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Albums
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De Burgh's personal touch hits right note MARTIN LENON Chris De Burgh, Usher Hall **** THIRTY years ago, Chris De Burgh first played the Usher Hall as the opener on a triple bill. Last night, he got the place all to himself. Not counting a good few hundred passionate fans, of course. Initially, the setting for his much anticipated return seemed relatively simple - a scaffolding arch and five long white drapes hung across a black backcloth. But the drapes hid 14 television screens which, when revealed, displayed an endless stream of video clips and computer graphics. It might have been an intimate solo show, but it was anything but low-key. As the lights dimmed, and with the strains of When Winter Comes began floating through the auditorium, the curtains parted to reveal De Burgh, guitar in hand. Dressed in a simple white shirt and waving at the cheering crowd he strode forward to launch into The Road To Freedom. De Burgh is keen on big sweeping themes. As he later explained, when he writes a song he thinks cinematically, as though "writing a film", and examples of this approach were in evidence throughout the evening. Sight And Touch was set in a post-war future where even an embrace is against the law. The Same Sun travels to romantic locations exploring love and loss. Even his signature song, The Lady In Red was written in this way, as was its sequel Five Past Dreams which features the same two characters later the same evening. The song references music and lyrics from the original and, while it is beautiful, it has a little too much to live up to. The next few songs went off on location, two in Paris, one in the Middle East, while one, Natasha Dance, sounded very Russian indeed. After being kitted out with a headset microphone, De Burgh took off down the steps and into the audience, pausing here and there to be hugged, singing and playing all the while. Its a move that, in the hands of other performers, looks calculating or cheesy. With De Burgh, it looks like hes saying hello to old friends. Then the family singsong began with Missing You, the crowd happy to continue as backing singers for him on Borderline and Say Goodbye To It All. Practically apologising for the fact that A Spaceman Came Travelling would be playing in supermarkets all over the country over Christmas, De Burgh then launched into his own, authentic rendition of it. When he finally sang The Lady In Red, there was no fanfare or special introduction. He simply sang the song and the audience applauded loud and long. Then they roared, when the opening bars of Dont Pay The Ferryman started up and, when he then walked off stage, bowing, it was clear there was no way he was being let off that lightly. De Burgh has a powerful voice, which seems to have a turbo boost switch, and he never tires of firing it up, and after an encore of High On Emotion and the beautiful Snows Of New York he once again went into the stalls, saying goodnight personally to a lucky few. The perfect end to a brilliant show. |
File last modified on August 26, 2006