Out of all the concerts held on the Isle of Wight over the summer, Osborne house is probably the most relaxed and civilised. Set in Queen Victoria's back garden, the attendees take the chance to bring chairs, blankets and, despite a reasonable selection of food stalls, settle down to eat their picnics before the music starts.
The rain that fell earlier in the day had cleared, to bathe the venue in a warm, summer sun. There was however a strong breeze, which stopped the site from getting too hot. The wind was also a cause of embarrassment for the first act of the evening, as it caught Charley Macaulay's dress while she was on stage, causing her to inadvertently display her knickers to the audience, although she was more concerned that her brother had seen them. Charley had also opened the concert last year, and it's interesting to see how she's developed as an artist in the last 12 months. Last years performance was predominantly an acoustic affair, with only a friend helping out on guitar, and there had been a sense of vulnerability and innocence in both her voice and performance.
This year, she has grown in confidence and is now backed by a full band. The music has grown too and the songs are a lot more soulful and passionate than before. One highlight was a cover of 'Feeling Good', which showed her off at her best. The only thing that lets her down is that whilst the songs and performance have both matured, her voice hasn't, and didn't always suit the songs she was performing. A case in point was the track 'Superman' – last year it was a very simple and powerful song, but the transition to a larger band has robbed it of much of its charm, leaving Charley having to shout above the band to be heard at times. It was nice to see that she hasn't developed the "I'm a star" attitude that sometimes blights bands as they make their way up the ladder of success, and she could be seen moving freely around the site, happily mixing in with the crowds at the front of the stage. It may do her good to review her early performances, and try to work out what made her so popular at the start – if she can recapture that, then she has got the potential to go far.
Next on stage was Lizzy Pattinson, whose surname is probably best known through her brother Robert Pattinson, who is currently enjoying success as the angst-ridden vampire in the Twilight films. Lizzy's performance at times bought to mind Shania Twain – and although she has a good stage presence and a reasonable voice, the songs themselves were fairly average and didn't capture the audience's attention that well – even allowing for the laid-back nature of the typical Osborne crowd – there was an excessive amount of conversation going on during her performance that betrayed their lack of interest.
As the sun set, it was left to Will Young to reclaim the crowd's attention from their glasses of wine and sausage rolls. Fortunately he's one of those artists who appeals to a wide range of people, with both teenagers, their mums and grannies getting equally excited. It was also interesting to see that while the loudest cheers for him came from the female two-thirds of the audience, there was a sizeable group of men who were also vocal in their appreciation – and not just the gay ones.
Will Young is one of those rare people who has managed to just about shrug off his reality-star origins and become accepted as a musician and star in his own right. And I suspect this is largely down to his likeability as a person, even if you're not a great fan of his music, it's hard not to take to heart his genuine affection for people and willingness to take the gentle piss out of not just himself, but his sexuality and his status. You get the feeling that he would be just as happy to stand up on stage and talk to the audience as he is to sing for them.
Musically all the big hits were there as well as a very good cover of 'Hit the Road, Jack'. And the crowd cheered, screamed and sung along with him with gusto.
His performance also had a first for me, as it was the first time I'd seen someone actually have a song to introduce the band, half improvised though it was – each member of the band getting a verse dedicated to them, even though it had to be stopped while he recovered from a laughing fit over the bass player's inability to get his 'catchphrase' out.
My only criticism of the show was the decision to perform 'Leave Right Now', and 'Evergreen' as the last two songs of the encore. Whilst they may be his biggest hits to date, they are both quite downbeat songs that meant the evening fizzled out rather than ending on the high it could have. But despite this, it was and end to a largely enjoyable evening, in a beautiful setting.
review by Steve Collins / Marie Magowan photos by Steve Collins
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