BARBARA DICKSON - DARLINGTON CIVIC THEATRE
(The Northern Echo - 6th February, 2007)
By Viv Hardwick
With nothing but talent shows and celebrities on ice on the telly, it came as little surprise to see a near sell-out attendance on Saturday night for a top entertainer discarded by TV.
Barbara Dickson followed up last year's celebration of 40 years in showbusiness - when she released the Beatles' interpretation album Nothing's Gonna Change My World - with this concert tour picking out the highlights from her considerable career.
Initially, the stage seems a confusion of stands, speakers, mikes and instruments and you could be forgiven for thinking, on first impression, that her backing band had wandered on stage by mistake. Apart from red-shirted drummer Russell Field, the uniform is heavy duty jacket or knitted cardie. But these are seasoned pros. Troy Donockley, an expert on the Uilleann Pipes, and Dickson's long-time associate Pete Zorn are nimbly picking up and playing a dazzling array of instruments with Brad Lang alternating bass instruments and newcomer Nick Holland on keyboards. All act as backing singers as Dickson herself leads using song, guitar and keyboard.
There's hardly a falter, except for Scottish Dickson demanding that Jonny Wilkinson stops playing for England immediately and return to Newcastle following his destruction of her country's rugger team.
There are also local links in the audience for the singer because two of her sons had brought a party from Ampleforth College to liven up an evening where Dickson went right back to her folk music roots before reminding us of shows like Evita, Blood Brothers and John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert. Dickson promised to return in a year. . .let's hope that applies to TV as well.
