Olly Murs at Newbury Racecourse 2017

Olly Murs

Ladies Day

Newbury Racecourse

Saturday 19th August 2017 

The horse racing at Ladies Day at Newbury racecourse is always topped off with a gig by a well known artist. 

In recent years we have had Will Young and Meatloaf to name but a couple.

This year, blessed with a rain free day, the honour went to ex X-Factor contestant Olly Murs.

OK he may not have won the 2009 talent competition but you could argue that he has seen more success than the eventual winner Joe McElderry.

Certainly his predominantly female loyal fans could not care less whether he won or not because this cheerful, very talented, singer had no problem in attracting a capacity audience to stick around for his gig after the racing. Part of the reason for this is that Murs does come across as being a down-to-earth normal bloke who can make a mistake like any "normal" person. You only need to look back at his goof in presenting X Factor in 2015. Where many a star would have been slated by the public for making the competition result look fixed Murs instead gained massive sympathy for what was after all an honest mistake by a really nice guy. I'm really glad he bounced back from this event which does not appear to have harmed his career in the slightest.

Observing at the age range of his adoring female fans in Newbury I got the feeling the younger ones love him whilst the older ones would be quite content mothering him. 

Olly knows how to keep his audience interested and if it means resorting to ripping your shirt off to make sure everybody is still paying attention towards the end of a gig that is what he will and indeed did do.

Fortunately Murs does keep fit and judging by the cheers his adoring ladies (and a few guys) seemed to rate his physique as highly as his music. I'm not convinced the partial stripping and a heck of a lot of crotch holding really adds anything to the performance but it does seem to be the in thing to do these days and I didn't hear anybody complaining.

What can't be critisized is Olly Murs incredible energy, his rapport with his audience and his enviable ability to keep his fans entertained by belting out his incredibly catchy hit songs flawlessly whilst bouncing across a stage.

I have to say I was really impressed with his performance and enjoyed him performing all his well known hits, which of course included "Troublemaker", "Dear Darlin'" and "Wrapped up". The audience singing along enthusiastically to every track.

I heard many comments as we left Newbury raving about Olly's performance and I have to say I agree that he does put on a darned good, thoroughly entertaining show from beginning to end.

I'm pretty sure the majority of the Ladies Day racegoers thought likewise

Meat Loaf last ever UK concert at Newbury Racecourse review

Well many artists international artists may have picked  London, Manchester or Birmingham for reportedly their last ever UK concert after 35 years of touring.

Meat Loaf, however, had something different in mind bestowing the last UK venue award to Newbury Racecourse !!

Not that more than 17,000 ticket holders were complaining.... the atmosphere was electric!

The gig on Saturday 17th August came at the end of a days racing at the course on "Ladies Day".

Meat Loaf Newbury Racecourse 2013

So, what was the weather like for Meat's last memories of the UK? Well typically British is the fair answer to that. Summer it may have been but the wind and the rain chose their moments carefully choosing show time to make their presence really felt.

But I don't think anybody really cared. Apart from maybe those ladies who had really made a fashion statement for "ladies day" with summer dresses and posh hats looking somewhat out of place in the deluge.

For 65 years of age I didn't see anybody disappointed in Meatloaf's performance. No he can't belt across the stage as he used to  and perhaps the vocals aren't quite what they used to be but he is still a thoroughly entertaining performer. Helping over seventeen thousand people forget the vile weather was no mean feat for a guy who has had a few medical problems in recent years.

Amidst rumours she had been sacked, long time duet partner Patti Russo may not have been there but the two female singers backing Meat did a brilliant job as you will be able to see from the video above.

Bat Out Of Hell, I'd do anything for love (but I won't do that) and You took the words right out of my mouth were amongst the greatest Meat Loaf hits on the playlist. There were a few mutters of disappointment that Two out of three ain't bad wasn't amongst them but you can't please everybody.

