Live Review: Dave Stewart Presents Rock 24:24 – Tuesday 24th July 2012 – The Hospital Club, London, UK
5 min read
Last night we were invited along to a very special and extremely intimate performance of some of music’s most elite and influential figures in support of the Walk A Mile charity, a global campaign to stop bigotry, promote tolerance and raise money for people around the globe. Held in the quaint setting of London’s The Hospital Club, a private venue nestled within the bustling surroundings of the artistic and eccentric Covent Garden, the 100 strong crowd consisting of industry heads and UK press were offered a sharp performance from an array of musics finest with the evenings event to be streamed live around the globe.
The night boasted a line up of A-list acts including the host and key performer of the night, Dave Stewart as well as rising singer/composer Jihae, Candy Dulfer, Daryl Hall, KT Tunstall, Mike Scott And The Waterboys and also featured a number of special guest including iconic and award winning film composer Hans Zimmer.
Dave Stewart played host and ‘Ringleader’ to the event and his is no stranger to international success and as such is regarded as one of the industry’s most influential contributors. Having co-founded the Eurythmics back in 1980 with fellow icon Annie Lennox, the music veteran found international fame with hits like Thorn In My Side, Sweet Dreams and Here Comes The Rain Again as well as carving a successful solo career for himself which has spanned the last 40 years.
Opening the nights entertainment Stewart approached the stage to a rapturous applause looking every bit the part of an iconic pop star and ‘Ringleader’. Dressed from head to toe in black with silver embroidery and a matching top hat he donned a guitar strap with Sweet Dreams emblazoned. Offering the audience some detail of the cause in which the event was is support of he dove straight into his opening section of the night with a trio of Stewart pennings starting with So Long Ago and Beast Called Fame from his recent Blackbird Diaries release. With saxophonist Candy Dulfer stood by his side for a large part of the evenings performance it was only appropriate to throw in the pairs 1989 De Kassière soundtrack hit, Lily Was Here and the track gave the night a soaking of nostalgia as the two, who have been quite a collaborative force over the years, played off each others energy and radiated talent and skill behind their instruments.
Stewart then introduced rising South-Korean born singer Jihae who performed alongside Stewart for Man to Man, Woman to Woman before performing solo on two striking tracks, Illusion of You and All The Same. We were really impressed by the new singer who’s vocals lay somewhere between the quirkiness of Grace Jones and the husky scents of Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde.
Stewart then introduced Mike Scott and the Waterboys, a band who over the years have become a staple in British pop music and who performed the bands hits, Fisherman’s Blues, Strange Boat and Bring Them All In. Vocally strong performances of the bands hits were complimented by band member Steve Wickham incredible fiddle skills as he bounced around the stage with youthful energy.
With more accolades and credits to him name than most composers put together including 4 Grammy’s, an Academy Award and having scored for some of the film industry’s biggest hits including Gladiator, Inception, The Lion King and the complete Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Hans Zimmer introduced a video clip giving background to the Walk A Mile charity which was shown on two televisions for the crowd at the front of the stage.
After a brief break in entertainment Stewart was ushered back on stage and introduced a dozen strong children’s choir from Gladsmore School. Stood in a line across the width of the stage each of the children performed a line of Everybody Dreams, a track supported heavily by the Eurythmics star which puts the positive side of Tottenham into the spotlight following the regular negative international coverage of the area.
One of the UK’s finest female singer-songwriters KT Tunstall then took to the stage to perform perform a variety of the stars hit pennings including The Uummannaq Song, Invisible Empire, Push That Knot and the stars infectious signature single, Suddenly I See. Performing solo on stage the multi-talented hit-maker provided her own backing band with a series of on the spot loop recordings showcasing her abilities to entertain on an entirely new level.
With brief speeches from the State Departments Farah Pandith and Hannah Rosenthal as well as Howard Buffet the introductions for pop heavyweight and Hall and Oates member, Daryl Hall. With Stewart assisting the musician on guitar, Hall and Stewart opened the segment with the phenomenal Eurythmics hit Here Comes The Rain Again which got the crowd moving along with the hit-makers before Hall performed some of his biggest numbers including Eyes For You, No Can Do and Foolish Pride and ending his set with a performance alongside KT Tunstall on the stars single, If Only.
With the evening drawing to a close we were offered a fantastic performance covering some of Stewart most influential pennings starting with Gypsy Girl and ending with Missionary Man and the duo’s most treasured hits, Sweet Dreams closing the amazing nights performances off with grandeur and a thunderous applause from the crowd.
With such a diverse and talented line up of acts coming together to support such a great cause, last nights concert in support of Walk A Mile was a truly entertaining and surreal event full of memorable surprises.
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.
