Live Review: Tiffany – 24th September 2018 – Borderline, London
3 min read
Tiffany is dead.
Let me qualify that…”Tiffany”, the arm-twirling, mall-singing, teen pop princess from the 1980’s is dead. Tiffany, on the other hand is alive and well and leading a bonafide American rock and roll band. And as I was surprised to find out when I caught her show at The Borderline in London Sept 24, quite a good one at that. Having lost track of “Tiffany” in the late 1980’s as her mainstream success faded (and after being lured away from pop music by the likes of Garth Brooks), I wasn’t sure what to expect. But from the very beginning I knew this was not a woman stuck in the past, coasting on nostalgia but an artist who has grown and evolved into something much better.
With the 300 capacity venue about two-thirds full, she kicked off the very intimate feeling show with I Saw Him Standing There, a Beatles cover she originally recorded for her 1987 debut album that catapulted her to fame. What struck me first about the rockier, more contemporary arrangement is how great her voice sounds. With just a slightly deeper timbre (as to be expected with age), it’s clear what a powerhouse she is. Wearing all black with a sleeveless, lingerie-inspired top, she powered through songs mostly from her new album, Pieces of Me, but with a spattering of her best known hits from her 10 studio album releases over her career spanning thirty years. Supported by a very talented group of musicians including three guitars, drums, keyboards, and one backing vocalist, there is no doubt she has firmly rooted herself in rock and roll- and she seems perfectly at home there.
As the band powered through one rock song after another, one of the most notable songs performed from the new album was the lead single Worlds Away- a great song with a modern rock-country fusion. Towards the middle of the set, she slowed things down a bit (the rest of the band except the keyboardist left the stage) and she performed some of her best known ballad hits from her early days Could’ve Been, All This Time, and Here In My Heart (which she dedicated to a London friend). As the show neared the end, the crowd responded most enthusiastically to I Think We’re Alone Now– the smash hit that made her famous, before closing the show with Lost Inside to very enthusiastic applause and whistles from the audience.
Sure, I was surprised how great the show was but I probably shouldn’t have been. She is an amazing vocal talent, and has supported herself with a very talented group of musicians. Watching the show, I got the feeling that she is just as happy performing for 200 grateful music fans as 20,000. She is clearly someone who enjoys what she does, and I would enjoy seeing her perform again. Tiffany– the rock and roll band that is. “Tiffany” however…may she rest in peace, I have a feeling we’ve seen the last of her.
Setlist:
I Saw Him Standing There
Can’t Stop Falling
Beautiful
King of Lies
World’s Away
Waste of Time
Starting Over
Pieces of Me
Could’ve Been
All This Time
Here In My Heart
Open My Eyes
Butterfly
Fall
I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
Lost Inside
::: Renowned For Sound Technical Director and Film Reviewer ::: Robert is an IT geek, movie fan and part-time movie reviewer/editor. Robert also looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ technical elements of Renowned For Sound.
