Simply Red roll back the years on the Isle of Wight
Anastacia and Simply Red at Osborne House 2009 photos
Tuesday 4th August 2009
What a difference a day makes! After the downpours of Saturday, Sunday was warm and sunny – the kind of weather you should get at a summer concert. Making the picturesque setting of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight a far more pleasant prospect.
This was the second of the Osborne Summer Concerts, and started out in the same manner as the first, seeing the first act cancel at the last minute. This time round it was the duty of 'Dutch soul sensation' Alain Clark to cede his place, for unknown reasons, to newcomer Luke White. Luke has recently toured with Status Quo and their fashion sense has obviously rubbed off on him as he took to the stage wearing white shirt, white trainers and jeans, giving the overall impression of a young Rick Parfitt.
There the similarity ended as Luke obviously knew more than three chords and played a laid back set of indie/rock numbers, that while unfamiliar to the crowd, were catchy enough to get them dancing. He ended on Joe Cocker's 'My Baby Just Wrote Me A Letter', reworked to give it a more blues feel.
Sunday's line-up was obviously more attractive as the arena was at least twice as full as it was on Saturday, even at this early stage. It was also noticeable that the average age had risen too. Once again the split between those with chairs being kept behind the sound stage, and those who were standing allowed down the front was in force, but because of the increased numbers you didn't have the sense of 'two audiences' that affected Saturday's vibe so badly.
Next up was Starsailor frontman James Walsh, who, apparently having forgotten his watch, arrived on stage ten minutes early. James has a very natural manner on stage and this solo appearance seemed to fit in naturally with the vibe of the audience. Launching straight into 'Lullaby', the combination of James' strong, emotional, vocal and his energetic strumming on the guitar soon grabbed the crowd’s attention.
Starsailor as a band have become more anthemic and rocky as their career has developed, so it was refreshing to hear their music stripped back down again for this set. James played a good selection of numbers from his back catalogue favouring the earlier work such as 'Alcoholic' and 'Silence is Easy'. He was clearly at ease in his solo role, and enamoured with the setting, telling the crowd "This is the biggest and most beautiful place I've played solo thus far."
He ended the set with Abba's 'Dancing Queen' which while not quite the audience "singalong" he'd announced it to be, was still a surprising end to a short set - too short as it transpired - James had barely left the stage before he was back on, his lack of timepiece failing him again, explaining that, "this isn't an encore – I've just been told I haven't played for long enough!" He then finished with a slightly meandering version of his band's biggest hit 'Good Souls'.
With the supports out of the way, the crowd were now able to turn their attention to the real draw of the evening, the half an hour preceding the arrival of Simply Red on stage was punctuated by cries of "we love you Mick" and other unfathomable declarations of desire for the bands lead singer.
The band arrived on stage promptly at 9.15, launching into 'It's Only Love', Mick Hucknall joining them soon after and clearly relishing the audience's adoration, moving from one side of the stage to the other to wave and perform to the crowd like the old pro he clearly is, giving them a sense that he is singing personally to each and every one. Time hasn't diminished the strength of his voice, and he manages to switch from soft to strong, high to low, quite effortlessly.
Simply Red have an extensive back catalogue and they worked their way through it ensuring nothing was missed, from the early days with 'A New Flame', through 'Stars' and 'For Your Babies' (renamed 'For Our Babies' for the evening, referencing the family men that the band are these days), to the later songs like 'Fake' and 'Fairground'. Last night's headliner Anastacia returned stage to sing 'Holding back the Years' with the band, a song which they dedicated to recently deceased Sir Bobby Robson, describing him as "a wonderful human".
It's ironic though that the best received songs of the night were the covers, 'Night Nurse', 'The Air That I Breathe' and 'Money's Too Tight To Mention' all getting the biggest cheers, although I suspect the latter due to Mick announcing, "bankers, politicians, let's get rid of them – throw them in the Solent." The evening came to a close with one final cover - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'. A bit of an odd choice for me, as it made for a low-key ending, and the show fizzled out, rather than ending on a high.
This is Simply Red's 25th year together, and this show is part of their farewell tour, although I suspect that, having seen how well and how much they enjoy playing together, they are not the kind of band to sit back and watch the grass grow for too long.
This has been the 4th year of Osborne Summer Concerts, and while, mainly due to the style of bands performing, this is never going to be the most raucous of events, it is nonetheless one of the highlights of the Isle of Wight's growing musical calendar.
review by Marie Magowan / Steve Collins photos by Steve Collins
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