Northern Vibes

Leeds, York And Halifax: Three Nights Of Pop Gold In Yorkshire

Review

Westlife turned Leeds Arena into a 25th anniversary singalong, Joe Jackson brought snarl and wit to the York Barbican, and the Burt Bacharach Songbook gave Halifax’s Victoria Theatre a night of timeless melodies, writes Graham Clark

Westlife

There are few bands who can turn 25 years of pop history into something that feels this effortlessly celebratory. But then Westlife have never really played by the rules of the traditional boyband lifespan. A quarter of a century on from their debut tour, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne remain masters of the big emotional payoff — and their 25th Anniversary World Tour is essentially two decades-plus of nostalgia turned into one enormous singalong which arrived at Leeds Arena for as part of their current worldwide tour.

With Mark Feehily currently taking a break from touring with the band, the Irish act is now down to a three-piece, which has never done any harm to another so-called boy band, Take That.

Opening with World of Our Own, the message was immediate: this was not a night for standing politely in the dark. Within minutes, the arena was bouncing as Uptown Girl and Bop Bop Baby were a reminder of just how efficiently Westlife could turn three minutes of pop into an earworm capable of surviving generations; the audience ranged from eight to eighty-plus.

Westlife All photos: Graham Clark

When Egan said that the audience was "going to know the words to every song tonight” at the opening of the two-hour extravaganza, he wasn’t joking. Despite their detractors, Westlife have remained a durable prospect despite the changing music landscape in the pop music world.

Rather than this being a glorified PA as is often the case with many pop group tours, a lot of thought had been given to the production with a live band on stage; a big and muscular sound was complemented with enough confetti cannons, pyrotechnics and lighting that would have been the envy of many a rock group concert.

Westlife

There was a Yorkshire element too running throughout the evening: Keyboard player Simon Ellis is from Bradford; former Leeds United midfielder Andy Couzens was sat on the front row – Byrne played professional football as a goalkeeper for United in his youth.

The cleverness of the show was in its pacing. The upbeat numbers provided the sparkle, while the ballads gave the night its emotional heart. What Makes a Man, I Lay My Love on You and Queen of My Heart allowed those unmistakable harmonies to take centre stage, while I Have a Dream provided a suitably nostalgic nod to the group's ability to make a cover sound like it belongs entirely to them.

There were also enough surprises to stop the evening becoming a simple greatest-hits run-through. When You’re Looking Like That received an unexpected rock injection courtesy of a Sweet Child O’ Mine guitar solo, while Hello My Love proved that Westlife's later material could comfortably sit alongside the classics.

The biggest moments, though, belong to the songs that helped define the band. Flying Without Wings remained the emotional heavyweight, while You Raise Me Up turned the Leeds Arena into a sea of voices before Swear It Again brought the main event to a suitably euphoric conclusion. After tonight’s commanding performance, the world is their own.

Westlife
All photos: Graham Clark

Westlife All photos: Graham Clark

}')">The tour continues with further northern dates:
Friday 23rd/Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th October – Manchester Co-op Live
Monday 2nd November – Sheffield Arena

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/westlife-tickets/artist/711587

Joe Jackson

Meanwhile, Joe Jackson has never been an artist particularly interested in standing still. Nearly five decades into a career that has taken in new wave, jazz, pop, Latin rhythms and sophisticated piano-led songwriting, the 72-year-old remains gloriously difficult to pigeonhole. The current Hope and Fury tour proves that age has done little to blunt either his musical curiosity or his sharp-edged wit.

From his first Yorkshire tour in 1979, when a young, hungry and at times angry young man took to the stage at St George’s Hall in Bradford, to forty-seven years later at the Barbican in York, Jackson still had that air of being independent and different but still had the unmistakably individual snarl in his voice. Whilst many of his peers have lost their singing voices, Jackson has remained sonically solvent.

Many of tonight’s audience were probably present when Jackson supported The Rolling Stones at Roundhay Park at their legendary 1982 concert.

