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Elly Roberts reviews
Twenty Five: Deluxe Edition CD: 
Twenty Five DVD:
“If youre gonna do it.. Do it right”
Lifes a game of numbers for gorgeous George. After a 15 year sabbaticalhes still keeping us guessing, and waiting. Naughty, naughty, hes late- twenty minutes in fact. The big tease knows what hes doing – so do we.
Hes also got a new album to plug Twenty Five (click on theAmazon link above for a full track listing of the 3-disc Deluxe Edition).Theres the long-suffering fans to please as well. The numbers eventuallywhittle down now theres only one man in town – George Michael, and hesall ours for an expected 2 ½hours. The ENA is packed to the rafters,obviously. Were all excited. Who wouldnt be?
A little group of us is guessing what song will open the show. Fastlove?Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go?. Fastlove is favourite, but its not the one.The never ending classical music is providing the perfect dramaticcountdown. Lights go down, and hes still not there. Hes singing a balladoff-stage. The set doors slowly open – its torture. Hes on and were up.
The place explodes to a standing ovation. Ive never seen this kind of thingbefore, ever. The noise is seriously deafening. Michael-manias arrived screams, flashbulbs engulf the arena. Hes finally with us in a smartshimmering black suit, black shirt and shoes complete with shades,slicked-backed hair, and yes, designer stubble, which he created. Nice andlean, he looks great.
Down to business we get, “Hey Manchester, how are you? Its Saturday night.Lets go… 1, 2, 3”, and into Fastlove (we were nearlyright). In seconds a pair white of knickers hit the stage, but hes unfazedand cruising the stage from side to side with a huge beam. Hes happy, andso are we. His brilliant 15-piece band is rocking each side ofscaffolding-like gantry. His voice is still sounding great, and hes out toshow it off.
The set is simple, but groundbreaking. The visual effects are revolutionarybut not OTT. This presentation is all about projection techniques. Its notflashy its cool. The constantly looping images cast hardly any shadows ashe wanders around its remarkable. Theres no sign of nerves. A quickglance at the big screen close-up shows hes sweating profusely.
We get seated ballads from most of his albums The First Time Ever I Saw YourFace, Father Figure, Praying For Time, You Have Been Loved mixed with moversStar People and a thumping Too Funky. Before his well-deserved 20 minutebreak, we get some political satire – Shoot The Dog brings an enormousinflated caricature of George Bush and British bulldog up to no good. Ithink were all shell-shocked as we try to take it all in.
The projectedcountdown (more numbers) heralds his return – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1 we all scream. Next to me the Yorkshire lass struggles – shes lost her voicealready but still goes for it. Hes back for more of the same.
“You know the drill dont be shy,” as Spin The Wheel brings asea of swaying arms, conducted by Georgie boy himself. Right now were puttyin his hands. Up and down we go again to An Easier Affair, Jesus To A Child,Amazing, Im Your Man and Outside. “Thank you Manchester andgoodnight”. We know he aint finished just yet.
After “We want George, we want George, we want George” hes back forCareless Whisper, letting us do most of the singing. Cheers ring out as acouple snog on the large screen they dont even know theyre been watchedby 15,000 people. Hes gone again, but not for long.
Respectfully he says, “Thanks for buying the new album. It looks likenumber one tomorrow. Give yourself a big clap”. So we do.
A rousing Freedom is helped along by us all,and I mean all. I look around and see us all at it. Its a sight to behold.As painful as it is, he has to go-go.He kisses the crowd goodbye and bangshis heart clench fisted and wanders into the night. And what a night.
GM fan Samantha Kirkham from York enthused, “He makes people dance who cantdance, and people who cant normally show emotion show it.”
Profound, but true.
Weblink:georgemichael.com
Review (c) Elly Roberts, 2006.
Pictures (c) Shirlaine Forrest, 2006.
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.