Was this swan song in Newbury really Meat's final UK gig? Well right now he is returning to The States for an indefinite period performing in Las Vegas.

Meat Loaf Newbury Racecourse 2013

With some artists the temptation to perform abroad again has become too great and after a few years there's been yet another "comeback" or indeed another "farewell" tour.

But something along these lines feels a little less likely here and Meat's health is probably the key. Having passed out on stage twice in recent years and having had treatment for a cyst on the vocal cords one must wonder if a "live where you work" stint in Vegas is far more sensible? Perhaps he has decided "Heaven can wait" a while longer and to ease his foot off the gas pedal a little from now on?

Only time will tell but it really does look like Newbury, Berkshire might just go down in the history books as the town which hosted Meat Loaf's last ever UK concert and a rocking good one at that!

Tony Christie 50th Anniversary Tour Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells

Tony Christie

50th Anniversary Tour

Assembly Hall Theatre

Tunbridge Wells

26th June 2011

For a guy who thought his UK career was over about 7 years ago Tony Christie is doing pretty well for himself these days. OK it had to have a bit of a kick start back in 2005 when Peter Kay and he collaborated to re release Is This The Way To Amarillo for Comic Relief. This is one event in his life that Christie is very grateful for and he's not ashamed to admit this one record gave him a new lease of life in show business.

I have to admit that before this gig it really had been 'one of those days' for me. I really wasn't in the mood for theatre. It was going to take a great concert to make me feel like like I was glad we'd made the journey.

So thank you Tony Christie it was a fabulous gig.  With no support act he performs the whole approximate 2 and a half hour show accompanied by his excellent band.

This production is of course celebrating Christie's 50 years of performing and I have to say at 68 years young he looks incredibly fit. He really does look and sound like your typical smart, suave, vocally excellent, gentleman crooner!

With a new album out (which he cheekily refers to many times as it's on sale at the venues) the play list is a selection from this, some of his classic hits and a few cover versions.

It's a nice balance. There were a couple of tracks that didn't appeal to me but I am sure even the most ardent fans don't like the occasional track from their idol.

Interspersed with the music Tony recounts his biography covering the good times, the bad and even how his stage name came about.

As regards to the old favourites be belts out beautifully Las Vegas, I Did What I Did For Maria, Is This The Way To Amarillo and Walk Like A Panther. Artists included in the cover versions include one of his favourite 80's groups The Human League.

There's a nice touch that this 50th Anniversary Tour is covering 50 venues of various shapes, sizes and locations. Big cities, small towns there's lots of variety and Tony admits he's visiting plenty of new and interesting places as a result.

But with a sound system that has to cater for all those venues this leads to the only fault I can find with the whole show. Myself and others thought the sound system far too powerful and loud for the Assembly Hall Theatre. This was not much of an issue during ballads but boy it was horrendously loud in the more uptempo tracks. Loud to the extent that it detracted from the lyrics on several songs.

The programme at £10 may have seemed at face value to be expensive. However many didn't realise that Tony had actually autographed all of these making the publication much better value.

A marvellous, outstanding value, concert from a great entertainer. I just hope that sound levels can be tweaked for the remaining smaller venues.

Level 42 30th Anniversary Tour Congress Theatre Eastbourne Review

Level 42

30th Anniversary World Tour 2010

Congress Theatre

Eastbourne

19th October 2010

Mark King
Mike Lindup
Nathan King

Sean Freeman

Pete Biggin

Please note the sound quality on my video above is not up to the high standard in the theatre, but as it was taken only on a standard compact camera it could be worse.

There was a good size crowd to appreciate one of the 1980's top bands however given the fact Hastings and Brighton are within easy reach of Eastbourne I really thought this was going to be nearer to a capacity crowd.

Whether the empty seats were down to lack of advertising, people saving money in difficult times or a thought that Level 42 could not match their performances of the 1980s I don't know.

What I do know is that if any Level 42 fans had filled those seats they would have had a great time watching one of the best gigs the Congress Theatre has ever seen.

