An interview with Jack Ryder, co-director of Take That musical The Band

An interview with Jack Ryder, co-director of Take That musical The Band

Jack Ryder rose to fame as Jamie Mitchell in EastEnders before becoming an acclaimed director with projects such as The Girls. I had a chat with Jack about new musical The Band, working at Hull New Theatre and Yorkshire, and plans for the future.

Q. Often with theatre productions it’s an uphill battle trying to sell the show, but sales-wise, The Band has gone through the roof hasn’t it?

A. Yes, we are very lucky, let’s just say that (laughs). Yeah, it is a bit of machine; the whole kind of Take That machine is a huge thing, and that’s a bolster for the show, but even things like the advertising, the logo, the band, the poster… It is a brand in itself. It’s become a massive thing and we are incredibly fortunate.

Q. What’s been the show’s biggest challenge?

A. I’ve worked in theatre for quite a few years in terms of the directing capacity. I directed shows like Calendar Girls and The Full Monty, but I’ve never really developed a musical before. I’d worked on The Girls with (writer) Tim Firth and have a very strong relationship with him.

The most challenging thing with this show wasn’t just in terms of developing it. It was what the creative team became, which was this kind of mix; this theatrical side, which was myself, Tim Firth, producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, aligned with this team with (co-director) Kim Gavin, (designer) Jon Bausor and (lighting designer) Patrick Woodroffe, who although have worked in theatrical circles, have also done shows like the Olympics, the Rolling Stones and the Take That concerts, so bringing these two teams together in a collaborative way was quite challenging. But in a way it was so exciting because there were lots of different creative views in the room. And although it was a challenge to begin with, it actually brought so much to the show and has made it what it is.

Q. How is it working at Hull New Theatre compared to any other theatre? Is it a case of going in and doing a recce; making sure the guys can project to the back row, that sort of thing?

A. Yeah, you do that in every venue all over the country because obviously different theatres have different dimensions. They’re all different sizes and different capacities, and different audiences as well. What might land in Manchester and get a big laugh every night will be tumbleweed in Canterbury. It’s quite a bizarre thing, and what that does is it keeps everyone completely on their toes. Somewhere like Hull and Leeds Grand, we take each theatre as it comes. We find the northern audiences are always very welcoming. And always very vocal in terms of comedy, so it’s always a pleasure to come to Yorkshire and places like Hull, because you really feel a vocal response from the audience, much more than you would in a southern ’house’. So it’s always a lovely welcome for us.

Q. Tim Firth is an accomplished writer. It must be half the battle when you’ve got such a great script and a book.

A. Yeah, he’s a genius. And his work ethic is wonderful to be around. I’ve worked with Tim for many years on other shows, and we get on very well. I’ve learnt so much from him. He’s always tweaking, he’s always changing. What I love about Tim, he’s always so open to suggestions. He always listens to the cast and anyone else who is in the room. And he also always comes up with what he believes is the way to go. He’s not a single-minded writer. He is very open and very collaborative and quite a humble human being. And that’s always very healthy to have around and be in the room with. So it’s never been anything but a joy.

Q. If you’ll excuse the obvious pun, you are a Jack of all trades. Which do you prefer: acting, directing or both?

A. Both really. You always learn from both. The acting serves the directing. The directing serves me as an actor. It’s a funny business that we’re in. You never know what’s round the corner.

If someone had said to me five years ago ’The first musical I’ll be directing is Take That musical The Band’, I would never in a million years have believed that. It’s funny how these things come along. You gotta keep an open mind and keep being creative. And keep being open to projects, and creating great stories, pleasing audiences and entertaining people. And we’re doing that, certainly with this show.

Q. Why have Take That succeeded so well when so many other bands have fallen by the wayside?

A. Well there’s a few reasons why. I remember when I was a teenager. There were members of the girls’ school that used to get on the bus, and they’d be at the back with Smash Hits magazine with all the posters. And I remember Take That. I never listened to them as a teenager. I really remember them being so prominent in our culture and in the charts.

The girls were crazy about them, and they were a huge, huge deal.

Then obviously the boys split apart and laid low for many years and did their own thing. They’ve come back with this kind of maturity, and a real humbleness in the sense of having a second opportunity. Their music has matured; their writing’s matured, and their performing has matured, and they give people great shows: their stadium shows that Kim (Gavin) has directed, like Circus. They really do entertain audiences. And we all know that Gary and all of them can write a really catchy tune as well. People generally like them as people. They are normal guys and they’re humble in terms of what they do. Everyone appreciates that.

