Luther - A Luther Vandross Tribute, Floral Pavilion New Brighton

Show: Luther – A Luther Vandross Tribute

Location: Floral Pavilion, New Brighton

Date: Thursday November 4 2021

Age Rating: 8+

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Production Company: Listen To The Music Production

Performers: Harry Cambridge, Gemma Samuels, Holly Reynolds, Ryan Ormsby, Jason Ward, Robert Schmuck, Chris Taylor, Lee Beards & Chris Lea

Harry Cambridge’s singing career really took off after appearing and winning Granada Television’s ‘Stars in Their Eyes’ as Luther Vandross. He is now the top UK tribute to Luther and recreates the finest soul singer of the 80s and 90s.

Luther – A Luther Vandross Tribute

Description

This wonderful show kicked off with Never Too Much which gave the audience an idea and feel of the evening to come. Unfortunately, this first song was marred right through until the end, by people coming in late to take their seats. This was very probably a result of them waiting for drinks at the bar and the issue should be addressed by the Floral

Nevertheless, Harry impressed with his remarkable voice, full of soul. A really engaging personality. Harry interacted so well with the packed Floral audience who enjoyed every minute. He introduced each song with a story or a little background information. And as he said, there were probably three types of people attending the show; the diehard Luther fans (and there were a few of them), the person who knew around three or four Luther songs, and the person who had been dragged there! However, I would bet that all three types had a fabulous time.

The band and backing singers (the trio of goodness!) deserve their own shout out. They underpin Harry’s performance but their own standalone talent is obvious. The band comprised Jason Ward on guitar (electric and providing stand out acoustic playing). Robert Schmuck and Chris Taylor on keyboards. Lee Beards who kept everything moving with some outstanding drum skills as did Chris Lea on bass guitar.

Sparkling

Gemma Samuels, Holly Reynolds and Ryan Ormsby provided more than adequate backing vocals. Those guys could move! The trio, along with Harry, showed off their dancing skills at every occasion and the costumes reflected the show – full of sparkle and glitter.

Dance tunes were interspersed with some sensational ballads. Harry performed duets with each of the backing trio which really showed off their talent. The cover of Peabo Bryson’s Tonight I Celebrate My Love was fabulous and my favourite. I thought the sound was a little loud so slightly distorted the absolutely amazing vocals but was still enjoyable nevertheless.

The lighting really added to the occasion and we enjoyed the way that the lights were raised a few times revealing the audience, clapping, dancing and having a ball. As mentioned, the costumes were dazzling and there were a couple of changes to switch things up a bit.

Other Notes

On this occasion at the Floral, there was dancing in the aisles and right across the theatre from audience members of all ages and ability and a great atmosphere. Harry joked that we would all be feeling it the next day, which was true.

Additionally, there were also some covers, but these were brilliant too. Luther Vandross numbers included ‘Your Secret Love’ ‘A House is not a Home’ ‘So Amazing’ ‘Superstar/Until you come back to me’ ‘Stop to Love’ ‘Give me the Reason’ and ‘Love the One You’re With. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a dry in the house when Dance With My Father was sung. One lone couple got up and had a slowie in the aisle to another soulful ballad If Only For One Night which led to a round of applause.

Summary

It was such a joyous and uplifting evening. Accordingly, Luther UK received a prolonged standing ovation at their second visit to New Brighton and I think it won’t be their last. Chicks love slowies, and that’s what you’ll get with this show!