I'll begin with the support act though, The Deep MO. Yolanda Charles the lead singer has a beautiful voice but the music itself really wasn't to my taste. Their sound is primarily funk with some R n B, Hip Hop and soul thrown into the mix.

The first couple of tracks in their 30 minute stint I found bearable but when the funk and hip hop undertones dominated the remaining tracks I started wishing for the main act to appear.

That's not to say they weren't excellent performers. Indeed many in the audience, who like their sound, gave them a great reception and I know they sold many CD's in the interval. But that is the thing about support acts they are always going to get a mixed reception, not everybody likes the same thing.

Yolanda and her fellow band members have a large number of supporters though so if you want to check them out further try here http://www.myspace.com/thedeepmo

The support act has no bearing on my rating for this show as they weren't the main act. I won't give them an individual rating either as it's not their fault I don't like their type of music.

At around 8.30pm Level 42 appeared to a massive reaction from the Eastbourne crowd.

You'll probably get a good gist of the show's content from my video compilation. The playlist was a mixture of the greatest hits and popular 'B' sides from their 1980 to 1994 heyday period. On the whole it seemed that the playlist was mainly in a reverse chronological order working back from the later to earlier hits.

All the 'old favourites' were in there Lessons In Love, Running In The Family, Something About You, The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) and many more. With a single ballad and an utterly incredible long instrumental there was a heck of a lot to appreciate in their approximate 90 minute gig.

There have been several member changes in Level 42 over the years but it is great that Lindup is now back in the lineup on keyboard with his incredible falsetto vocals alongside lead singer Mark King. The current 5 replicate the sound of the original band perfectly. Sax Player Sean Freeman was particularly good at lugging his instrument to all corners of the stage to demonstrate his musical skills to all sections of the audience.

Whilst on the subject of the Congress Theatre audience. Well done Level 42. I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw all levels of this theatre on their feet because they wanted to be on their feet, not because an act encouraged them to stand. To see people in the grand circle dancing away is a rare occurence here!

Mark King was very complimentary about the Congress Theatre saying what a superb venue it was for a gig and that the band they had decided on Eastbourne instead of Brighton. He's right it is an excellent venue for bands - it's just a shame we don't see more acts of this type coming here instead of the Brighton Centre which I actually dislike as a venue due to a horrible seating plan and expensive parking. Perhaps now we've seen the likes of McFly and Level 42 here more acts may hear what a great auditorium the Congress Theatre has? 

Mark King, according to Wikipedia, is now 52 years old. Yet here he was was bouncing around the stage with the energy of a hyperactive teenager. Whether that's all adreneline fuelled for the show and he then goes off stage and collapses in a comfy armchair with a mug of cocoa I have no idea. But it can't do his ego any harm that young female fans were still screaming at him as if he'd just become the latest icon on X-Factor.

I wish he'd been on hand at Joe Pasquale's show the other night to deal with the gobby heckler. King was taking no rubbish from anybody in the audience. When a male heckler started trying to request his own track playlist he shut the guy up instantly when he said forcefully "This isn't a conversation.... it's a gig!" Nice one Mark! Heard nothing from Mr Loudmouth after that. 

It was also nice that the leader of the band hung around at the end to shake the hands of anybody at the front of the auditorium.

The only icing on the cake, as far as I was concerned, would have been to get my extortionately priced programme signed. Come on guys £10 is ridiculous value given the content. No wonder not many were being sold. It seemed that more people were interested in T-Shirts than programmes. Reduce the price to a more reasonable £6 and you'll shift loads (although it may be a little late in this tour).

Would anybody not have enjoyed Level 42? Only perhaps those non-fans who were being 'forced' by their partners to accompany them. Everybody else, especially those who were teens in the 80's, had a fantastic time reliving memories of a great musical era.

They say their next tour will be in 2012. If you come back to Eastbourne we'll be there!