How many recording artists that have emerged in the past few years can you comfortably predict will still be going strong in 50 years’ time? 2065 seems such a long time away.
Celebrating her 50th year in show business with her new album released on the Decca label, the first new material for the label Lulu had recorded since moving to Columbia records in 1966, Lulu is once again touring the UK. This is her first tour in 11 years and it shows what the British public have been missing out on for over a decade.
Putting aside the fact this concert began some 45 minutes after the advertised time with no explanation this did not dampen the mood of the enthusiastic audience. Virtually every seat was sold at The Lowry, many of which were filled by diehard fans of Lulu.
Lulu performs a balanced mix of songs old and new displaying her exceptional power from one so slight in build. Dressed in a black and white suit with black trilby she look every inch the pop star along with her superb 5 piece band.
With 22 albums and 72 singles to her name so far her new album ‘Making Life Rhyme’ a self-penned album bar two tracks it is probably some of her best work to date. Lulu speaks during the show of feeling she wasn’t good enough to write songs, but realised a few years ago she had learnt from one of the greatest, Maurice Gibb during their brief marriage.
‘Relight my Fire’ almost inevitably for a gig in the North West features early on in the concert as the show begins with some upbeat numbers in which the band seemed to drown out the vocals at some points. Hopefully this was just first night problems and admittedly improved during the second half of the evening.
Highlight of the evening was the stunning ‘Where the Poor Boys Dance’ first released in 2000 and had the audience hanging onto every lyric throughout as it was perfectly performed. Of course in any Lulu show the culmination of the evening was ‘Shout’ probably one of the most recognisable songs from the 60’s.
With over 50 years in the business Lulu shows no sign of stopping, and with the quality of music she is now producing this can only be a good thing.
Reviewer: Joanne Hibbert
Reviewed: 10th May 2015
