Last night I was lucky enough once again to see a great singer, songwriter and guitarist in concert at The Sage - Stephen Bishop. Last time I saw him on concert was 24th November 2005. That was in a tiny wooden hut in Yorkshire on a very windy snowy night.
Last night's gig was in the much plusher Hall 2 of the Sage Gateshead - with probably about the same number in the audience. It felt a bit less intimate but was still a wonderful concert. I can't begin to play some of the stuff Stephen Bishop can do on the guitar - not a standard major chord in sight. Even if I could play it I couldn't sing it because I don't have the amazing range he has, or the subtlety or talent in general. In my opinion it doesn't get much better than this guy. Well done to him.
He's probably best known for songs like Separate Lives, On and On, and It Might Be You from the film Tootsie. But my favourite songs are the slightly less commercial ones like Madge and Parked Cars. If you've never heard of him his voice is highish and pure and his songs are usually dealing with failed relationships and losing someone. He hasn't been lucky in love - used to be married to actress Karen Allen of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame. He almost won an Oscar for his song Separate Lives but just lost out to Lionel Ritchie's Say You Say Me from the same film. His is the much better song without a doubt except that it's sung by Phil Collins.
Also at the gig were Toni, Christine Curry and Paul and Barbara from this very street. We also bumped into old friends Ian and Jean Simpson - so it was a very friendly gathering.
One of the things that pleased me about Paul being there was that he'd brought loads of albums to sign so I knew he was going to be hanging around after the gig to meet Stephen Bishop. This gave me he perfect excuse to join him and hang around too. Toni's not very keen on me doing this sort of thin, and Barbara was a kindred spirit for her, so whilst they stood back and chatted about how embarrassing their partners are, Paul and I waited in the queue.
Paul had his camera with him too - I hadn't even brought mine - so we had photos taken too. While I was talking to him, I mentioned the last gig at The Band Room in Yorkshire, and he remembered the evening very well. It was the first UK gig he'd done in 20 years, and just before coming onto the tiny stage, he'd dropped his beautiful Taylor guitar in the dressing room and cracked the back. He'd really enjoyed that gig, and I'm glad e's a bit more active now. There's a new album out in January.
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