This one’s Alan’s fault as, like several other gigs recently, Rick Astley is someone he liked when he was little but wastoo little to go and see him. Now Alan’s a big boy (with a knack for taking cracking pictures), he’s catching up on his youth. I, on the other hand, simply never got round to seeing Rick Astley as I was too young when he was massive (late 80s) and too into metal to see him once I was old enough.
Time to make things right.
Opening tonight was an act that I thought I hadn’t heard of until I realised I was mispronouncing her name… I am actually serious. It’s been a long week, OK? Once I figured out who it was, I expected to enjoy one or two songs I recognised. Gabrielle then played an 8-9 song set from which I recognised, I think, every song bar one. Colour me both surprised and impressed. And it wasn’t only the familiarity of the songs that impressed, it was the performance.
Gabrielle herself is, in a word, lovely. She doesn’t so much talk to the crowd as overshare little thoughts and it’s surprisingly endeering. There was definitely a little nervous energy, this being the opening night of a big tour, but it worked well for her. She comes across as funny, open and honest… and then there are the songs.
Backed by a very talented bunch of singers and musicians who were as much a part of the act as the lady herself, they helped make this more of a show than a simple run-through of a selection of memorable tracks. The stage show was simple and the volume not cranked to the usual rock act norms for songs like “Dreams”, “Sunshine” and “Don’t Need The Sun To Shine”. I don’t remember “Dreams” featuring a kick-arse guitar solo, but as I said it’s been a while since I listened to the original.
Throw in a cover of “Walk On By” and some great audience engagement (thank you, Gabrielle, for being open about “asking for help”) and this support slot went by far too quickly. I’ll be honest, I’ve had a crap week and I almost had to push myself to get out of the house to make it to the gig. By the time Gabrielle finished, I was buzzing. The main act wasn’t even on yet and I was already glad I’d made the effort.
Between the support finishing and the headliner coming on, the nice chap from The Herald who was sat next to me found a very expensive looking ring on the floor. Which is handy as the couple on my other side had been looking for it! He then further enamoured himself to the relieved owner by telling her he’d given it to her dad… obviously as she looked so much younger than her husband! And I’m not just saying that as she said she was going to hunt out my review…
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At 8:45 the lights went down again, some canned music kicked in and nine (nine!) musicians took up their positions before the man of the hour-and-a-half (and a bit) climbed the stairs stage right. The bright white strip lights dazzled the audience until someone turned down the dimmer switch, and Lancashire’s finest – Rick Astley – began to croon.
Again, excuse me if I don’t nail every song title but as stated I missed a large section of Rick’s career… and nobody has put anything useful on setlist.fm yet. Dammit. However, without exception each one was a gem. There was a mixture of old and new, with Rick pointing out that “that song” was absolutely going to be on right at the end otherwise around 35% of the crowd would walk out as soon as he played it. Sad… but I think he might not have been far off. Still, it would have been their loss as the man with a Dorian Gray-esque painting in his loft (60? Really? No!) put on as good a live show as I’ve seen at the Hydro.
The older material was definitely more popular, visibly so as the venue was all seated making it easy to see if people decided to “sit this one out”, but almost everyone was on their feet for the majority of the show. Credit to the man, his more recent material is still pretty strong and arguably less poppy than the older stuff. Though his last album was 2023’sAre We There Yet? we were the first to see / hear his most recent single, “Raindrops”, being played live essentially on the day it was released. His other recent single, “Waiting On You” (also a live debut) gave me country vibes – perhaps with a hint of Elvis?
Astley is obviously very relaxed on stage, a career musician, and quite self-efacing. He doesn’t spend too long chatting, but when he does it’s worth listening to (even if he’s just using it, as he said, as an excuse to catch his breath). His story about his music being used… kind of… inCocktail was well told and led into “You Move Me”, a song with an intro that couldn’t be more 80s synth-pop if it tried. Following it with a cracking cover of Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” (replete with sunglasses) was another highlight.
As with Gabrielle, credit must be given to the band. Like Astley himself they seemed largely multi-instrumental, though he limited himself to guitar and drums this evening. A saxophonist who also played keys. And flute. And percussion. A trumpeter who also percusses (if that wasn’t a word, it is now). The backing singers were even given their own moment to shine with a cover of “Where the Hell is my Husband” where they sang front and centre while Astley hit the drums behind them. For someone who could easily hog the limelight for the whole show, Astley instead gave us a chance to appreciate each member of the large troupe.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. A noticable amount of time beyond the advertised curfew, the cue of “Give me a chord!” led Astley into the opening line of his famous Irish and Swiss number two single “Never Gonna Give You Up”. At which point the audience took over. And it was wonderful. Once he regained the reins, Astley kicked the song off again and an extended version with guitar and sax solos followed. We were well past the 90 minutes by the time the show wrapped up and once again I have to point out that an “older” (sorry, Rick) performer is quite capable of playing a decent length of show, while many younger bands seem to think that around an hour is acceptable.
This was a great night, and anyone with tickets for the following dates is in for an absolute treat. If there was one criticism it would be… actually… no. I’ve not nothing. Go, have fun, smile a lot, feel good about life, go home. Everything a live show should be.
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Photos byAlan Swan Photography (full gallery to come)
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