October 2012 celebrated ten years since Girls Aloud formed (and also when me and my husband first got together!) and with that a brand new album and a tour! Of course, I immediately ordered my album and brought my tickets! The plan had originally been for me and Jon to go but typically we could not get a babysitter, so Rachael got to come!
We never sit and watch the support act as we always go to the Sky Backstage Bar. So last night was no different! We headed inside and got to use the green screens to have photos of us as part of the Got To Dance panel and as always had our Red Carpet photo. While waiting for Rachael to have her make up done, we got to hear their support act, Amelia Lily. I admit was a fan of hers during her time on X Factor but her music has not really done it for me! But admittedly, she did a great acoustic cover of Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars.
Just as Amelia Lily finished set, we headed down to the arena to find our seats. I had been dreading it as I had not got seats where I usually prefer to be. The presale had not been kind to the fans! But the main thing was we were going and we were there! We had got seats in Block 110, Row M. Once we had found our way to our seats, turned out the view was not as bad as we had expected. It helps I have a great zoom on my camera too! The stage plan had not been officially released, all we knew was the floor was for standing only, rather than seated as normal. So was very pleased to see a B Stage, which provided a fantastic view for us!
The show was meant to start at 8:30pm but typically it begun later than expected! But the wait was worth it as the girls exploded onto the stage! The black drapes dropped to reveal the girls standing on a huge sign of their band name hung above the stage! The first section took us right back to the beginning of their career, singing their hits Sound of the Underground, No Good Advice, Life Got Cold, Wake Me Up and Jump. You would never have guessed that had been away for as long they had as they performed as tightly and brilliantly as they always had!
After after a quick interlude, playing a video showing them getting ready in a dressing room for a show, the girls were back out for their second set which included The Show, Love Machine, Whole Lotta History, Can't Speak French and fan favourite, Biology. It was at this point I notice just how much the crowd were cheering every time Nicola sung a lead part. She has always been underused, but whenever they perform live, she never fails to disappoint with her vocals, sounding so much better than on the recorded tracks! The Show, using elements of Models, began with a little catwalking, which reminded me of a Victoria Secrets Fashion Show or the Notting Hill Carnival due to the additional part their stage costumes that look like the costumes due to either these events.
Another quick costume change and it was time for the girls to head to the B Stage, the part I had been waiting for! The girls got back onto the huge sign of their band name to travel to the smaller, more central stage, while performing Sexy No No No, the version they had used originally on their Tangled Up Tour. Once on the B Stage, they sung Untouchable, On The Metro and Call The Shots. I have to admit, I do love bands who use a B Stage and the girls regularly use one when on tour, as it gives everyone a chance to have a great view, but it also provides a more intimate performance. At the end of that section, the girls braved the crowds by running through them to head back for another costume change!
The final section brought us right up to date, starting with Something Kinda Ooh! Then the shock cover for the night, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson. It was a great fun cover version, though admittedly I did not realise Nadine was singing the chorus as the crowd were singing along loudly. From there, it was into the song I absolutely love due to the stunning vocals from Nicola, Beautiful Because You Love Me. The final song was Something New, which got the crowds really going and made a great end to the show, before the encore!
There is always a gap between the final song and encore, but this one felt long, long enough that people started leaving! But the girls came back, dressed in stunning red dresses, for two final songs. The first one, surprised me as a choice, I'll Stand by You, But it worked so well due to the old videos of the girls playing on the big screen, as the girls have always stood by each other, throughout their ten years together. The final song of the night, is probably the absolute fan favourite, The Promise! It was a perfect way to finish off the show, that and showering the crowd with ticker tape! And then it was over! It was goodbye for final time! As for the majority of the fans, it will be the last time we see them in concert, as this is their farewell tour! But it was a fabulous farewell!
Singin' in the Rain had been remastered and released on Blu-Ray in 2012 as part of the 60th anniversary with new bonus features available for the viewers. It was this version that was used for the concert, with the score performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. However, in 1969, the studio bosses at MGM made the decision to destroy the original scores of their musical catalogue, including Singin' in the Rain. It ended up in a landfill that became a freeway.
To introduce the movie and the orchestra, was the wife of the late Gene Kelly, Patricia Ward Kelly. While she was not married to him at the time the movie was shot and released, she spoke with so much passion about Gene, the movie and all the myths that come with it. She reminded us of the huge age difference between Gene (38yrs old) and Debbie Reynolds (19yrs old) at the time of shooting, of how Gene had a 104 temperature the day he shot the famous sequence for the song Singin' in the Rain and how Debbie's vocals for two songs were dubbed by Betty Noyes and how Jean Hagen did not actually speak like her character!
The film itself, was as always, amazing to watch, fantastically funny and with stunning musical sequences. The music felt like it was part of the film, that I had to keep checking the orchestra was actually playing. Patricia noted in the programme how Gene said that nobody thought the film would be a lasting picture, but it evident last night, within the packed auditorium of the Royal Albert Hall, that was not the case and in my opinion it will never be the case, due to the number of children being introduced to movie last night. If you have not seen it, then you must see it!
