Jason Donovan All The Hits & More Concert

...girl I’ve been a huge Jason Donovan fan. Not just when he was in BBC soap “Neighbours” or when he was popular in the charts but even when he’d spiraled out of control and his career was in pieces. He appeared on ITV series “I’m a celebrity get me out of here!” last year and while I don’t usually follow the program I found myself tuning in to see how he was getting on, it was great to see him back on our screens and seemingly doing well for himself. ...
...about to let me see Jason without her.

We headed straight for the merchandising stand as my sister collects programs from every event she attends, I don’t usually bother with such things but found myself tempted by what they had on offer. The merchandise was actually incredibly expensive, well in my eyes at least, the program was £12 and I paid £18 for a pink t-shirt(which happened to be the most expensive thing there!) other things ... more

I am about to make a confession, now don't laugh at me! ever since I was a little girl I’ve been a huge Jason Donovan fan. Not just when he was in BBC soap “Neighbours” or when he was popular in the charts but even when he’d spiraled out of control and his career was in pieces. He appeared on ITV series “I’m a celebrity get me out of here!” last year and while I don’t usually follow the program I found myself tuning in to see how he was getting on, it was great to see him back on our screens and seemingly doing well for himself. I knew as his character started to emerge and his popularity rose that he’d be making a come back just like Peter Andre before him, sadly he didn’t win the contest however it gave him a great platform to relaunch himself and this year took to the stage 20 years after he first became popular.

I saw his concert dates advertised in a local paper and secretly wished, as my birthday was coming up, that someone would surprise me with tickets. I didn’t dare ask for them, slightly embarrassed that I wanted to go after all these years and worried I’d get laughed at. Fortunately my family know me too well, it was January and although the concert wasn’t until May my dear mother and father presented me with 2 tickets, I was over the moon but kept my girlish glee within. I had a while to wait until the concert but that allowed me time to plan child care etc.. I rarely go out but I wasn’t missing this!

So May arrived and concert day was here, I busied myself tidying the house trying not to get over excited , after all he’s was older now and might have lost it, I didn’t want to be disappointed. My sister arrived to pick me up and we drove down to the venue, she’d always been Kylies fan but wasn’t about to let me see Jason without her.

We headed straight for the merchandising stand as my sister collects programs from every event she attends, I don’t usually bother with such things but found myself tempted by what they had on offer. The merchandise was actually incredibly expensive, well in my eyes at least, the program was £12 and I paid £18 for a pink t-shirt(which happened to be the most expensive thing there!) other things on offer were the usual mugs, key rings, hats as well as knickers and tea towels, slightly more unusual items but apparently quite popular.

There was a bar with all manner of drinks and snacks available however i'd taken my own and so didn't need to visit it. There is also a cloack room and toilets at the venue, I know from previous experience that these are quite small but didn't need them this time round.

Purchases made we headed to our seats, row B seats 14 and 15 to be precise. As we took our seats we couldn’t believe how close we were to the stage, we were almost central too and had a perfect view. The venue (Bristol Colston Hall) is actually a bit of a mess, it looks worn and slightly cheap but they’re renovating it soon so it should see a great improvement. Never the less the seats were quite comfy and we weren’t there to look at the décor. Now you probably won’t believe me when I say the venue was full and there was a good proportion of men, no doubt dragged along with their partners but not seeming unhappy to be there. There was a wide age range including middle aged people and children, not just mid twenties fan’s from his early days.

There was only one warm up act, a boy band/male vocal group, what ever you want to call them, named JP Mac. They did a brief set of 4 songs and weren’t all that bad. 2 of the lads were actually very talented, they danced well and had great voices, unfortunately 1 barely moved and the fourth looked like he was new, he was uncomfortable on the stage and was always following the others moves. They had a kind of Justin Timberlake/Michael Jackson style and I have to admit that when they started their first number with lots of posing and posturing I turned to Rachel and said “I’m too old for bands like this” sad really as I’m only 26 and a few years back would have loved it. Their sound was a little off and so at times you couldn’t hear what they were singing all that well. Anyway after their 20 minutes was up they left the stage to a small cheer and chants of “Jason, Jason!” the audience had no shame in letting the world know who they were there for. There was a short interval where, for the first time in my concert going history, they sold ice cream, I’ve seen it done in theatres but not at concerts, not that I bought any I’d just bankrupted myself on a t-shirt that I was now proudly wearing.

As the lights faded for a second time the audience erupted, the chanting began again as lights flashed and band members took the stage. I started to feel like I was a little girl again, the 10 year old that had hidden for so long suddenly started to take over with her carefree excitement. We all clapped in rhythm led by one of the band members and from our seats we could actually see Jason preparing to come on stage. As he did the crowd literally went wild, he started with his hit “RSVP” and really he didn’t need to sing at all, the words rang out from around the auditorium, every woman there knew each lyric perfectly. “RSVP” joined directly onto my favourite “Nothing can divide us” I could go home a happy lady after that! Next followed “Everyday” the whole audience was delighted at this fantastic start.

