Hugh Laurie

We booked ticket months ago to see Hugh Laurie at the Lowry, and were really excited to get seats in the middle of row B in the stalls. When we arrived at the venue this evening, the ticket man said 'Oh front row then?' to us, and I thought he must have read the ticket wrong... but when we got to our row, we found there was no row A so we were right at the front!

Hugh performed with the fantastic Copper Bottom band, and watching from the front row felt like it was our own private show. I turned my flash off and took some shots with my trusty Cybershot - not wanting to risk trying to work the settings for the bulkier SLR in the dark.

Hugh was friendly, chatty, charming and just as lovely as you would imagine... and he really looked like he loved what he was doing which made it an even more enjoyable experience to be a part of. He played the piano and the guitar at different times, told little stories, and brought out a tray of whiskey shots for the rest of the band.

At the end of the set the whole crowd gave a standing ovation, and the musicians all came back on stage for a couple of extra songs. Hugh teased the audience about the Euro football cup final which had been on at the same time as the set... asking if anyone had set their TV to record it, and could he come and watch it at their house as he hadn't recorded it.... He then stuck his fingers in his ears so as not to hear the score being shouted out... and that's when I got this shot. I liked it cropped in on just his face too (looks good in large), but decided to keep the elaborate chandelier in shot too, as I liked the composition with it in.

A great night :-)

It was really hard to choose just one shot - and if you are a Hugh Laurie fan... you might enjoy checking out the other shots from the evening here