The evening began with Is She Really Going Out With Him?, performed by Jackson alone, a deceptively simple opening that immediately stripped away the years. It’s Different for Girls, with long-time collaborator Graham Maby joining him, followed by the full band arriving and the scope of the performance expanding in what was a novel way to begin the evening.

Much of the set naturally came from Hope and Fury, Jackson’s first studio album in several years. Welcome to Burning-by-Sea, I’m Not Sorry, Another World, After All This Time, The Face and End of the Pier – the latter introduced by Jackson detailing how he watched the film Tommy being filmed with The Who in his hometown of Portsmouth, sat comfortably alongside the classics, demonstrating that his current tour was not merely a nostalgia exercise dressed up as a comeback tour.

Jackson remained an understated frontman. There were no elaborate production tricks or unnecessary theatrics; the music said all that had to be said. His band was exceptional, moving effortlessly between rock, jazz, funk and Latin-inflected rhythms, while Maby provides a particularly impressive link between Jackson’s past and present.

Then come the songs that turned the Barbican into something approaching a communal jukebox. Sunday Papers received an instant reaction, while Look Sharp! reminded the York audience just how distinctive Jackson sounded when he emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Inevitably, "Steppin' Out provided further proof that his finest songs have lost none of their sophistication or immediacy.

The encore was particularly inspired with a muscular version of David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) leading into You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want), before Jackson brought proceedings to a wonderfully intimate conclusion with a solo Home Town on a night where Jackson and his band proved that sometimes things really do get better with age.

Rumer and Sean Escoffery with Rob Shirakbari on piano Photo: Graham Clark

The Burt Bacharach Songbook Gives Halifax A Night To Remember.

From the bittersweet ache of lost love to the irresistible optimism of a perfectly crafted pop melody, Burt Bacharach’s catalogue remains one of the great treasures of modern popular music. The Burt Bacharach Songbook Tour celebrates that remarkable legacy, bringing a collection of timeless songs back into the spotlight where they belong.

Bacharach’s genius was never simply about writing a memorable tune. His songs possessed a sophistication that set them apart, blending unexpected chord changes, intricate arrangements and beautifully judged melodies with lyrics that captured the complicated business of being human. The result was music that could sound effortlessly elegant while concealing extraordinary musical craftsmanship beneath the surface.

The current tour, which arrived at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax as part of a nationwide outing, is not a tribute show per se; led by Bacharach’s long-time musical director Rob Shirakbari and performed with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the production had a genuine connection to Bacharach.

Besides the intricacies of his songs, what made them shine even more were the competent vocalists who tonight included Ed Harcourt, Georgia Van Etten, Janet Varga, Woody Mankowski, Sean Escoffery and Rumer.

Whilst many of the songs were originally performed by female vocalists such as Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick, Mankowski provided a soulful and genuinely heartfelt vocal on I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself and In Between The Heartaches.

Shaun Escoffery might be better known for lending his vocals to dance tracks, though he proved that with a touch of Luther Vandross in his silky and smooth vocals, he could make Walk On By and This Guy’s In Love With You send a shiver down the spine.

Rumer always did have a touch of Karen Carpenter in her vocals; not surprisingly, (They Long To Be) Close To You sounded almost perfect, though the omission of the famous piano refrain at the beginning of the song was sadly absent.

Bacharach’s songs always lent themselves to a lush string accompaniment - the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra brought a rich, sweeping elegance to the performance, adding warmth, depth and emotional intensity to the music. The violins soared with bright, expressive melodies, while the violas and cellos brought a resonant foundation that gave the sound both weight and texture.

These melodies have survived changing musical tastes because they were built on something more substantial than passing trends: emotional honesty, musical invention and an almost uncanny instinct for a hook.

Bacharach may no longer be with us, but his music remains gloriously alive. In a world that could certainly use a little more tenderness, Halifax shared a celebration that left you humming the tunes long after the final note had faded.