 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here's a few comments:
This truly was a remarkable concert at the Royal Festival Halll in London on Thursday evening.
Don Black is now 76 but looks 20 years younger. The format was that Michael Grade and Don Black were seated in armchairs on the left of the stage and Grade interviewd Don about his career between the songs. When the songs were performed the lights were dimmed on Grade and Black. As Don sat in the semi darkness and watched these great songs from his long career performed so beautifully, I was reminded of Peter O’Toole sitting in the darkness listening to Jodie Foster in ‘Svengali’
The playlist was:
Walk Away –Michael Ball
To Sir With Love- Frances Ruffelle
Ben- Gregory Porter/Eliza Doolittle (I think!!)
Take That Look Off Your Face- Marti Webb
Tell Me On A Sunday- Marti Webb
Shakalaka Baby (Bombay Dreams)- Preenja Kaldas
On Days Like These- Gregory Porter
Heres To The Heros- Only Man Aloud
Born Free- Kerry Ellis/Brian May
The James Bond Theme (to introduce the Bond song section)
Thunderball- Marc Almond
The Man With The Golden Gun- Eliza Doolittle
The World Is Not Enough- David Arnold
Diamonds Are Forever- Katie Melua
Friends For Life- Laura Wright/Only Men Aloud
Did I Make The Most Of Loving You( Downton Abbey) Mary Jess
Some Of Us Belong To The Stars- Gary Wilmot
I’m Hopeless When It Comes To You (Stephen Ward)-Joanna Riding
Richard Stilgoe
As If We Never Said Goodbye (Sunset Boulevard)- Maria Friedman
Just One Look- (Sunset Boulevard) Maria Friedman
Love Changes Everything (Aspects Of Love)- Michael Ball
Don said that the three most influential people in his career were John Barry, Matt Munro and Andrew Lloyd Webber He told how Matt Munro when told that Tony Bennett wanted to meet him following a performance at The Talk Of The Town, complained that he’d arranged to go out for a curry.
He said that he often needed just the briefest outline of a story to compose the theme song lyrics.He wrote ‘To Sir With Love’ following a telephone conversation with James Clavell where he was given a 10 second synopsis. He said that John Barry loved ‘Walk Away’ and that led to him being asked to write the Thunderball lyrics. He said that he wrote frequently with Barry until he leff UK to live in US in 1975 then collaboration was less frequent.
He said that ‘Billy’ was a vey happy experience. He told how the Austrian producer of the show took Dick Clement, Ian LeFrenais, Keith Waterhouse, Willis Hall, John Barry and himself out to lunch and told them this would be the happiest time of their lives. They were part of a hit musical and were in good health. Things would never be as good again. Those comments had stayed with Don.
He said that his favourite song was Telll Me On A Sunday’. Sunset Boulevard was a dream project and one of Lloyd Webber’s best scores.
He told how Quincy Jones had really struggled with On Day’s Like These for The Italian Job and spent days locked away in a Marble Arch hotel until the melody came to him.His jazz/blues background made it a little more difficult to come up with a romantic theme.
When Don was talking about his work on the Bond songs, Grade intervened on two separate occasions to state that John Barry didn’t compose the James Bond Theme but did the arrangement. Very odd as they weren’t discussing the Bond theme and Black has nothing to do with it. There would appear to be some paronia at BBC about needing to avoid doing anything that upsets Monty Norman.
The songs were all performed very well. Beatifully accompanied by The BBC Concert Orchestra. Some highlights:
Michael Ball’s ‘Walk Away’ got the proceedings off to a beautiful start. I usually don’t like ‘Here’s To The Heros, far preferring Barry’s instrumental but the version performed here was just gorgeous, Beautifully sang with a fabulous arrangenet. Powerful and moving, I felt my eyes watering.
Before the concert an acoustic version of Diamonds are Forever by Katie Mellua wouldn’t have appealed to me but it was wonderful and adds a new dimension to the classic Barry/Bond song.
Marti Webb sang the two songs from ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’ as well as she did 30 years ago and hasn’t changed a bit.
David Arnold showed again his considerable vocal ability on The World Is Not Enough’ sitting at a piano in the middle of the orchestra. Marc Almond came on stage to sing Thunderball looking a little overwealmed to be there but did a great job on what is not an easy song to sing.
What a great version of Born Free by Kerry Eliss with Brian May performing a great electic guitar solo. This version had extra lyrics that Don had written for the Born Free Foundation.
Eliza Doolittle’s version of ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ was better than Lulu’s IMO. She has a better voice and there was a great big band jazz instrumental interlude which added a lot to the song.
Mary Jess did a fab job on Did I make The Most Of Loving You’ from Downton Abbey and we were treated to the world premiere of one of the songs from ‘Stephen Ward’ the musical about the 1963 Profumo scandal that opens in December.
Other highlights: ‘Friends For Life’ sung by Laura Wright and Only Men Aloud, the song composed for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, one of Black’s most requested songs and a real beauty. Don had given Richard Stilgoe sets of rhyming words such as Maxine and vaccine, Connecticut and etiquette. Stilgoe then made them into a coherent song! Very clever and much enjoyed by the audience.
Elaine Page was supposed to appear but pulled out and was replaced by Maria Friedman who gave simply beautiful stunning powerhouse versions of’ As If We Never Said Goodbye ‘and ‘Just one look’.
A t the end, with all performers on stage, Don sang the last few lines of ‘Love Changes Everything’ but when he came to the last very high note he just said ‘Goodnight and God bless, ladies and gentlemen’.
A truly memorable night. If you're in UK, don’t miss it when it’s shown on on BBC4 over Christmas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No TRUE GRIT ??
|
|
|
|
|
|
No TRUE GRIT ??
Sadly not. It would have been on my list. So many songs to choose from!
|
|
|
|
|
|
This concert is televised tonight on BBC4 19.30-2100 Uk time
Repeated 0230-0400 UK time
|
|
|
|
|
|
dp
|
|
|
|
|
|
dp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terribly sad to read bout that, Thomas. Thank you for letting us know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
