The ECHO was in attendance for the emotional moment during the band’s homecoming gig at the Philhamonic Hall
Emma Bridget joined the band on stage to thank the first aid heroes who saved Lionel Duke’s life(Image: Liverpool ECHO )
The crowd in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall gave a huge ovation last night in tribute to the first aid heroes who saved The Christians drummer, Lionel Duke. The Liverpool band performed to a jam packed hometown crowd last night as part of an entertaining double bill with The Blow Monkeys.
It was The Christians first full live show in their home city since On The Waterfront in June when Lionel suffered a cardiac arrest when the band were supporting Sting at the Pier Head festival. Frontman Garry Christian noticed something wrong early on in the set when Lionel had collapsed over his drumkit and immediately called for medical attention.
The prompt service saved the drummer’s life and he has incredibly made a quick enough recovery to be back with the band on stage. The Christians took to the stage during the second half of the show at the Hope Street venue on Thursday night. Garry immediately referenced the nightmare incident in June as he gestured towards his bandmate.
He said: “He’s alive. The reason he’s here is because of some people in the audience. Your forever in our hearts, so thank you.” The band had invited the first aiders from Merseyside Water Rescue who saved Lionel to show to thank them for their service.
They paid another heartfelt tribute later on in the show, when the band’s manager, Emma Bridget, joined the group on stage. Emma apologised for interrupting the flow of hits as the group ramped towards the finale of their set.
However, the crowd was delighted as Emma once again paid tribute to the Water Rescue service. The spotlight was put on the group of people as the crowd erupted in applause.
The Merseyside Water Rescue service was thanked in an emotional moment at the Philharmonic Hall
Emma said: “For anyone that was there on the day, we are just incredibly lucky because if it had happened anywhere else, he wouldn’t be here. It was only because we had doctors and the Merseyside Water Rescue and we wanted to say such a big thank you to everyone.
“We’ve had literally thousands of people asking after Lionel and we’re just so happy he’s alive and that’s all. Thank you.”
A member of the crowd shouted for Lionel to do a speech as frontman led chants of his bandmate’s names, before he joked: “Lionel, come and sing us a song.”
Garry turned 70 this year, but showed no signs of slowing down as he held the crowd in the palm of his hand across the course of an entertaining evening. The frontman spoke to the ECHO this year ahead of the gig and recalled the traumatic moment Lionel suffered a heart attack.
He said: “The first part of the day was so exciting to be playing in front of 14,000 Scousers. That’s a great big thing. What happened is we started the show and we did Forgotten Town and we went into Born Again.
“In the intro of the next song, I was thinking this doesn’t sound right. I’m facing the audience, so I don’t know what’s going on behind me. I look around and I saw Lionel hunched over his kit.
“I thought, ‘What’s he doing fixing his pedal now?’ I realised he wasn’t moving and I dashed over there. I had to crouch down. I looked at his face and his eyes were just fixed. Then it all went crazy.”
Garry claimed Lionel’s quick recovery is typical of his character. He said: “Lionel is built like an ox and he’s a strong man. “People were worried he was going to die, but, secretly, I just knew he was going to survive this. He’s back with us and he’s in amazing shape. Lionel is that type of guy. He doesn’t let anything get in his way. He’s a brilliant drummer. Everyone thought the worse, but he’s back with us and he’s playing better than ever.”
Garry said that Lionel’s Scouse roots is one of the reasons why he felt confident he had the toughness to overcome having a heart attack on stage. He said: “It’s like what Paddy the Baddy says, ‘We’re Scousers, we don’t get knocked out’.”
Garry, who grew up in Tuebrook and now lives in Speke, remains proud of his roots in the city, as he explained how the traits he inherited from his upbringing has shaped him to be the success he is today. He said: “[In Liverpool] we don’t let people get at us. We either get around it through humour, or some other way. We won’t be had. That’s in all Scousers. We won’t be had by anybody.”
Garry loves playing in his home city and told the crowd at the Philharmonic that he hopes to see them again when they play the venue next year.