Fortunate Son - one night in London with John Fogerty

Two in a week? That's insane, surely. Not on this occasion. Fresh off the back of Beyonce's triumphant show at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, I adopted a slight change of pace a mere two days later, venturing to Dalston for an evening of 'Conversation + Song' (as the event was called) with American legend, John Fogerty. 

This was a very last minute decision, as I only bought the ticket the day before. I was gutted not to secure Glastonbury tickets this year, a feeling which was only worsened when the lineup was announced and Fogerty was on it. I love Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and the chance to see the now 80-year-old Fogerty felt like it had been missed as tickets to the Somerset festival escaped my grasp on both general sale and resale. Hope was not lost, when I saw an advert for this small event via an Instagram targeted advert. I know we are all wary of big tech, and we should be very worried about how our data and cookies are being mined for corporate gain, but I am thankful to the cybergods that that advert popped up on my five hundredth scroll of the day. 

So, as my day edged to a close, I hopped on a Lime bike over to Dalston to see a living legend in the flesh. 

The venue

The venue was EartH, in Dalston. The theatre refers to itself as being in Hackney, but this is certainly Dalston. As a result, I had to consider whether I could find baggy enough trousers to fit in with the Dalston crowd. Unfortunately, I am a loyal slim jeans wearer (they will come back into fashion, I'm sure of it) so shorts and a t-shirt were the uniform. And was I glad to be wearing shorts. This theatre is fairly old school, with the concept of air conditioning seemingly an extremist viewpoint. The place was sweltering. 

The seating was no more than the stairs leading down to the stage, so people were sat on steps. I was forced to burrow myself into a corner near the front, but this actually gave me a fantastic view. I did not get a chance to explore much of the venue, in part because there was not much more of it. There are two bars at the top of the arena area, but they are very small and draught drinks non-existent.

The crowd

I think it would be a fair estimate to suggest that I was one of the youngest people in attendance on this Wednesday night. That is not to suggest that the crowd was all old farts, but the ages probably ranged from 28 to 70. Everyone was in good spirits and excited to hear Fogerty's stories and songs. 

The event

John Fogerty was late. Slated to be a 7pm start time, the queue out of the door was still in full force at 7.15. Fogerty didn’t come on stage until around 10 to 8, but we can forgive a legend for being late.

Brief context. CCR brainchild John Fogerty is one of the most prolific and brilliant songwriters of all time. Responsible for rock classics Fortunate Son, Midnight Special, Run through the Jungle and others, Fogerty’s track record is nonstop hits. After the split of CCR, Fogerty embarked on a solo career which continues to this day.

However, Fogerty has been plagued by a recently concluded legal battle to obtain ownership of the songs he wrote. In his entire career, from a debut album in 1968 to 2023, he had never owned his music. This changed in 2023, when he won his legal battle and obtained the rights to the music which made him. Even so, he is now releasing Legacy, a collection of re-recorded songs – “John’s Version”, as the album describes. I have always been sceptical of the re-recording game and have cynically seen it as a good opportunity for artists to grab some cash. Unfortunately, my feelings remain the same (please don’t read this John Fogerty and if you do I apologise and I love you).

And Legacy is what this evening is in aid of – a Q&A and brief performance to explain the journey to Legacy, what’s next and to remember good times.

The Q&A spanned Fogerty’s childhood, with some great anecdotes about his early love of music up to CCR’s early days, cumulating into a lengthy explanation of the legal battle which had plagued him for nearly 50 years. It was informative, funny and ultimately surreal to be in the room with a living legend regaling us with tales of old. The legal battle was particularly interesting; you could really tell how it had been a burden on Fogerty for years and years.

And then the main event. Fogerty treated us to three songs, flanked by his sons on acoustic guitars. The three were, for some, the gold, silver and bronze of CCR: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Bad Moon Rising and Proud Mary. All three are certified classics. Fogerty explodes into a new kind of energy when performing and his voice is incredible shape for an 80-year-old. Naturally, there are countless other songs we would have all loved to have heard, but three was special and left me feeling very satisfied. I had not expected to ever see Fogerty live and this unique event was brilliant. As I filed out of EartH with Nando’s in my sights, I realised how surreal the whole event had really been. It is rare to see legends live, let alone in a tiny theatre in London on a Wednesday night. Any Glastonbury revellers be aware – Fogerty will put on a hell of a show.