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...