BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reunited

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BBC News Online: Entertainment

Tuesday, 25 January, 2000, 12:22 GMT

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reunited

Rock veterans Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young made a triumphant return to the world's music stage at the opening gig of their first tour in more than 25 years.

The notoriously quarrelsome quartet put all past differences aside to perform the three-hour, 31-song show before a delighted crowd in Detroit.

The marathon concert on Monday, in front of a 17,000-strong audience, marked the start of the group's CSNY2K tour of 34 US cities.

The gigs cover the band's work together from their heyday of the late 1960s and 1970s, to recent tracks from their latest album Looking Forward.

Broad appeal

Old favourites including Our House, Helplessly Hoping and Heartland went down well with the group's devotees.

While new tracks such as the Caribbean-influenced Faith In Me showed that age - they are in their late 50s - had not diminished the foursome's talents.

But the evening's biggest ovations came from the famed guitar standards such as Young's Southern Man, Rockin In The Free World and Crosby's protest anthem Almost Cut My Hair.

Evidence of the musicians' solo pursuits was also on the playlist with songs from Stills and Young's group Buffalo Springfield and Crosby's work with The Byrds.

Since the band formed at the height of hippie movement in the late 1960s, volatile relations between its members have brought several splits and reunions.

The group originally comprised of just David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash - who had defected from the British group The Hollies.

Neil Young joined the line-up at Woodstock, only the band's second live gig. The quartet later shared the stage with the Rolling Stones at their infamous Altamont show - where a fan was killed.

Turbulent history

Many of their songs reflected the political upheavals of the day, particularly the war in Vietnam, but there were also tensions within the band.

Neil Young famously travelled separately to the rest of band during their final tour in 1974.

David Crosby's imprisonment for drugs and firearms offences in 1985 also disrupted the band's partnership. The star was also plagued by ill-health until a liver transplant in 1994.

Controversy again looked set to hit the 58-year-old musician earlier this month.

After months of speculation, it was disclosed that Crosby was the sperm donor for lesbian singer Melissa Etheridge's two young children.

CSNY2K continues until 19 April taking in 34 cities including Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Washington, Toronto, Chicago and St Louis.

Related to this story:
Rocker Crosby's secret family (10 Jan 00 | Entertainment)

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