Anastacia shines at Hampton Court

Hampton Court Palace Festival 2016

Wednesday 8th to Thursday 23rd June 2016
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, KT8 9AU, England MAP
varies depending on the event from £45 to £95

Daily capacity: 3,000

Today was kinda special, seeing one of your favourite artists in such an historic venue. I absolutely love Hampton Court in London, it just oozes history. As part of the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations artists were invited to play at the Hampton Court Festival, which is a five/six day extravaganza of wall-wall stars including Tom Jones and Katherine Jenkins.

Tonight was about Anastacia and 'The Ultimate Collection Tour'. It was an historic occasion with Hampton Court acting as a wonderful scenic backdrop and the pure class that was Anastacia was gonna do her thang.

Before the gig the gates opened at 5.30pm so all the punters could enjoy their picnics in the lush summer sunshine. It was a relaxed affair, deckchairs, picnic blankets and benches were full of people stuffing their faces with dainty triangle sarnies, pork pies, cocktail sausages, you know the drill, and obviously quaffing copious amounts of champers. It was a perfect start to what would turn out to be an amazing evening.

I wondered around the venue aimlessly snapping the wonderful court and stumbled upon two wonderful ladies (they actually called themselves vagrants!) from, believe it or not, our neck of the woods, it's amazing to go to gigs and hook up with other people that are mad about live music and in particular Anastacia.

Anastacia, is like marmite, you either love her to bits or I guess you don't. My wife and I have differing opinions, we both admire the woman to bits, especially after the trials and tribulations she's been through, she's got balls and sass and I totally love that, she loves her fans, which is a rarity in the music business nowadays, and she's still sexy in her forties and oozes talent, what's not to like?

Merchandise for the show was actually reasonable, T-shirts at £20 and programmes at £15, I guess any fan would love either in their collection! The show kicked off at 9.00pm, Anastacia looking rather hot, as usual. In tight jeans, sandals, long sleeved top and red leather jacket.'Army of Me' kicked off the show and what a start it was too. I'd forgotten how powerful her voice was. Tonight just reinforced how much I love this woman. I never tire of hearing her voice and she has so much passion and verve on stage and for life.

The stonker 'Sick and Tired' bellowed around the hall followed up by 'Stupid Little Things', one of my favourites off the 'Resurrection' album. There were obviously some funny bits in-between songs, especially as Anastacia is a comedian at the best of times. I've always thought Anastacia has an amazing outlook on life, she can laugh and is always joking about but has a serious side, thanking fans for sticking with her and supporting her, and allowing her to do what she loves most.

Fan Favourites 'Paid My Dues' and 'Welcome to My Truth' were both totally awesome, I loved it. Backed by an amazing band there were no bounds for Anastacia, every song was a masterpiece, the section in the show where she sings with lead Guitarist DeeRal was exceptional and showed the powerhouse's versatility, her voice is absolutely breath-taking,'Everything Burns' had the goose pimples on my neck come out in force.

Each band member and backing singer was given the spot light for a short while, where Miss Anastacia introduced them. Four costume changes throughout the show, Anastacia looked stunning, even my wife commented on her figure and how amazing she looks for her age.

The two songs that stood out for me last night were 'You'll Never Be Alone', (and Whose Gonna Stop the Rain), always makes me cry cause the lyrics mean so much to the special person in your life. Anastacia said it's a song she dedicated to her Fanily, but which they dedicated back to her after all her health problems. I loved the sentiment; it made the song even more special.

review by: Michelle Owen-Williams

photos by: Michelle Owen-Williams