Q. It’s only a matter of time until we get a big screen biopic of Take That. Would you be interested in directing if the chance arose?

A. Of course. Yeah that would be incredible. I’m sure something like that will come along. This show has been such a joy working with them, and they were always around, which was lovely for the cast. And obviously for myself to ask them questions. And get references and knowledge about them as people and them as a group. So I would always jump for joy working with the boys.

Q. What’s in the pipeline after this? Any films perhaps?

A. No, no films. I’m doing lots of bits and pieces. Obviously directing The Band is taking up a lot of my time right now; making sure that show is in good shape, and all the venues it goes to that we are doing the right job, and the show’s tight. There’s my acting career and there’s lots of things in the fire.

I also write as well so… there’s lots of creative juices flowing. At the moment I’m just concentrating on The Band and writing generally.

Q. And you’ve written a novel?

A. Yes I’ve written my first novel, which is under the eyes of certain people as we speak, and I’m writing my second now.

The experience of working with Tim Firth and working in the theatre world and developing shows like Calendar Girls and working on The Full Monty, talking a lot about story… I’m talking a lot about characters and character development. So it’s been a bit of a side passion of mine to develop my own stories.

I’ve written and directed shorts in the past. When I put my head to the computer and started writing a novel, it went so much deeper for me that it became kind of infectious, so that’s something I enjoy and I’m continuing.

Restaurant review The Cockpit Cafe, Beverley

Restaurant review

The Cockpit Cafe, Beverley

In a world where generic chains offer overpriced coffee and food, I’ll always gravitate to a themed cafe if done well. The food doesn’t just have to be great, but the place also has to have the courage of its own convictions.

Thankfully The Cockpit Cafe in Beverley has a great USP – a glorious splash of fun on a winter’s day. It indulges my passion for vintage aviation, and then some.

I’ve been looking forward to this visit since it opened in early December 2017. Now, in one of the most depressing weeks of the year, it’s just the helping of escapism my partner and I need.

Thankfully the drive from Howden to Beverley is a joy on a freezing Saturday morning; parking a few minutes’ walk from the venue is easy and relatively cheap, and the place itself is easy to find.

I love the exterior with its gorgeous graphics and welcoming facade. The interior is equally terrific with vintage suitcases for tables and elegant booths at the rear of the cafe.

It’s a pleasure to meet former air hostess-turned entrepreneur Lucie Mountain. The brains behind the operation, she drew inspiration from the 1950s, and with a passion for travel, that winning mix of great food, drink and ambience has customers packing out the venue for our 90-minute stay.

Serving food and drink from all over the world, it’s a treat to see a simple but effective menu which offers some of my favourite dishes and drinks.

And with waitresses naturally in airline attire, it’s that essential touch which helps keep the aeronautical fantasy aloft.

The day is so icy when we arrive, it demands something to warm the cockles. I go for hot Kentish Pip Firespice Ginger Cider, while Rachel has a Bailey’s Hot Chocolate.

As it always reminds me of honeymoon in New England, I opt for the seafood chowder with garlic toast. At £7.50, you certainly get your money’s worth. I’m used to some chowders being a starter, but this is very much a main, filled with delicious fresh ingredients. The toast is deliciously crisp and the flavour avoids being overpowering.

Rachel chooses Baked Frittata (£5.50) – spiced sweet potato, caramelised onion frittata, with yoghurt, honey and poppyseed dressing.

“The flavours are nice and it’s cooked to perfection, but the portion of dressing is too generous,” she remarks. “In that case less would have been definitely more.”

We split a delicious Chocolate Terrine, and I savour a cappuccino, complete with plane (rather than plain) biscuit, which goes down a treat.

I was sold on The Cockpit Cafe from the minute I walked in, probably because it’s just the sort of place Beverley needs. A break from the norm and a reminder of that golden era of world travel.

“I wanted to create something completely unique to other food and drink venues in Yorkshire,” remarks Lucie.

She’s certainly done that, though I’m itching to see a huge 1950s propeller revolving fan-like from the ceiling. I’d also love to see a merch stand with the beautiful coffee cups (I’d have bought one on the day). And the delicious Chocolate Terrine is begging to be renamed “Chocs Away”. But that’s just me. Some touches are perhaps too obvious.

