REVIEW | 80’s Live - The Ultimate Retro Concert

Reviews

20 Jul

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Russell

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

They say if you remember the 60's then you really weren't there.

Well, if you remember the 80’s, like everyone here did tonight, you've probably still got the ‘Choose Life’ t-shirt and the glow-sticks and the shoulder pads.

80’s Live is a sing-along-with-some-of-the 80’s greatest hits, a spirit-lifting night out. It does everything it sets out to do; to make people happy and sing along with great songs from the 80’s.

Simple as that.

As the band enters the stage, your first thought is ‘Oops Butlins are missing some red coats’ or ‘There's a cruise ship with an empty stage somewhere in the Mediterranean' or ‘Phoenix Nights are holding auditions again’.

But it turns out, all the musicians and singers are superb at what they are there to do.

And, let’s be fair, most of the songs replicate the originals perfectly, vocally they sound very close to the originals but without any of the star quality.

This has got to be the highest density of over 50 and 60’s anywhere in the UK at that moment in time. But every single one of them is having a great time, rolling back the years, singing at the top of their lungs, and dancing and grooving as much as their aging bodies will allow. Think pure unadulterated fun, think of the best party you’ve ever been to. Think of being taken back to happier optimistic days, think of being taken back to your slimmer most beautiful self.

There are twenty songs in the first half and eighteen in the second half. And every one of them is a smash hit, embedded in our joint consciousness. By the time the third song of the night starts, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ every single person in the theatre is up on their feet singing along. It's magical, but the real magic begins in the second half, where Buggles ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ is sung with such pure joy, such gusto, and such volume, it must have almost been cool to be Buggles for just this one tiny moment in time.

’Come On Eileen’ is also another glorious moment. Everyone knows the words and the tempo and the range of vocal highs and lows and sings them like they’re twenty again and they've got the world at their feet.

Other highlights are the -more popular than ever, thank you Netflix- Wham three song finale and the only ballad of the night, Spandau’s ‘True’ sung by a male vocalist that doesn't sound like a fog-horn, which makes a pleasant change after all these years of listening to Tony Hadley honk his way through it!

Conspicuous by their absence are songs by Jacko, Prince, Whitney, Tina Turner, Lionel Ritchie, and Stevie Wonder. Hmmmm, bit of a theme developing there? Maybe they just aren't within the band's vocal capabilities. Maybe they weren’t given permission? Who knows.

They’ll be people that are ‘too cool for school’ that will slag off nights like this, but criticising people having a great time is a futile churlish exercise and reflects more on the critic than the party that's happening here.

Each song is vaguely represented with a reference to the original star's costume/appearance/ look. Although I'm guessing Boy George would be mortified at his representation during a bubbly rendition of ‘ Karma Chameleon’ and may well be contacting his lawyers. But it is important to remember it’s all done tongue in cheek and no one on the stage or in the audience is taking themselves too seriously.

They’ll be people that observe the jackets the band is wearing must have been the jacket salesman's dream day at work, when these guys walked in and he finally got to off-load a bright orange, an ‘Elton-john-pink’ a screaming yellow, and a vivid green number that must have been sitting in the back of his store for over forty years

Long live 80’s Live.

long live cheesey sing-a-longs.

Long live people knowing how to properly have a good time on a Tuesday night in London. Great work guys.

I can only give it five stars.

The evidence is in front of my eyes and ears and feet and emotions.

“Don’t you want me oooOOOooo…”

It's a great night out.

Wherever you are in the country, get yourself a ticket and ‘go-go’ along.

You’ll remember this night for a very long time to come.

Superb.