REVIEW
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Brand New Show Celebrating Tina Turner is Heading
to Southend's Cliffs Pavilion on Tuesday 26th February 2019
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Brand New Show Celebrating Tina Turner is Heading
to Southend's Cliffs Pavilion on Tuesday 26th February 2019
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
BY ANDREW WALTERS
Tribute acts are a very popular form of entertainment these days! The chances are, if you go on holiday to a warm climate this summer, you will be offered a show featuring one of your favourite “stars”, whether it be at a lively seafront bar, at your hotel, or somewhere more
glamorous. I’ve seen a fair few in these circumstances, and am always surprised how good these acts can be.
If you are going to take your show on a 12 month, nationwide tour to all the top venues in the UK, you will have to be good, in fact, the best.....simply the best even!! Last night, the Cliffs was packed out for this latest “ Tribute” show, this time featuring the music of Tina Turner.
What the audience got was a slick and spectacular staging, featuring a superb ten piece band, 3 backing vocalist/dancers, and the very talented Elesha Paul Moses as the great Tina herself. I need to make it clear that I am not a particular fan of Tina Turner, but I was certainly interested to hear some of her songs. We all have an image of the great icon that she is in our minds, so the big question is......does this show deliver on the big “ Tina “ experience? Well.... the answer to that would be....yes and no.
There is no denying that Elesha is in her own right a very fine performer. She has a very impressive set of pipes indeed, and belted her way through the whole Tina catalogue, only leaving the stage briefly to change costume. She is a very strong singer, but somehow I felt that something was missing. Elesha is well known for performing in another Tribute show featuring the songs of Whitney Houston. She looks very like Whitney physically, and I can imagine that she is a knockout in that show, but as Tina Turner, she does not quite deliver the thrill-factor. She is efficient, but her impersonation needs to grow. During the first half at least, I felt she was too polite. I understand that the show doesn’t want to deliver a caricature, but I felt the performance needed to be bigger, and funnier. She needs bigger wigs, bigger costumes, and better patter too. I lost count of how many times she asked us if we were “ having a good time.”
However, things improved greatly in the second half, and Elesha looked so much better in a sexy leather outfit, then we finally got the iconic red dress, legs up to her armpits, and the whole show went up a big gear for the final section, featuring all the biggest crowd pleasing hits. By the time we hit “ Simply The Best, the whole audience was on their feet, and Tina was in the house!
There is fine support from a very talented band, including a very eye-catching lady on saxophone and percussion, but in particular the backing vocalists, including the jaw-droppingly talented Amarra Smith, who, in one solo number, effortlessly won the audience over and stole the show for me. Now THAT is a star performer. If I was singing Tina, I’d be worried about leaving the stage to her....
Despite the small problems I have listed, you leave the show feeling bowled over by the amazing song collection that Tina Turner has given us all over her 50 years of performing, and thoroughly entertained by a very talented and hard working company of musicians. Full marks for sound and lighting too. It was a pleasure to be able to hear the songs at full blast, but not deafened!
glamorous. I’ve seen a fair few in these circumstances, and am always surprised how good these acts can be.
If you are going to take your show on a 12 month, nationwide tour to all the top venues in the UK, you will have to be good, in fact, the best.....simply the best even!! Last night, the Cliffs was packed out for this latest “ Tribute” show, this time featuring the music of Tina Turner.
What the audience got was a slick and spectacular staging, featuring a superb ten piece band, 3 backing vocalist/dancers, and the very talented Elesha Paul Moses as the great Tina herself. I need to make it clear that I am not a particular fan of Tina Turner, but I was certainly interested to hear some of her songs. We all have an image of the great icon that she is in our minds, so the big question is......does this show deliver on the big “ Tina “ experience? Well.... the answer to that would be....yes and no.