Yorkshire needs more entrepreneurs like Lucie, who’s done a wonderful job of taking a great idea and making it fly.

I can’t wait to return and sample more of the menu, perhaps on an evening when there’s live music.

Well worth a look, and best of all, you won’t need your passport.

Slade & Fame – A Chat with Dave Hill (part one)

I grew up living in the next street to Dave Hill from Slade. It was a pleasure to chat to one of the most glam rockers of all time about his new book, Slade’s pending tour, starring in the greatest rock film of all time, and why ’without Slade, there would’ve been no Oasis’.

At one point Slade were the biggest group in the country. How did you keep your feet on the ground?

Well I think it was more than this country. It was generally the world, except for America. We were as big in all these places I’ve been to like Australia and Russia.

You can’t comprehend what it was like in the rest of the world. Obviously you can comprehend in England because the people you run into and the reaction of people you know, and newspapers and Top of the Pops.

I grew up on a council estate and the roots of the band were very much ’blokes around the corner’.

My life story comes out next month (November), so I’m in the midst of preparing for that. Nod, our singer, has done the foreward; Noel Gallagher has done the afterward.

I met him (Gallagher) once at the airport and I kept in contact. And he said something quite interesting. He said “If there was no Slade there’d be no Oasis”.

Also he said something that I thought was really poignant. “I saw them (Slade) as people that lived in a council house down the road from where I was”.

The root of it is we had the background of stability. We had good families, and when we made it… nobody can prepare you for what fame does to you. Becoming famous I don’t think we ever realised the roster of number ones we would’ve had.

But our manager Chas Chandler, who was Jimi Hendrix’ manager, believed in us immensely. He saw us as the follow on from the Beatles. He said in his mind we were that kind of group. You know, ’working class people who made it’. We got writers; we got abilities; and we got an image, which was a lot to do with our success.

I wouldn’t say anyone can cope totally with fame. Fame isn’t natural. Suddenly you’ve gone from being a boy from school; you play guitar, you’re in a band… I was a bit of a duffer at school. I wasn’t like a popular kid. And suddenly I’ve gone to extreme fame and found my reason to be so to speak; Top of the Pops. And suddenly you can’t go to the places that used to go to. You’re either going to get mobbed or annoyed, so we had to become a little bit isolated from being too exposed walking down the road.

I was still living at my dad’s house when I had two number ones. I moved and my dad was still signing the autographs. I thought that was really great (laughs).

To be continued

Restaurant review – Villa Di Geggiano, Chiswick, London

“Some believe the ghost of Freddie Mercury still walks the kitchen.”

There are many memorable stories I hear during a few hours at Villa di Geggiano, Chiswick’s premier fine dining residence, and that’s one of the best.

Other tales involve former diners Depeche Mode, Will.i.am and Snoop Dogg, but I like the idea of the Queen legend being a spiritual presence on site. If it’s good enough for one of our greatest rock stars, it’s good enough for me.

Given the quality of the food and drink at 66-68 Chiswick High Road, if there was an afterlife I can think of worse places to spend an eternity. It’s a kind of magic I’ve rarely experienced in any restaurant.

My partner Rachel and I are in town as part of a 36-hour weekend session of fine dining, theatre and culture, and although Chiswick is a bit of a trek from our St James’ Park hotel (around six miles), it’s well worth the trip.

En route we pass the “I Saw You Coming” style shops lampooned by Harry Enfield; high end furniture stores for folks with too much cash, next to shops specialising in bric-a-brac. It’s clearly a moneyed area, but the good news is you don’t need to be a lottery winner to enjoy a special meal.

And there’s no mistaking the eatery when you get there. A glorious frontage in homage the Italian villa which inspired it. It doesn’t so much whisper its presence as scream proudly at you. As well it might.

The original Tuscany villa has been around for centuries, and with hundreds of years of expertise to draw on, it’s little wonder their wine is second to none.

After Prosecco and snacks offered by our excellent culinary MC Lukasz Borowski, we’re shown to our table in a glorious dining room decked out with jaw-dropping blue treelike centrepiece. (Imagine an Avatar tree rendered in Fuzzy Felt). The tactile light stands almost beg you to stroke them; they’re reminiscent of the deer antlers dotted around the room.

