search
date/time
Yorkshire Times
A Voice of the Free Press
frontpagebusinessartscarslifestylefamilytravelsportsscitechnaturefictionCartoons
Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
10:25 PM 3rd July 2017
arts

Jeff Lynne's ELO, KC Stadium Hull

 
Jeff Lynne's ELO
Jeff Lynne's ELO
Hull seems to be very lucky with the weather when they have outdoor concerts as every time I have attended an outdoor gig there the sun always seems to shine - we were all in luck again tonight.

Whoever chose the support acts for the gig must have had the ELO audience in mind as both The Shires and Tom Chaplin were the perfect fit for tonight's audience. It was pleasing to see an all British line up of quality acts too.

The Shires
The Shires
The Shires brand of country mixed with pop appeared to be the first introduction to many here tonight. Their short set was like the best of their career so far rolled into 20 minutes. A Thousand Hallelujahs closed a set that was succinct, engaging and thoroughly pleasing. Job well done.

Tom Chaplin because he was the lead singer in Keane, appeared to be well known by the Hull fans. His debut solo album released last September details his personal struggles and songs such as Still Waiting and Quicksand managed to reach all parts of the vast stadium.

Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin
He drops the Keane hit, Somewhere Only We Go and the audience are out of their seats. In his gold and silver jacket he gave a confident and convincing performance.

The nearest thing Hull has seen of an ELO gig in the past has probably been a tribute act to the band. Who would believe that the only other place in the UK besides Wembley the week before, to see the act in an outdoor setting would be Hull.

Jeff Lynne's ELO
Jeff Lynne's ELO
With the trademark spaceship above the stage, for one night only, Jeff Lynne's ELO played what will probably be the gig of the year in the city.

Backed by a very talented band of musicians Lynne did not look much different to how he did 30 years ago. Dressed like most of the band in black, he is a man of few words.

Besides welcoming the fans, many who had travelled from all over the country to be there, and apart from also informing us that regular keyboard player Richard Tandy was absent due to illness, he let the music do the talking.

With tracks such as Evil Woman, All Over the World and Showdown aired in the first 20 minutes it was like hearing all your favourite classic tracks one after the other.

Last Train To London, the disco infused track from 1979's Discovery album, turned the KC Stadium into one big disco, before the 1980 Number 1, Xanadu (minus Olivia Newton John) sounded just as good as it did back in the day.

What Lynne has is a knack of writing timeless melodies whether they be tracks like Wild West Hero or Telephone Line, much like The Beatles who Lynne gained his influence. He even worked with George Harrison in the Travelling Wilberries. In fact, he even performs Handle With Care from "the other band I was in"

It was not all about the past as they played When I Was A Boy from the last album.

The excellent light show, along with lasers, lit up the stadium as they closed with Mr Blue Sky, the track most people associate with the band.

It was not long before the band are back on stage to encore with Roll Over Beethoven. A superb gig that made Hull the Capital of Pop for one night, besides being the Capital of Culture.