ShareMarc Almond performing his Shadows And Reflections Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Tuesday 31st October 2017.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
Few fans would have predicted that after taking the charts by storm with Soft Cell partner, Dave Ball, on the electronically reworked Gloria Jones 1965 hit Tainted Love that Marc Almond would still be playing to packed audiences in 2017. But that is exactly what he did at the Royal Concert Hall last night.
Strolling out on to the stage, dressed all in black donning a pair of shades, he kicked off his 26 song set with the title track of his latest album, Shadows And Reflections. Backed by an excellent 17 piece band, complete with small brass and string sections together with talented backing singers, Almond gently made his way through some unfamiliar iconic torch songs.
The powerful cover of Billy Fury’s I’m Lost Without You set the tone for the evening with Bobby Darin’s Not For Me being wonderfully transformed with the addition of the strings. The Young Rascals 1967 hit, How Can I Be Sure transported the females in the crowd right back to their David Cassidy days, whilst Burt Bacharach’s Blue On Blue was just stunning.
There was an upbeat The Days Of Pearly Spencer and an amazing performance of Something’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, which he famously sang alongside the late legendary singer and songwriter, Gene Pitney back in the late 80s.
With Almond’s vocals never missing a beat, despite a cough and sore throat, the songs just kept coming. Particular highlights was an a capella version of Scars with its incredible faultless vocal arrangement and Dusty Springfield’s I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten with its huge musical arrangement.
Soft Cell hit Torch also featured as did Jacky which had the crowd on their feet for the first time, and with Almond heading for the finishing line, he rounded off this truly entertaining show with Say Hello Wave Goodbye, and left the stage to a well deserved standing ovation.