With a grand piano dominating the far end of the room, the style is eclectic, eccentric and stylish. Yet it works perfectly.

As does the menu, a dazzling, affordable array of pastas, steaks, and more. The wine list is a feast for anyone who loves a good tipple. I stick to my usual rule of anything over 13 per cent, and our expert sommelier does a fine job of choosing a light red; the 2015 Franz Haas Pinot Noir is ideal.

It’s lunchtime after all and we don’t want to be staggering round the streets of Chiswick like a couple of refugees from Absolutely Fabulous.

My tagliatelle starter with truffles is beautifully al dente, and the Beef Tenderloin fillet with Wild Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce is a work of art. Cooking it ’medium to well done’ is a balancing act, but the behind-the-scenes wizards nail it.

Rachel’s Tuna Steak with Grilled Pumpkin and Vegetable Gremolada is equally exquisite.

Head Chef is a fresh-faced looking Emanuele Morisi, and unlike some restaurants which are a frenzy of behind-the-scenes activity, his team are all calm under pressure. Admittedly we have arrived at a quiet spot. After racing from East Yorkshire to London and enjoying a meal near Victoria the night before, we’re glad of the calm.

Given the fact the property pretty much backs onto recording studio Metropolis, where some of the biggest artist in the world create their audio masterpieces, it’s hardly surprising Mr Mercury used to pop in for dinner so often.

When you come this far for a meal, you hope it’s going to pay off and for both of us, there’s not a weak link in the chain. From our starters to desserts, we’re treated like royalty, and could spend all afternoon chatting to grande formaggio Ilona Pacia, a kindred spirit whose love of art and psychology has ensured diners get the best possible experience for their money.

We think we’ll head back to our hotel after dessert (the Tiramisu and Chocolate Mousse with Mango and Red Chilli Chutney is to die for), but Ms Pacia’s tour of the property, and her stories about Freddie and other music legends are endlessly wonderful.

Some restaurants are all about good food and wine. For us, a visit to Villa di Geggiano is like a history and art lesson as well.

The dessert wine is out of this world, not least because of the extraordinary monogrammed glasses.

If you are dropping in for lunch or dinner, try the (deep breath) Capezzana Conte Contini Bonacossa Vin Santo Di Carmignano. The dried apricot and fig flavours will appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth.

At one point I consider staying until evening, but some of the top brass in British TV are having one of their posh meals and the team are busy prepping for their arrival, so we decide not to outstay our welcome. There’s a chance regular visitor Sir Trevor Nunn might also pop in for a bite. It’s that sort of a place.

I do know we’ll be back one day, preferably in the spring or summer when we can experience one of their outdoor music sessions.

So, we intended to stay for a couple of hours, and around four hours later we say a sad farewell having enjoyed an unforgettable dining experience.

If you want stunning Tuscan cuisine without travelling to Italy for the privilege, this is the next best thing to being there.

We can’t wait to go back.

Travel: Yorkshire to Miami

I can’t get no satisfaction, with Milk Jigger. London to Miami.

It’s incredible what you can do with next to no sleep. After a 90-minute drive from Howden, Yorkshire to Manchester airport after a day at work, Mrs C and I arrive at our ’park and stay’ hotel with time enough for one hour’s sleep before we’re checking our and getting a complimentary shuttle to said airport. If that sentence sounds rushed, it’s intentional.

Thankfully after bag drop, we crash out at one of the posh lounges for breakfast and a chat with the staff. It’s ridiculously early-4.45am, though we arrive 20 minutes before it’s officially open.

Breakfast, a cheeky Disaronno and Coke leaves me feeling like a hypocrite after mentally tutting at all the lager drinkers in the regular lounges. “Alcohol. At this time in a morning? Outrageous”.

It’s freezing in the VIP lounge, which costs around £30 each. It’s worth every penny for the food, booze and chance to chill out.

We fly to Heathrow, go through security again and hang around waiting for the gate.

I’m in my Captain Scarlet tee shirt; it’s the 50th anniversary this week), and get chatting to an MoD ex-pat from Harrogate on his way home to DC. Obviously a fan, he wonders where he can get one.

Twenty minutes later we go our separate ways and queue for the gate.

After a random security pat down (or was it random after my chat with Mr MOD?), we’re on board and right by the toilets of our 747. ’This should be nine hours of fun,’ I think.

