“Blue jean baby L.A. Lady Seamstress for the band
Pretty eyes, pirate smile, you’ll marry
a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her
dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me,
tiny dancer in my hand....
The Internationally Acclaimed Elton John Experience starring Greg Andrew as Sir Elton John came alive at the BMICH on November 3 and what a show it was! Those who were real Elton John fans, those who grew up to the hits of Sir Elton John and who were present that evening were blown away by Greg Andrew’s honest musical approach - the accolades he received were justified. As a singer the music of Elton John seems a natural place for Greg Andrew - any wonder then that he was the first Elton John Tribute Artiste to be invited to perform at TRIBEFEST UK which, to date, is the biggest and most prestigious tribute artiste festival in the world.
Most of the Elton John hits were featured in Greg Andrew’s programme that evening. It was a pleasant surprise to hear him sing in the first hall Tiny Dancer with a backdrop of a ballet dancer in blue jeans dancing solo to the entire song. Greg Andrew’s backing musicians – guitarist, bassist and drummer gave an added plus to the song.
Furthermore, to the writer it fast brought back memories of my years in broadcasting when as a presenter my colleagues and I we were crazy about the song especially the lyrics and never hesitated to air the song at every given opportunity. We were happy that Greg Andrew included the song that evening.
In the first half of his programme apart from Tiny Dancer , Greg Andrew sang the ever popular Candle In The Wind, Sacrifice, Rocket Man, Captain Fantastic, Call It The Blues and he ended the first half with two selections from The Lion King - the medley Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Circle Of Life.
In a true Elton John shimmering blue outfit and spectacles to match, the music of Elton John obviously gave Greg Andrew a kind of freedom to entertain his audience and that he succeeded there was no doubt.
A word of praise to the trio backing him; they were in fine form throughout.
The tempo did not lag even in the second half of his programme. Dressed in a red shimmering outfit complete with the Elton John fancy spectacles, the expertise of Greg Andrew never flagged. He took us through another exciting selection of popular hits. Starting off with the Bitch is Back, he moved through Get Back, Nikita, the ever popular Daniel - that has an attraction all its own, Sad Songs, the rousing Yellow Brick Road which Sir John Elton is using as his theme now for his final world tour, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, and the perennial Your Song which he dedicated to the audience, and he rounded off his programme with an up-tempo Crocodile Rock which gave his drummer to display his dexterity on the skins and cymbals.
Sanity was the encore which brought the whole enjoyable concert to a close. We hope there will be a next time and that Skyline Pigeon will be with us. That he cemented his reputation as a formidable artiste through an exciting and emotionally exhilarating performance left us Elton John fans in no doubt. Thank you Greg Andrew and I’d like to sign off with these lines, until the next time...
Fly away, skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You’ve left so very far behind...