Review – Howard Jones & Kim Wilde live @ Enmore theatre

Last Friday the Enmore Theatre travelled back in time; back to the 80s where the pop king and queen of that decade paired up for a killer double headliner. Howard Jones and Kim Wilde have been two of the most influential pop musicians of this century and last nights gig proved that time has not dissapated their talent. We were in for a wilde night!

Howard Jones kicked off the show, entering the stage with a keytar strapped on and energy by the bucketload straight into Pearl in the Shell. A constant back and forth with the crowd including call and response and many hand grabs induced hype with the buzz travelling through the venue.

Jones’ set was filled with the classics; What Is Love?, Noone is to Blame, Everlasting Love, I’d Like To Get To Know You Well, just to name a few, with improvisations and a couple surprise excerpts from Chumbawamba and The Beach Boys.

The crowd definitely had an everlasting love for Howard, with a few of the female punters screaming with joy when their hands were grabbed by their idol. Throughout his set, Jones proved that his music isn’t just to be thrown in a 1980’s vault with modern day musical twists; with more techno than a rave festival protruding throughout his robotically enhanced vocals, giving a bit of a Phil Collins vibe, moreso than usual.

Running fashionably late Kim Wilde’s band came out with the star following, looking absolutely stunning. The chemistry with the band was as captivating as a band should have, jumping right into Chequered Love, View from a Bridge, and Cambodia.

Hit after hit; Wilde was just smashing it out with age no way affecting the talent she has. A few covers thrown into the mix such as Forever Young, and You Keep Me Hanging On kept the audience on their toes and dancing until launching into the encore with Kids In America.

Kim Wilde is an absolute star. If the next generation of popstars looked up to her, the world would become a much better place.

The real highlight of the night was the final song. A duet between the co-headliners singing Jones’ favourite song; God Only Knows by The Beach Boys. The affinity these two pop stars have for eachother, and for music shone through like the sun. A performance i know, a lot of us will remember until the end of our days.