It’s actually not the aromatic experience I’d feared.

Okay, it’s freezing and there’s no air nozzles, but the films are great. I sit through The Belko Experiment, which looks like an episode of Black Mirror. I told writer James Gunn as much during one of his fan chats; the sublime Anne Hathaway indie comedy Colossal, and a chunk of Alien Covenant and Life. Essentially the same movie with Life far better.

My head starts pounding two hours before landing, and dinner makes me nauseous so I try and sleep. Which happens briefly, but the thunderous clouds over Miami and unwelcome turbulence make me nervier than ever.

Irma has left its mark, so I have no idea what to expect as we finally touch down.

Thankfully customs, bag collect and shuttle pick up are relatively easy compared to a two-hour nightmare in Dallas a year before. I suspect some tourists are staying away, or we just got lucky.

After telling our shuttle driver we need to be dropped a couple of miles from our original destination, he finally finds the place and is thrilled to get a little extra on top of his pre-paid tip. That’s the thing about Florida. It’s a flexible state with some of the best service in the world.

We check in to the Courtyard Marriott on Fort Lauderdale beach (literally as sand is piled high feet from where it should be), and grab another hour’s sleep before freshening up and heading out for dinner with friends.

The first Uber of the trip whisks us to a terrific traditional pizza restaurant where we enjoy beer, wine, starter and pizzas for around £20 each, including a 20 per cent tip. Bargain.

Ft Lauderdale is rain-lashed by the time we leave. I’m feeling more human, my head has stopped pounding and the nausea has gone. This should be a fun trip.

Courtyard Marriott, Fort Lauderdale, September 2017

Day two

So, a year after meeting David Cook in Texas, the wife and I do the whole thing again in Fort Lauderdale, which is a great excuse to try out a Floridian place we’ve not been before, and see one of the nicest blokes in showbiz.

Before which, too much sun on the beach across the road from the hotel, and a calorific dinner at Bubba Gump’s (I still think it’s amazing that Forrest Gump spawned a successful food chain, though their shrimp Mac and Cheese is out of this world).

Meet and greet wth David Cook is a fun preamble as the uber fans line up behind me. I’m first in the queue, which is nice, and when he finally comes on stage, after terrific support act Kathryn Dean, the place goes wild.

Broward Center for the Performing Arts seems like a posh venue for a rock act, but it’s a great gig, even if there’s the obligatory crazies who have had too much booze, drugs or both. And they always seem to stand next to me.

After a night of semi-restless sleep due to Saturday night party goers and thumping music elsewhere, things settle.

Day three

Last day in Fort Lauderdale on a rain-lashed Sunday, so hopefully things will pick up as we set off for the semi epic trip to Orlando.

Breakfast in a freezing mezzanine cafe area means punters in shorts and tee shirts have to do a 180 and get another layer from their rooms. Me included.

Thankfully the food is pretty good at the Courtyard Marriott. Two hot teas, a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and another involving egg white frittata came to a reasonable $36, inc 20 per cent tip. My tip to them? Turn down the AC.

Baby Driver Review

Baby DriverDirector Edgar Wright

Certificate 15

Starring Anson Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James

In a summer dominated by sequels and comic book movies, Edgar Wright’s latest movie is a breath of fresh air. It’s also his best since Shaun of the Dead in 2004. 

To say I’m a Wright fan is an understatement. He’s up there with Danny Boyle as one of my favourite Brit directors, though some of Edgar’s movies do go off the boil toward the finale. 

I was there at the midnight screening of The World’s End and diverted miles out of my way during a 2012 road trip to ensure I could explore the key landmarks in Hot Fuzz. I also watched every episode of Spaced several times over. 

With ’Shaun’, he and co-writer Simon Pegg hit the comedy horror nail so squarely on the head, it proved to be up there with An American Werewolf in London and Young Frankenstein as a genre classic. 

And as much as I adore Hot Fuzz, that third act descended into an OTT shoot ’em up. 

Scott Pilgrim vs the World peaked half way through, as did The World’s End. 

Then it looked like Wright’s long cherished Ant-Man would finally see the light of day… but he dropped out. However, his directorial flourishes remained like echoes of what could have been. 

Which brings us to Baby Driver, the much acclaimed romantic comedy crime caper with a terrific soundtrack. 

