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Elly Roberts reviews
Tribute To Bobby: 
It was always going to be a tricky move going solo, with a tribute night.
Coincidentally, the music of Bobby Blue Bland came full circle back to Liverpool, wellit did for Manchesters blue-eyed soul boy Mick Hucknall. It was at a Liverpoolclub, Erics, he first heard Blands music whilst then playing with his firstband the Frantic Elevators.
It was never going to be an easy task, because for nigh on 25 years, we’veexpected a huge volume of Simply Red songs to relish. With SR due to disbandin 2009 it was time for Huckers to win us over with his new direction.Despite his immaculate pop credentials, it was still a big gamble, and adrastic one at that.
The crowd was probably made up of SR diehards, Soul aficionados, and the plaincurious. When youre a multi-millionaire its must be reasonably easy to makean artistic change. One American asked for Simply Red tickets at the boxoffice, which kind of summed things for many Im sure.
With barely 45 minutesworth of material from Tribute To Bobby, you somehow got the feeling thatmany of the audience, prior to this gig, were unaware of Blands work. Thiswould probably account for the educational 15 minute docu-film (extracts foundon the albums DVD trailer) before the gig started, a good filler for a showwe knew wouldnt be much longer than 1 hour 15 minutes, short by his standards.
It wasnt a sell out by any standards. The upper tier was sealed off, andthere were many empty seats in the ten thousand capacity brand spanking new arenaon the Albert Dock.
Looking lean and fit in grey suit, blue shirt and sharp tan boots, he was welcomedwith the usual fervour of whistles and screams. It was a cool and slow start.Cry Cry Crys steady beat unfolded with Micks impeccable voice stillin great form as he moved endlessly across the stage, beaming with delightthat his die-hard fans had embraced his venture, though there was some uncertainty.
He asked them, “How many of you know Bobby Blands music?”
A few hands went up, including mine in the snappers pit. He spotted me andsaid, “This fella knows him!”
Thankfully, Im a big Soul fan and aware of many of his songs, so it helped toenjoy the night. It was obvious hed need to introduce every song, to help usalong. Then came I Wouldnt Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) a mellowsouthern soul R&B gem, followed by Hucknall sitting on a stool for slitheringballad Im Too Far Gone with the house set fully back-lit.
One of the main highlights came when he sang beautiful ballad Chains Of Love.SR sax stalwart Ian Kirkham dressed the song with some sensual splashes, bringingthe biggest cheers of the night until then. He then slipped into I Pity The Fool.Simply Red guitarist Kenji Jammer Suzuki was given the chance to show hisfinely tuned solo skills with some top bluesy fuzzy licks.
“We love you Mick”, came a shout. Mick returned a blown kiss.
Rip-roaring Stormy Monday Blues allowed Mick to finally open up thosetubes, (and what tubes they are too) finally getting sections of the crowdonto their feet, just like the good old days. The opening of single Povertykept things going nicely as he romped through this dazzling version which raisedthe roof. As he finished the song he raised his fist, satisfied hed done a greatjob, which he had.
Back for an encore, an appreciative Mick said, “Youre very kind. Thank youvery much”, launching into what might be the next single, the full-on andclassy Farther Up The Road, Bobby Blands signature tune. He finally gotthe reaction, and conformation hed been waiting for all night as the crowd wentfor it.
Closing on another mellow note, Lead Me On proved that Mick is still one ofthe greatest singers Britain has produced. So, would Bobby have approved?Definitely.
The big question is, where does he look for inspiration next?
More covers albums?
File under: Still one of the best.
Weblink:mickhucknall.com
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.