On Friday night I stepped back to the 80s for the Tears for Fears/Spandau Ballet show at Sydney’s Entertainment Centre. Thankfully despite the years that had passed since these monster acts last graced our shores, nothing much has changed. From the enthusiastic crowd reactions to the high quality of the bands, it was as if we’d all never left the decade that fashion forgot.
Jack Jones opened the show with a low-key, yet utterly compelling set. It’s no secret that I love acoustic music, and hearing the songs he made famous with Southern Sons in this raw way was just beautiful. With his long scraggy mo and similarly unkempt hair Jack is a far cry from the man I swooned over all those years ago, but his voice has lost nothing over the years. It’s still as pure and strong as it ever was, and hits like “Hold Me In Your Arms” and “You Were There” really showed off his pipes. It’s a shame there were so many empty seats. 7 pm is an early start time for a weekday show, but I have a feeling the people who missed him might kick themselves.
Tears for Fears followed Jack with an energetic, hit-packed set. Within the first four songs we’d already heard “Mad World,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” and “Sowing The Seeds of Love,” so I was beginning to wonder what else was left! But they played much longer, and while I wasn’t as familiar with most of the latter half of the set it was all brilliant stuff. Their modern take on “Woman in Chains,” complete with a freakishly feminine sounding male back-up singer in Oleta Adams’ place, was particularly incredible, as was the big closer, “Shout.” I wasn’t a massive Tears for Fears fan in the 80s, but these guys have converted me. The voices of Roland Orzabel and Curt Smith have lost nothing over the years, and they’re performing with as much energy and musical prowess as I’d expect from performers many years their junior.
Spandau Ballet are another act that age that sounds as amazing as the did all those years ago. I was wowed when Tony Hadley played the RSL circuit in 2008, but seeing him backed by his original band definitely kicked things up a few notches. If anything Tony’s voice has gotten stronger over time. He seems more comfortable with his instrument these days, more willing to let it soar and really show us what it can do. The other guys from the band all more than matched him, but I have to give props to Steve Norman. You weren’t an 80s band if you didn’t have a kick ass saxophonist, and the rich brassy tones of the instrument are something I miss in modern music. Steve can really blow, and he’s probably aged better than any of the lads!
Spandau Ballet promised us a greatest hits tour, and they delivered in spades. There was nothing I was left wanting for, and personal favourites “Round and Round,” “Lifeline,” “Through the Barricades,” “Only When You Leave,” “Gold,” and of course, “True,” were all as much fun as I anticipated. Yes, I have a lot of favourites, but this is a band that I’ve loved since my earliest memories of music. I was five last time Tears for Fears and Spandau Ballet were here! To see them all up on stage, together, was a special experience I never imagined would be realised. They have such a natural camaraderie, it’s hard to believe they weren’t speaking years ago. All the ugliness is clearly water under the bridge now, and both band and audience seem happier for it.
This concert felt like a party from start to finish; we were thrilled to see our idols play for us, and they were similarly chuffed to be remembered and adored so many years after their last visit. Good vibes filled the air; we danced until our feet were sore and we sang until our voices were hoarse. We left thoroughly exhausted, and utterly satisfied.
Image source: Lauren Katulka
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