Tag Archives: Live

➤ Le Bon takes wing during Duran’s return to Brighton

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❚ EXTRAORDINARY! IS IT POSSIBLE THAT Simon Le Bon’s voice sounds better than ever??? Even on an amateur concert video (above, posted at YouTube by Soralella71)) there was plenty of power and range to the tenor voice soaring over The Brighton Centre last night when Duran Duran opened with Before The Rain — all the more impressive since it was injuring his vocal chords that halted the AYNIN world tour in its tracks last May. There are 11 more gigs to play on this UK and Ireland leg of the tour, so fingers crossed.

➢ “Fizzing with the insouciant pop-funk of their most famous Eighties material” — today’s review at The Arts Desk

AUDIENCE VERDICTS AT FACEBOOK

❏ Corinna Scammell: Thankyou for Brighton — totally bloody marvellous and you did Secret Oktober!
❏ Lindsay Franklin: Bloody Brilliant Show last might in Brighton boys — it’s been too long! Last time I saw you was in the 80s. Even better now. Outstanding.
❏ Dan Thekebabman Burgess: Really enjoyed the show last night guys. Great job, simply amazing!
❏ Julie Stalford: Last night in Brighton was a fantastic night guys, thankyou so much, what a great great live band. Loved it.

Duran Duran, UK tour, Brighton Centre, John Taylor,video

John Taylor at Duran’s finale in Brighton last night: “That was definitely worth the wait. Thank you!” (Video grab from Soralella71 at YouTube)

A sentimental postcard from
John in Birmingham

➢ Dec 3: John Taylor on a DD family outing You can’t blame the Brum crowd for their sense of ownership of songs like Planet Earth and Rio, they were written in their back-yard. We have lived in a lot of cities over the years and there have been a lot of places I have called home for a time, but you know, there’s really only one, and that’s the city of Birmingham. It beget us and it made us. Thanks to it for a great night. / Read more online

➢ Ten killer DD vids to say welcome back to the UK

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2010 ➤ Grace Jones turns her back on London ;-)

❚ GRACE JONES WAS TRULY IN THE PINK tonight for a one-off concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a long-awaited top-up to last year’s Hurricane tour. The video above gives a taste of her finale to the old Piaf song La vie en rose, shot by yours truly. See if you can spot the colour of her… lipstick.

Grace Jones, London, 2010, Hurricane

Hurricane 2010 at the Albert Hall: Grace Jones becomes the title track from her album. Photographed © by Shapersofthe80s

Grace Jones, London, 2010, © Shapersofthe80s.com

Love is the drug: Grace as a shimmering silver heart imprisoned by lasers

❚ “HEADS ARE GONNA ROLL!” declared Grace Jones over her headset, backstage at the Albert Hall. “WHERE is my mannequin?” Last summer in Hollywood when she sang her opening words to Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango classic, Libertango, “Strange, I’ve seen that face before / Seen him hanging round my door”, ice-cool Ms Jones glided onstage dancing with a lifesize bust – of herself. Instead, sans mannequin, in London she had to embark on a solo tango, pleading for one of her entourage to join her and “drag me across the floor”. This video, again shot by yours truly, catches the improvisation.

Grace Jones, Mark Moore

Awww, look who got to go back stage – photo courtesy of himself © Mark Moore

❏ The Grace Jones Hurricane collection of costumes created by the Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka were all photographed © by shapersofthe80s.com during her London concert, 2010

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➤ For two weeks, Grace goes on dazzling

Grace Jones, 2010, Chris Levine, Vinyl Factory , London

Grace Jones in 3-D: you can play with this lenticular print online © by Chris Levine

❚ FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY, Grace Jones can be viewed in a groundbreaking show of 3-D holographic portraits by light artist Chris Levine, titled Stillness at the Speed of Light. The work is for sale at this free immersive multimedia exhibition which involves lightboxes, lasers, video and a specially commissioned soundscape at The Vinyl Factory in Poland Street, London, from April 30 to May 14. This show also launches Grace’s new video Love You To Life, which Levine directed.

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