Concert Reviews

His youngest son Michael Jr in conversation with the epic broadcaster Michael Parkinson, who at the age of 82, is still a charismatic figure. Aided by clips from the iconic TV show ‘Parkinson’ the evening focused very much on the show itself and the many celebrities that came and went during its run from 1971 to 1982 and 1998 to 2007 respectively but also covers some personal stories about his upbringing and his experiences as a broadcaster with all the ups and downs this brings. Although all clips were from the ‘The Best of Parkinson’ DVD which has been released some years ago, it was still lovely to hear him talk about towering figures like Orson Welles or his duet with Bing Crosby. A truly enjoyable evening

Originally planned to take the slot of support act were ‘Men without hats’ but mere days before the Birmingham gig that was changed to Dan Burton, a young man, probably in his early 20s who has just released his very first EP. While battling some sound issues especially related to his microphone Burton played some high energy pop, reminiscent of the good old 80s and 90s and his songs were poppy and easy to listen to. Dan himself was really sweet and friendly and well received by the audience. xx Howard Jones’s set included all the greats including ‘Like to get to know you well’, ‘Hide & seek’, ‘No one is to blame’, ‘Human Touch’, the ever beautiful ‘What is love’ and ‘You know I love you … don’t you?’ which he dedicated to the audience. Armed with a drummer, a percussionist (all electronic of course), a guitarist and an additional synthesizer guy Howard Jones, whose voice is still superb, upped the ante from the start and the songs were all amazing...

Pop legend Howard Jones joined by Men without hats is going on his 'Best' tour and he will be in Birmingham in November. Another legend, talk show host extraordinaire Sir Michael Parkinson will also come to Birmingham in November 2017 and I will be there xx

Support act: Isgar Three-piece opener ‘Isgar’ are a somewhat unusual choice for a support act until you realise that their synth-man is also working for Erasure. While singer Beth’s voice is hugely impressive and their songs are emotionally deep (how refreshing) their short set didn’t really allow me to get into their music, mainly because there is ‘sparse’ and then there is ‘too empty’ as far as the overall sound was concerned. Enjoyable nonetheless.  The Roundhouse is an iconic venue and with Erasure being an iconic band – this evening was epic. Before embarking on a stadium tour as support act to Robbie Williams, Erasure played three gigs in support of their new album ‘World be gone’, which peaked at #6 in the UK charts and deservedly so. The mostly downbeat, reflective and thought-provoking album is in many ways an unusual album in the high energy catalogue of the band’s work but it captures Erasure at their best. The stage is simple and the lighti...

The Birmingham & Midlands Institute, Birmingham With masterclasses, performances and talks including Q&A, the electronic music conference in Birmingham had interesting and influential musicians to offer. While organiser Chris Wave said very little and showed a 26 minute 1980’s film called ‘Knights electric’ with a great soundtrack and a crappy storyline during his 30 minutes set the event really became meaningful when the various conveyors of electronic music gave their talks and allowed plenty of time for audience members to ask questions. First up was synthesist Richard Barbieri whose band ‘Japan’ enjoyed success in the mid 1970s into the early 1980’s and especially their album ‘Tin Drum’ is seen as ground-breaking. Not as big in their home country as they should have been, Japan still had a large following in the UK. Barbieri was a down to earth guy who openly talked about the trappings of working on projects alone and the joys of collaborating and recalled some ...