As a (very late) birthday treat, my dear sister and hubby The History Boy had purchased tickets for us all to go and see one of my favourite artists of all time, the Queen of the Torch Song Mr Marc Almond - and so it was we headed to the cavernous environs of the Royal Festival Hall last night. As we sat in the bar waiting for the doors to open, all our familiar "Almondettes" were gathering around us, not least Ange, little Tony, Roland, our Paul, Bryanne and Simon.
The excitement was palpable - and the concert certainly lived up to all expectations.
OK - as is his wont, Marc does sometimes wobble through a vocal, and this was certainly the case in the early stages yesterday; not helped of course by the fact that the clutch of opening numbers from his new album Shadows and Reflections were so unfamiliar to many in the audience that we were left unsure quite how the originals should sound if performed perfectly. Nor by the fact that he "had phlegm". One thing is a "given" where Marc is concerned, however; so adored is he that were were all prepared to make allowances for anything. This is the man who, as we know, survived a catastrophic brain injury in a motorbike crash in 2004 and was never expected to live, let alone perform. Yet here, ten years on from his first return to the stage after convalescence, he continued to do just that - holding his devotees in the palm of his hand, and selling-out a 2,500-seater venue such as this within minutes of tickets going on sale.
Things very soon picked up as the great man gathered his proverbial skirts for what he half-jokingly described as "two hours of depressing songs full of melancholy". And it was true, in part. We could have done without the Russian folk songs, but those aside, many of the songs he chose to perform were impressive. He injected his trademark camp melodrama into some of the most gut-wrenching anthems to love - lost, unrequited, or merely fleeting - in the book, including such favourite tear-jerkers as Dusty Springfield's I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten, Jacques Brel's Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away) and Charles Aznavour's What Makes a Man?, and lesser-known ballads as Timi Yuro's Interlude and Bobby Darin's Not For Me, together with some beautiful ones of his own such as Just Good Friends, No-one to Say Goodnight To, Embers, Winter Sun and Scar [which, I commented, in its fabulously-arranged acapella gorgeousness could well be a hit for someone like Adele]:
Of course, it was not all "misery"... Also on the bill, and met with huge applause, were some of his more upbeat classics such as The Days of Pearly Spencer, Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart, Hand Over My Heart, Torch and Jacky:
Now celebrating his sixtieth year, (despite our misgivings at the beginning) Marc Almond is still in fine and impressive voice. He can still hold a belter of a closing note, and, with the estimable support of the brilliant backing singers and the mini-orchestra (and guest accompanist Martin Watkins), produced a cornucopia of classy entertainment that is still ringing in my ears today. Not least this rollicking finale!
...and this poignant cover of a much-loved David Cassidy standard How Can I Be Sure? - which also happens to be his new single:
Magnificent! I am truly glad I went, and eternal thanks to Hils and Crog for making it so.
To catch all the news, the gossip, the tour dates, and to buy a copy of the album visit the Marc Almond official website
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