Date: 9 November 2001
Originally published in: Evening Chronicle (UK)
Written by: Helen Greenwood
Thousands of Tyneside pop fans went through a time warp as 80’s chart legends belted out classic hits. Last night’s revival gig, featuring the likes of Kim Wilde, Heaven 17 and Paul Young, meant the chance for twenty and thirty-somethings to relive their youth. The crowd at the packed Telewest Arena enjoyed three hours of nostalgia from the decade where fashion was terrible but music was great.
Hit followed hit and the crowd enjoyed every moment. T’Pau’s Carol Decker kicked off the evening with a lively performance of Heart and Soul and followed up with the band’s best known hit China in Your Hand.
Nick Heyward’s set went down a storm with classic hit Love Plus One. And despite it being nearly 20 years since their chart success, Go West proved they’ve still got what it takes to get the audience dancing. The performance of their 1985 hit We Close Our Eyes and The King of Wishful Thinking, from the film Pretty Woman, in particular was fantastic.
Heaven 17 proved slightly less popular, despite playing one of the best known songs of the eighties – Temptation. By the time Curiosity Killed the Cat came on, the crowd were clearly in need of a revival – which the band almost managed. Hits including Misfit and Down to Earth were popular but the perfonnance wasn’t spectacular.
Paul Young – whose best known hits include Wherever I Lay My Rat – was a bit of a disappointment. As he crooned and dashed around the stage, he proved he’s still got the energy but failed to get the crowd going.
The real star ofthe show was undoubtedly Kim Wilde – who looked fantastic in leather. The crowd loved it and went wild when she launched into her classic hits You Came and her version of the Motown song You Keep Me RaDging On. But the best moment of the whole gig was without doubt Kim’s energetic perfonnance of Kids in America.