There is no denying that Elesha is in her own right a very fine performer. She has a very impressive set of pipes indeed, and belted her way through the whole Tina catalogue, only leaving the stage briefly to change costume. She is a very strong singer, but somehow I felt that something was missing. Elesha is well known for performing in another Tribute show featuring the songs of Whitney Houston. She looks very like Whitney physically, and I can imagine that she is a knockout in that show, but as Tina Turner, she does not quite deliver the thrill-factor. She is efficient, but her impersonation needs to grow. During the first half at least, I felt she was too polite. I understand that the show doesn’t want to deliver a caricature, but I felt the performance needed to be bigger, and funnier. She needs bigger wigs, bigger costumes, and better patter too. I lost count of how many times she asked us if we were “ having a good time.”
However, things improved greatly in the second half, and Elesha looked so much better in a sexy leather outfit, then we finally got the iconic red dress, legs up to her armpits, and the whole show went up a big gear for the final section, featuring all the biggest crowd pleasing hits. By the time we hit “ Simply The Best, the whole audience was on their feet, and Tina was in the house!
There is fine support from a very talented band, including a very eye-catching lady on saxophone and percussion, but in particular the backing vocalists, including the jaw-droppingly talented Amarra Smith, who, in one solo number, effortlessly won the audience over and stole the show for me. Now THAT is a star performer. If I was singing Tina, I’d be worried about leaving the stage to her....
Despite the small problems I have listed, you leave the show feeling bowled over by the amazing song collection that Tina Turner has given us all over her 50 years of performing, and thoroughly entertained by a very talented and hard working company of musicians. Full marks for sound and lighting too. It was a pleasure to be able to hear the songs at full blast, but not deafened!
WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? TOUR DATES 2019
|
February
Wed 27th EDINBURGH, USHER HALL Thu 28th GLASGOW, KING'S THEATRE March Fri 1st ABERDEEN, MUSIC HALL Sat 16th DARLINGTON, HIPPODROME Thu 21st BRADFORD, ST GEORGES HALL Wed 27th PORTSMOUTH, GUILDHALL Fri 29th HULL, CITY HALL April Thu 18th SHEFFIELD, CITY HALL May Wed 1st COVENTRY, BELGRADE THEATRE Fri 31st DARTFORD, ORCHARD THEATRE June Sat 1st HODDESDON, THE SPOTLIGHT Sat 8th HUDDERSFIELD, TOWN HALL Thu 13th MALVERN, FORUM THEATRE Sat 15th BASINGSTOKE, THE ANVIL Sun 16th CANTERBURY, MARLOWE THEATRE Sat 22nd TORQUAY, PRINCESS THEATRE Thu 27th NEW BRIGHTON, FLORAL PAVILION THEATRE Fri 28th CARLISLE, THE SANDS CENTRE Sat 29th NOTTINGHAM, ROYAL CONCERT HALL |
July
Thurs 11th HORNCHURCH, QUEENS THEATRE Sat 20th BLACKPOOL, OPERA HOUSE Sun 21st SUNDERLAND, EMPIRE THEATRE Sun 28th CROYDON, ASHCROFT THEATRE September Fri 13th CARDIFF, ST DAVIDS HALL Fri 20th MANCHESTER, BRIDGEWATER HALL Sat 28th BRIDLINGTON, BRIDLINGTON SPA October Wed 2nd LEICESTER, DE MONTFORT HALL Thu 3rd HORSHAM, CAPITOL THEATRE Fri 4th BOURNEMOUTH, PAVILION THEATRE Sat 5th LLANELLI, Y FFWRNES Fri 11th DONCASTER, THE DOME Thur 17th DERBY, DERBY ARENA Fri 18th BATH, THE FORUM Sat 19th SALISBURY, CITY HALL November Sat 9th HIGH WYCOMBE, WYCOMBE SWAN Sun 10th RICHMOND, RICHMOND THEATRE Fri 15th HARROGATE, ROYAL HALL Thu 28th MARGATE, WINTER GARDENS Fri 29th CAMBRIDGE, CORN EXCHANGE December Wed 4th SWANSEA, GRAND THEATRE Sat 14th WORTHING, ASSEMBLY HALL |