music and tonight was one of those.
Gigs with Ivan 