in London

[vincent.cole]

Blue;

Qui!!!

Take care mon ami.

Vincent

[An Enormous BB Fan]

What does "he came on in trainers" mean? It's probably an English expression the meaning of which I don't know. Will someone "please explain"?

Also: Of course Burt's "background" singers aren't as good as the original, you fool! How is he going to find anyone as good as Dionne Warwick?! What an idiot! This reviewer obviously had to really stretch for something negative to say about this great concert.

The packed Royal Festival Hall had an amazing atmosphere on Wednesday. Although it was not spoken, I think an awful lot of people imagined that this may be the last time that they see Burt in concert. And you could feel the love for the man in the room. For a guy of his age to perform a two hour concert without a break was astonishing. We were sat in the side of stage seats and to look back and see the whole of the audience on their feet after each of the final four songs was quite amazing ... and pretty moving. I was at the RFH at the 1996 concert when Noel Gallagher sang 'This Guy's In Love With You' and at the Bacharach/Costello concert in 1998. On Wednesday night Jarvis Cocker from Pulp was in the audience. It was a really special night. But despite some outstanding newspaper reviews, there was a really nasty review from the London Evening Standard's David Smyth.

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/musi ... 75944.html

[An Enormous BB Fan]

Is that Burt's son Oliver on keyboard's ?
From a distance, he looks almost uncannily like a "young Burt" !


"blue"

All that's missing is the sweater draped over the shoulders!

And I have to be totally honest: I am so envious that he had piano lessons from Burt Bacharach!!

[Martin Johnson]

Why link David Smyth's snide London Evening Standard review and give him the oxygen of publicity? I personally would think twice about giving him the oxygen of oxygen.

[Alistair]

"Trainers" is (are?) the British term for what you Americans call sneakers: ie: running-type footwear.
One more example of the language difference between continents!
Still high from seeing Burt on Saturday night in Edinburgh.
Alistair

[someonenameddavid]

I take exception to Josie, John and Donna being referred to as "background singers" . They carry a huge load in the concerts and would be well nigh impossible to replace.

David

[Blair N. Cummings]

I completely agree with you, David. Yet, I`ve heard/read Burt refer to these three as his "background singers." I think it`s just verbal laziness. Surely Burt means no disrespect to Josie, Donna and John. Maybe it`s because they`re not recognizable names to the general public (I. e. "stars") that they seem not to have any more elevated "job description."
Nevertheless, anyone who has seen them perform with Burt and an orchestra live knows that there is not a "background" musician anywhere on stage.

[Laura]

Other people on the website have commented on the music at the United Kingdom concerts, so I thought I would tell you a few stories about the concerts. At the London concert, Burt mentioned that in a way, England “discovered” him, because his first album sold 5,000 copies in the United States, but did better in England. A single from the album – “Trains & Boats & Planes” – became a top ten hit in the U.K. After Burt introduced his son, Oliver Bacharach, after he played the keyboards on “Make It Easy On Yourself”, a lady from the audience yelled, “Bring him back!” Burt joked, “He only knows one song!” Burt said he didn’t push music on Oliver and he started learning piano 1 ½ yrs ago! Toward the end of the concert, Burt introduced the band, the singers, Sue, and Scotty. Burt said Sue arranged the tour which he called the “You Gotta Be Kidding Tour” because they were doing 13 concerts in a row. I know they are performing in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Italy, England, Scotland, and Israel. Oliver also played the keyboards for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”, the finale for the second encore.

The Glasgow concert started 45 minutes late because of a medical emergency. Someone in the balcony collapsed and medics performed CPR before taking the person out on a stretcher. The audience in Glasgow was very enthusiastic and applauded after every song even during the medleys. They also kept shouting out to Burt during the concert. Burt said he felt like he was working in a nightclub at 2:00 am. At one point, a lady yelled, “I love you, Burt!” He joked, “Tell me after the concert! Will you still love me tomorrow?” After the concert, about a dozen of us stayed by the stage door and waited for Burt. I met “Jill”, an American living in Glasgow, who had Burt’s face tattooed on her leg. She had him autograph her leg!

At the Edinburgh concert, Burt mentioned that he performed there with Marlene Dietrich when he was her conductor. Before the show, I met an older woman who had attended that concert! And after the show another older woman still had the program from the Marlene Dietrich show and had Burt autograph it for her. Burt said he got to travel the world with Marlene. About twenty of us stayed after the concert to see Burt. I met people who were at both Scotland concerts – a couple from Seattle, a couple from Texas, a couple from Edinburgh, and Jill with the tattoo from Glasgow. It’s always nice to meet other Burt fans.