The tour is called “All the hits and more” and it didn’t disappoint, all the classic’s were there including “Hang on to your love”, “When you come back to me”, “Especially for you”, “Happy together” and “Sealed with a kiss” he also did 3 new numbers, they were a lot more grown up in feel, obviously with him being in his 40s now he couldn’t release pop numbers, they had a slight rock edge to them and the audience and myself loved them all. There was a great flow to the concert with fast numbers balanced by slower or more rocky numbers and just enough chat to provide a rest from all the dancing and singing.

Naturally between the songs Jason would stop for a breath and a bit of a chat. I was worried he was going to be a bit of a diva, a security guard had gone round before the show telling us all that if Jason went to the edge of the stage we weren’t allowed to go up to him or bother him but my worries were unfounded. He was a really decent guy, down to earth, very humble, open and honest. He didn’t mind talking about his past career and mistakes, he also spoke about his experiences on stage in “Joseph…..” and “Rocky Horror” as well as being in the jungle and his life since. He was funny with a hint of naughtiness and delighted in telling us stories about David Guest, David’s employee “Vaginica” and her daughter “Clitina” he also spoke openly about his family and how important they are. It was really nice listening to him talking about his life, learning how he was not bitter, how thankful he was for being there and how he hoped for a future in music again.

As he was talking you could really see glimpses of the man he used to be sneaking out, the smile hasn’t changed from his heyday and there’s still a sparkle in those eyes, even if the hairline is receding and no longer shocking blonde. He is still in really good shape but I suppose with 2 young kids, time in a jungle and touring you’re bound to be slim. He bounced around the stage with the energy of his youth and really put a lot into all of the songs, sadly with age comes the curse of “dad dancing” which Jason did like a pro and he couldn’t quite do the faster songs as well as he used to, he didn’t quite have the puff to manage. His voice has altered little, it’s matured a bit but still sounds great.

All throughout the show there was a screen behind him showing images from his life, from pictures of him as a child and in “Neighbours” to pictures from the jungle and with his family. This was a lovely touch, it felt like he was sharing his life with you, charting his rise, fall and rise. There were some great late 80’s early 90’s images which really brought back memories for me and no doubt the rest of the crowd. As well as his own hits we had a brief moment remembering the pop music that was. The band burst into a rendition of Chesney Hawkes “One and only” amusingly Jason only knew the chorus and left it up to us to sing the rest. It was great fun and while not many knew the whole song we all joined in with the chorus.

As with every concert there was an encore, I’ve been to enough to know that the show isn’t over until the lights are up. After a small break the band and Jason came back on stage. He was resplendent in Joseph’s technicolour dream coat and happily twirled and posed as hundreds of cameras madly flashed. Removing the coat he was then wearing his “I’m a celeb’” gear, shirt, shorts, boots….the works! Again the flashes went crazy before Jason sat down for a rendition of “Any dream will do” his final song, and the one most people were waiting for, was “Too many broken hearts”

The band itself was very good, made up by several members including drummer, percussion, string quartet, synthesizer, 2 guitarists and backing singers. They all seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the crowd and performer did. There was almost a party like atmosphere about the whole thing.

It was a fantastic show by great performer. Ok his songs may be pop, they may be a large slice of Stock, Aitkin & Waterman cheese but that didn’t matter to the fans, we all sang and danced our way through the show greeting each new song with rapturous applause. I can’t speak for everyone else but I had the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert, the noise was incredible you would have thought we were back in the 90’s with the reception he received. I think he had fun too as the concert ran over by about 15 minutes, at points he couldn’t stop laughing, smiling and almost crying. I had the most wonderful time, I really enjoyed myself as did my sister, we took tonnes of photos between us(unfortunately Rachel has the dream coat ones but i'll try and steal them) and left the venue unable to stop talking about the show. I just hope now that’s not the end of it, hopefully with the tour being a success he may be back again, I’ll certainly be asking for tickets if he does.

If you’d like a brief summary I can say it was a great show, packed with classic Jason hits, some great new songs all preformed by a true gentleman, a natural, honest man who was grateful to be there. I would recommend seeing his concert to all former Jason fans or if you cant make it grab a copy of the DVD that should be released later this year, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a real audience pleaser!

The only complaints I have is the price of the merchandise and some over zealous fans shouting out such things as “get ‘em off” at 40 odd years old, no one really wants him getting “‘em off”

The Boring Bit-
Sadly there are only 2 dates left now which are tonight at WaterFront Hall in Belfast and on 21st July at Lingfield park & race course in Lingfield.

Ticket prices are in the range of £22.50 obviously this depends on the venue and where you sit.

These may be a bit late for you to go to now but the DVD is being released and a single will be available on download soon. I could not forgive myself if I hadn’t written about the show and the truly fantastic time I had.

For more Jason Donovan info visit http://www.myspace.com/jasondonovanofficial 

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