Anson Elgort is the eponymous hero, a fresh faced kid with tinnitus who says little but his driving skills speak volumes. He’s ’Mozart with a go-kart’, as Kevin Spacey remarks at one point. 

That hybrid of Spaced and Spacey proves a terrific mix. He never gives a bad turn, but here the Old Vic legend gives one of his best performances, his rock solid delivery of a terrific script ensures every time he’s on screen, the movie comes alive. Not that it needs much help. The action scenes are often breathtaking. A street shootout cuts the excess flab from Michael Mann’s landmark Heat which no doubt inspired it. This is leaner, but thankfully not meaner than that 1995 bum-numbing classic, while the opening BD car chase left me with a huge grin for the duration. 

It feels like after years of shifting through gears, Wright has finally found the right one. While some movie vehicles can have a super car sheen but milk float-style story engines, puttering out long before the end, Baby Driver is a Bugatti Veyron powered by an F14 fighter plane engine. 

The stunts, pacing, editing and score are superb, while the chemistry between Elgort and Lily James is priceless. She has the screen presence of a genuine movie star, while solid support comes from Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Jon Bernthal. 

The sucker punch is Baby’s relationship with his deaf foster father Joseph (the superb CJ Jones). A hugely touching moment in the third act proved more effective than the outstanding action scenes and brilliantly scored iPod-driven other moments (Baby’s opening title coffee run is terrific). 

One of many genius moves is Wright choosing the original songs of many tunes which later found fame as sampled smashes. So instead of yet another airing of Jump Around by House of Pain (see also War Dogs, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Bridget Jones’s Baby), we get the original. Great movies are about giving the audience what they think they’re getting, then pulling the rug. 

Baby Driver is up there with La La Land as one of my films of the year, and like that riot of colour, action and music, I can’t wait to see the whole thing again. 

8/10

Rod Stewart Plays Hull

Rod Stewart is stood a few feet away, that unmistakable shock of hair, a face that looks like it was carved out of granite, every line tells a story. A wrinkle here for those early gigs, a line there for selling out countless stadia around the world. 

Despite being in one of them with 2,400 other folks, there’s the feeling you’re the only one who matters. 

Like all great musicians, that bond with the audience is one of the secrets of his success. And as he makes his debut in Hull, it’s obvious he’s loving every second. The City of Culture has embraced him with open arms, and despite leaden skies, the rain stays away for the duration of the gig. 

There’s no surprise it’s called Hits. There’s 25 of them over two hours and 20 minutes. His support acts, a mariachi band and double act The Sisterhood (outstanding, not least thanks to Rod’s daughter Ruby Stewart) get fans in the mood for what is to follow. 

Rod belts out all the classics and has a twinkle in his eye like a naughty schoolboy caught round the back of the bike sheds with the prom queen. 

Whether it’s old school hits like You Wear It Well or recent smash Love Is, Stewart snr makes it look effortless. 

A dazzling display of video screens ensured those at the back got a good view, but as I was lucky enough to be on the second row, when Rod popped by to say hello, it was surreal seeing that face which looked like it belonged in some rock music version of Mount Rushmore.

He’s not an elegant mover – the king of dad dancing – but it scarcely matters. 

Surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous or seasoned musicians, Rod delivered hit after hit and a few surprises. 
Needless to say old classics like Maggie May, Baby Jane, and Sailing received worthy support from the fans. 

In the middle of assorted numbers he kicked a dozen or more signed footballs into the crowd. 

As for that much asked question Do ya think I’m sexy? Not really Rod, though the drunken 73 year old who gate crashed our row made her feelings known. 

While picking firework detritus out of my hair, one thought kept coming back to me: I have no idea what Rod Stewart is on, but I want some. 

It was an extraordinary evening, even for casual fans like my wife and I, so I doubt any hardcore punter left the stadium feeling short changed. 

Barry Manilow Plays Leeds – Gig Review

He’s never been seen as cool Barry Manilow. An artist to poke fun at perhaps, but he’s usually the first to do that. He may never have had movie star looks, but when it comes to creating crowd pleasing tunes, the man has skills, and then some. 

Photo: Roger Crow 

When he took to the First Direct Arena in Leeds in mid June 2016, his first gig in the city, 10,000 fans couldn’t have cared less whether he was cool or not. They were there to have a good time, and the seasoned New Yorker did not disappoint. 

