I’ve been surprised many times in life. But somewhere at the top of this list of ‘good shocks’ must stand the free tickets to a Sheena Easton concert I was presented with last weekend.
Many thanks to Flo, happily married wife of Donald - he of the demilitarized tightrope between heaven and earth (smile) - and her sis, Margaret, my family (including baby Nicky) were privileged to rock up and down to hits like the swingy “Morning Train”, the groovy “Strut”, the hauntingly melodious “For Your Eyes Only” (made famous by its inclusion in a James Bond movie by the same name, if anyone recalls), the sweet “We’ve Got Tonight” (originally performed with Kenny Rogers but his substitute, a certain Philip Ingram, was more than good enough for Miss Easton!) and possibly her most famous song, “Telephone” (which was performed, if you believe it, as the encore for the night).
Easton talked a lot about aging, a bit about motherhood and also a slight allusion to religion (just prior to her performing “From A Distance”, a hit she about which she said – in a poutingly girlishly cry - “But that’s a song I wanted to sing!!”).
There’s something about listening to a live band. The sound system was, for the lack of a better term, bleedin’ fabulous. You could like hear every note and hear them (ear)-drum burstingly clear. Even Nicky was absorbed (at least for the first few songs before he heeded dreamland’s call). Despite this, and Easton’s numerous invitations for anybody to get on stage and boogie with her, the crowd took a while to warm-up. It was only when “Morning Train” started its motion that people really started to rock. There was no stopping everybody once the “Telephone” started ringing.
