This unofficial site features his current and recent events and tours
Review of Spandau Ballet at the LG Arena, Birmingham
24th October 2009
After two sleeps at home and a day at work, it was time to go to the station and catch the train to Birmingham. This will be the 5th time I have seen the show and we had second row tickets (on the side) for this show. I met up with my friend at Birmingham International Station and made our way to our hotel and onto the show.
The last time I had been to the NEC or the LG Arena as it is now called was in 2002 when I took my daughter to see Ronan Keating there. The facilities are much improved although John Keeble said that the only thing that had happened to the dressing rooms was that they had a lick of paint since the last time he was at the venue.
The tickets said a 7.30 am start but it was at least 8.30 pm before the show started. I hadn't realised before but the DJ who was playing the 80s songs before the show was Rusty Egan an old friend of the band from their Blitz Club days.
The same video clip came up at the beginning, but my favourite bit of this is seeing the band sillouteted behind the curtain. I can't really add much to my previous reviews, but I felt that Tony was over his cold and was enjoying the show more, he didn't have the nervousness of the first two shows or the pressure of it being filmed for a DVD, it was just Tony being Tony and having a banter with the audience.
Because we were at the side of the stage, it wasn't until Tony came over and stood on the speaker stack that he saw me and my friends. To our left in the tiered seating were quite a few of the wives and partners of the band who seemed to be enjoying the show. I didn't see anyone famous at this show, I'd previously seen Shane Richie in Dublin and London and George Michael and Bill Nyhee the actor were at the second London show.
Once the set gets to Communication and Lifeline the feeling sets in that it has all gone too fast and that the show is nearly over. True ends the main part of the show and after a quick change by some band members it is time for the encore of Fight for Ourselves and Gold where the whole audience joins in.
As our hotel was nearby and we didn't want to end the evening that soon, we went to the stage door. Quite a lot of people were waiting. Gary came out first and stopped the car and spoke to people, but a car was driven inside the buidling for Tony and he was driven away without stopping, only to give everyone a wave from inside the car. It would have been nice to have spoken to Tony but there were rather a lot of people there.
I've got a couple of days at home and work and then I'm off to do the last two shows on the UK leg of the tour.
SET LIST
To Cut a Long Story Short
The Freeze
Highly Strung
Only When You Leave
I'll Fly For You
How Many Lies
Virgin
She Loved like Diamond
Once More
Round and Round
Man in Chains
With The Pride
Through The Barricades
Instinction
Communication
Lifeline
Chant No. 1 with
Paint Me Down in the middle
True
- - - - - - -
Fight for Ourselves
Gold
Denise - October 2009