Photo: Roger Crow 

All the old favourites, from Can’t Smile Without You to the inevitable Copacabana led to countless standing ovations. 

The highlights were many. Drawing from some hidden oxygen reserve possibly located inside his piano, Manilow dug deep for one of his greatest tunes, Weekend in New England, and mined a rich vein of emotion. Tears were shed in the audience and Manilow, humble as ever, seemed amazed at how well the track was received. 

Photo: Roger Crow 

Despite a technical snafu with a Judy Garland on-screen duet (plugging his new album of dream duets with showbiz legends), Barry took it all in his stride. We were soon back on track, and the man who writes the songs belted out the rest of his set with the gusto of a bloke half his age. 

Photo: Roger Crow 

There were no encores. None of those fake finales. Just hit after hit and a few lesser tracks from 40 plus years of beloved albums. 

I could have done without his support act, a slick saxophonist that outstayed his welcome, but it was worth enduring for a sublime gig. 

This may be One Last Time, according to the gig’s title, but there’s little sign of Barry Manilow settling for an easy life just yet. When you have 10,000 people dancing in the aisles, that’s a hard buzz to give up. 

Neil Diamond- Live in Leeds

Whether you have a certain amount of ’delirious love’ for Neil Diamond or if you’re new to the party, chances are the shy New Yorker has provided part of the soundtrack to your life. 

He has mine, a fascination that’s endured since 1980 when my dad bought The Jazz Singer soundtrack on cassette and it was played on a loop during a family road trip. 
  
Neil Diamond plays Leeds – July 21, 2015. Photo: Roger Crow

My love of that gloriously awful film stems from the fact that at least six good songs can keep a bad movie afloat like yellow barrels fired into a Great White movie shark. 
Adhering to the fact few rock stars can act, Diamond retained an admirable degree of dignity in a film where he was too old to play the conflicted protagonist, had little chemistry with either of his leading ladies, and had to put up with Laurence Olivier’s hammy performance as his dad. 
Yes, the crowd scenes are just as bad, but those songs are timeless, especially Love on the Rocks. Bad guy co-star Paul Nicholas may have intentionally given him short shrift in the studio, but it remains one of Diamond’s finest works – creating screen alchemy by transforming the dull iron pyrite script into screen gold. 
  Neil Diamond plays Leeds – July 21, 2015. Photo: Roger Crow

Diamond’s work seems to have been around forever, from the melancholic Song Sung Blue, feel good Sweet Caroline and Cracklin’ Rosie to his more recent collaborations with Rick Rubin, 12 Songs and Home Before Dark. 
In 2008, an era when I’d lost faith in mainstream music, Pretty Amazing Grace reminded me of what a craftsman Diamond can be with just a guitar and that voice which sounds like warm audio honey dripped into your ears. 

Then there’s the string of other classics, Daydream Believer, Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon and Red Red Wine, recorded by different artists, which took on a life of their own. 

I’ve long yearned to see the award-winning tunesmith live, and last night I got the chance in Leeds. My biggest fear was that unmistakable voice would have been diminished with age, but thankfully not a bit of it.

  
Neil Diamond plays Leeds – July 21, 2015. Photo: Roger Crow

Rattling through a string of his classics, as well as some of his lesser known works, Diamond put on a hell of a show. It’s quite something to see one man and his band get 11,000 people on their feet whooping and cheering, but Diamond managed it with relative ease.
He’s as multi-faceted as the surname suggests, a talent forged in the unforgiving crucible of New York’s songwriting factory the Brill building, before shining on the world’s stage. 
He’s penned no end of love songs over the years, but it’s often his more ’out there’ work which sticks in the mind. 
  
Neil Diamond plays Leeds – July 21, 2015. Photo: Roger Crow

Who else could bemoan the fact a chair didn’t hear him on his homesick LA-based oddity I Am…I Said? Then there was his glorious score for flop movie Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which, as you may have guessed, centres on a feathered protagonist. The film dive bombed but his soundtrack soared. 
It may not have been a hot August night, but his latest gig generated no end of summer love for one of America’s finest artists. 
  
Neil Diamond plays Leeds – July 21, 2015. Photo: Roger Crow

At 74, he’s inevitably slower than his Jazz Singer days, but that voice is still as strong, and just one of the many reasons he’s shifted 125 million albums. 
A beautiful noise indeed.