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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
Photography by Dod Morrison Photography: http://www.dodmorrison.com/
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Advertised as “with special guests” we started the evening with Rachael Sage, a singer/songwriter from New York. She played brightly coloured guitars and a keyboard adorned with flamboyant scarves, in a brightly coloured outfit topped off with a floral headband. She was accompanied by Will Wilde on harmonica, apparently they wrote Sleep When I’m Tired together in lockdown – her in New York and him in Brighton! Rachael has a very unique sound, as well as looks, which includes clicking her fingers right by the microphone on occasion, and one song was her singing along to just claps. Her song Alive was dedicated to anyone going through challenging times, she wrote it to celebrate being in remission for cancer, 5 years and counting!
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Lulu bounded onto the stage, after some footage of her career showed on the big screen, to the hit song Shout. She then introduced her little sister Edwina and they performed Heatwave, before Edwina moved to the backing singer microphone to one side. We then got the start of Lulu’s story of her life, from growing up in Glasgow, to being in a Sidney Poitier movie aged 16, to marrying a Bee Gee, to working with Elton John. She told us of so many pinch yourself moments in her life and how lucky she was, although she never mentioned how talented she is.
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The Champagne for Lulu tour is to be her last tour, at 75 years of age, with a 60 year career of singing she thinks its time for saying goodbye to the road. She earned the champagne though, what a career and what a show! Each song was hand picked for a particular reason that she wanted to share it with her fans on this last hurrah. The production of the show was amazing, three of the songs saw her dueting with singers of the past – them on the big screen and her in front of it in full bouncy 3D! We had footage from the TV show An Audience With Lulu when she sang with Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, after their divorce. She sang along, sat at the side watching the clip with us..
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There was similar for The Man Who Sold The World with footage of David Bowie on stage singing, and she brought it to life for us. The videographer had both live Lulu and recorded Bowie on the big screen singing away to each other, it was rather surreal. A proper pinch yourself moment for some of us in the audience, or hairs on the back of your neck at least. The third was Tina Turner with I Don’t Wanna Fight, which she used at the end of her autobiographical movie. This was a world wide hit and happened after Lulu’s song writer brother assured her she could write her own songs – totally proving his point!
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Other clips were shown on the back screen, we had Eurovision footage whilst Lulu sang her winning song Boom Bang A Bang from 1969 and there was a most splendid James Bond montage whilst she sang The Man With A Golden Gun. There were also gorgeous light effects with pretty patterns on the roof, not just focusing on the stage. It was quite an immersive experience.
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There were many moving moments through the night as Lulu talked, and sang, us through her life story. She loves performing and sharing moments with an audience, and this was not just idle words, you could see it and feel it in her and the audience responded in the most amazing way. There were a few times she needed a moment to compose herself and we just clapped and cheered until she was ready to carry on, pulling her through and willing her on to the next hit! Her sister also helped a few times with some of the singing – the show must go on!
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There was another special guest at the end of the first half when Nathan Evans treated us to a wee sea shanty, followed by a duet with Lulu for Scotland Is A Place Called Home. He was really quite brilliant too. Unfortunately Ronan Keating and Take That did not appear but their songs were included. We’ve Got Tonight was performed with Lulu’s musical director and keyboard player singing Ronan’s part. When we got to Relight My Fire, the audience was on their feet dancing along, videoing clips and just having the time of their life – just like Lulu said she wanted to do with her final tour.
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By the end of the night everyone was on their feet, applauding forever, loving this “wee lass from Scotland” with all our hearts. What a life she has had and what a night she gave us. A truly memorable experience that is one to Shout about, because Oh Me Oh My that girl deserves all the champagne she can get!
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Further information: https://www.luluofficial.com/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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