Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After a bit of a hiatus, today marked a return to live entertainment as I made my way to Birmingham's fantastic Symphony Hall. This is my favourite music venure. Not just for it's beauty, great acoustics and sightlines, but most importantly because it is opposite athe Brindley Place branch of the Handmade Burger Co. where, as a Symphony Hall member, I get a discount.
Having over-filled myself up with Jimmy's cheese and bacon burger, hand cut chips, Oreo cookie shake and apple pie sundae, I made my way across the canal into the Symphony Hall where ABC were to perform in full their classic debut album The Lexicon of Love, released back in 1982. They were joined on stage by the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.
Ms Dudley was involved in the original recording of the album. She's probably most famous as an Oscar winner for the soundtrack of The Full Monty. She's been involved with many other scores including Les Miserables and strings arrangments on numerous pop hits for the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Petula Clark, Cher, Pet Shop Boys, OMD and many others. But I first knew of her as one of the founding members of the fantastically inventive Art of Noise.
The show begain with just the orchestra performing the Lexicon of Love Overture, which was followed by an announcment that there would be a short delay as some band members were stuck in a lift! While waiting, we were treated to a reprise of the overture, by the end of which the trapped musicians had been freed.
The show then started in earnest with When Smokey Sings, followed by some other classics including The Night You Murdered Love, How To Be A Millionaire, Be Near Me etc, and a brand new track, Flames of Desire, from the forthcoming album.
After the interval, they launched straight into the Lexicon of Love, an album that is class from beginning to end, including the hits Tears Are Not Enough, Poison Arrow, The Look of Love and All of My Heart. The hall was soon jumping.
They reprised The Look of Love for the encore, before ending a fantastic night's entertainment.
- comments