This unofficial site features his current and recent events and tours
Review of Tony Hadley - Blossom Hill Catwalks - 17th and 18th May 2005
The Blossom Hill Catwalks are an annual event in Ireland. with 10 events held around the country. They start with a champagne reception and stalls from national and local businesses, this is followed by a three course meal, a fashion show and a charity draw for the Marie Keating Foundation. At the end of the evening there is entertainment and this year they had decided to have Tony.
I decided that I would like to go to the Wexford Catwalk as I have family connections in that part of Ireland, but my daughter who was coming with me wanted to see Dublin, so I decided that we would go to Dublin two days before the Wexford Catwalk and stay in the Clontarf Castle Hotel that the Dublin one was being held, Tina and her friend were going to that one so we met up. The champagne reception was being held in the hotel lobby and on his way back from the soundcheck Tony noticed me next to Tina. Tony then went into the restaurant for a meal and Tina went into the Catwalk show. I decided to stay on one of the sofas that was between the restaurant and the lift and after Tony had his meal, he spoke to me on his way to the lift.
Later in the evening I decided to go outside the function room and listen to Tony, at this point there were two minders covering the door so there was no way I could slip in! I could still hear Tony very well but not what he was saying between the songs.
The set was:
To Cut a Long Story Short
Only When You Leave
Lifeline
Save A Prayer
Through The Barricades
Walking in Memphis
True
Gold
There was no band and Tony was singing to a backing track, but he was excellent all the same.
The show was overrunning and some people were leaving and during Through The Barricades the minders disappeared and I managed to slip in to the back of the room, so I got to see half of the show. Met up with Tina at the end and we met Tony again and he bought us a glass of wine and we chatted for a while with him, then Tony went outside for a cigar as smoking is banned in public areas of Irish hotels and bars and was overwhelmed by Irish women who had drunk rather a lot of the complimentary wine at the event. He went back inside and we wished him goodnight and he said that he would see me tomorrow.
I drove down to Wexford on the Wednesday morning but did not see Tony before the event. The Ferrycarrig Hotel was a very different hotel from the Clontarf which had lots of landings and stairways.
The Catwalks is an excellent type of event and very enjoyable, but as the night before it overran, so it was almost 11 pm before Tony came on and sang the same songs as the night before, the only difference being that he came back and sang True again and about six of the women from the audience came up and joined him on stage and one did an air guitar which was really good and Tony said she could join his band (not sure what Richie B would think about that!).
At the end of the show, I went back to my room briefly as my daughter wanted to go to bed and then went back down to the function room. I went to the backstage area and Tony invited me to join him, his girlfriend and the organisers of the event for an after show drink. I was the only English fan at this one and it was nice of Tony to invite me.
Denise