Oliver played the keyboards for all three concerts. The play list was the same for all three shows. And since Burt was performing with his own band, there was no time limit so it was a longer show and he chatted a lot between medleys. It was a great trip and I’m looking forward to the concert in San Diego! I don't know how to attach photos so I will email them to Mark.

Cheers,
Laura
Crownsville, Maryland

[ron hertel]

Laura: ....Looking forward to seeing you, Barbara, Vincent and others here in San Diego next month. ..... Only negative relative to Burt's annual performances here is that we are constrained by time limitations imposed by the musician's union relative to Burt's performing with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. ....... We miss out on some of the impromptu banter and introductions between numbers and maybe even some unplanned encores! ....... Every year - Burt cites this constraint and keeps everything moving at a fast pace with minimal commentary - and - wraps things up "right on time". ...... Takes some of the spontaneity out of the performance! .... NOT COMPLAINING - "JUST SAYIN' " ....

[Martin Johnson]

I managed to get two returned tickets for BB's second sold out London concert in 11 days last night and what a joy it was to spend two more hours with the Great man and his band. Other than 'I Still Have That Other Girl' replacing 'God Give Me Strength' the running order was the same as before, although the between song announcements were quite different this time and he managed to work in a reference to both Andy Murray's win at Wimbledon and our "crazy weather" (we're in the middle of an unusual although not unique heatwave). It was interesting comparing the audience's response to different songs over the two nights and for instance last night I could tell from the reaction of the people around me to the 'early hits' medley that they had no idea Burt had composed those three UK No.1s, 'Magic Moments', 'The Story of My Life' and 'A Tower of Strength'. It was good to hear both of the 'new' songs get a positive response again last night and 'Every Other Hour' as sung by Josie James was a personal highlight for me. Here's the performance of the song from the concert in Malmo a few weeks ago. As soon as you hear those typical Bacharach piano chords at the beginning you sense you're in for a 'classic':

[ron hertel]

Martin: .... Thanks for posting that link - hope this performance by Josie is included in the San Diego concert next month! ...... On the subject of members of the audience not realizing Bacharach was responsible for so many of the songs they are hearing: I've heard similar comments after most of the songs at every BB concert I ever attended. What can be annoying are those fans who sing along with the more familiar numbers. I attempt to exercise restraint when "staring them down" realizing that I have probably been guilty of doing it myself!

[blueonblue]

Martin, I echo your comments completely, it was a wonderful show !
I've never been to The Royal Festival Hall before, it was an experience I'll never forget !
"A House Is Not A Home" still as the power to astound,and got a rapturous standing ovation !
"Waiting For Charlie To Come Home"..."Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Every Other Hour"
were other stand-outs...among many.
I loved it at the end when Burt said "one more song and we're outta here" !
Hope Burt tours the UK again....if that's being selfish, then I guess it is.

On a lighter note...
I got a taxi to the concert and the young London cabbie said "who are you going to see "
I said Burt Bacharach.
To which he replied "who are they...a new band ? "
I didn't say anything........

"blue"

[someonenameddavid]

In the first London show Burt mentioned, in passing, "4 wheels on my wagon", which is dear to the heart of people "of a certain age" in Britain who also know the saying: "It's Friday, it's five o'clock, and it's Crackerjack!!!!!... a children's participation game and comedy show that frequently included a claymation version of that song.... I wonder if it is on the net????

David

[An Enormous BB Fan]

In the first London show Burt mentioned, in passing, "4 wheels on my wagon", which is dear to the heart of people "of a certain age" in Britain who also know the saying: "It's Friday, it's five o'clock, and it's Crackerjack!!!!!... a children's participation game and comedy show that frequently included a claymation version of that song.... I wonder if it is on the net????

David

David, I did a search on the ASCAP site and looked at Burt's database on that site of all the songs he's written. With Bob Hilliard as lyricist, Burt wrote a song entitled "Three Wheels On My Wagon." There was no song listed as "4 Wheels On My Wagon."

"Three Wheels On My Wagon" is on youtube. So, if this is the song that Burt wrote with Bob Hilliard, here it is:

[Rio]

With Dick VanDyke:


Was it written for a movie? I've been assuming that it was.