Evergreen

I’ve always considered the winners of reality talent shows, such as X Factor, to be no more than manufactured pop stars who’s role in life is to sell enough records to cover the costs of promoting them before they fade into Z list “celebrity” obscurity when the next one comes down the conveyor belt. Some do go on to have a career in music, albeit not necessarily as pop stars, but they are only a very few out of all the hopefuls who appear on our screens each year.
One of those who seems to have had a decent career is Will Young. Mrs C is a fan, and there are several of his CDs on our shelves. So when I saw he was doing a twentieth anniversary tour, I bought tickets as a treat for her. I’d heard he put on a good live show so I went along with an open mind.
The concert we attended was in Liverpool’s wonderful Art Deco Philharmonic Hall - one of my favourite concert venues. It does, however, have one fairly big drawback as far as we are concerned. It is in Liverpool. Nothing against the city, per se, but the behaviour of some of its inhabitants leaves a lot to be desired - something we have noticed, regardless of venue. I don’t know what the mindset is, but it seems to be along the lines of dress up as tackily as possible, get tanked up on alcohol and then talk, scream, wave your arms about and dance, without a thought for anyone sat around you who had paid the same price for their tickets and would like to actually see the show rather than your flabby arses and bingo wings.
Most times it’s irritating rather than downright annoying but last night we had two prime examples directly in front of us. We managed only an hour before their antics meant that we were forced to walk out as we could not enjoy the show - or even see the stage - and the stewards seemed reluctant to intervene. From what little we did see and hear, I would concede that Mr Young does put on a good show and can carry a tune. It’s just a shame that his “fans” were not so professional.
It does seem that the more “popular” the artist or show, the more chance of this sort of selfish, ill mannered display from those attending. Thankfully, our next concert is Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel at the Grand in Lancaster. I’m guessing (hoping?) this won’t attract the chavs and we can enjoy an evening of classic tunes.