It might have been a week-night, with brutal wintery temperatures several degrees lower than the November norm, but the big freeze didn’t stop fans from turning out in their thousands to catch The Corrs.
We were among the 20,000-strong crowd – and the show didn’t disappoint. Just days earlier, they’d made an impromptu surprise performance at Jeremy Clarkson’s Cotswolds pub The Farmer’s Dog – but in London, they attracted the same number of supporters as the farmers’ protest that Jeremy had led.
Almost 30 years on from the group’s debut album, Forgiven Not Forgotten, lead vocalist Andrea Corr still looks almost as youthful at 50 as she did back in the day – and of course, most importantly, her powerhouse vocals haven’t lost an ounce of intensity. At times, she could be seen fighting back the tears as she belted out old classics for the group’s first comeback tour in years.
There was barely a dry eye in the audience either, as everyone was delivered a slice of pure nostalgia. With their last two albums, White Light and Jupiter Calling, both having been released in November, it was the perfect way to relive Christmas memories from years gone by.
However, it was perhaps the early classics that livened up the crowd the most, with their first ever breakout single ‘Runaway’ earning the siblings a standing ovation.
Similarly, the live rendition of 1998 hit What Can I Do (To Make You Love Me) enthused fans so much that some broke into song on the tube on the way home in its honour.
Andrea joked during the show that one shouldn’t have to “beg to be loved” – but that was one thing she definitely didn’t need to do with the warm welcome delivered by the London crowd.
However, What Can I Do, along with subsequent single So Young, almost didn’t make it onto the Talk On Corners album at all, with the label’s dislike of the tracks leaving The Corrs to fight for them to be included.
Ironically, they went on to be huge fan favourites that would sell millions.
Other Talk On Corners highlights include Queen Of Hollywood, a track co-written by Andrea and producer Glen Ballard, who’s best known for his work on albums like Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror.
Glen also co-wrote and produced Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill album – and the similarity in style on certain tracks is clear, with both Alanis and Andrea delivering the same rarely imitable style of powerful vocals.
That said, The Corrs are definitely musically versatile, combining pop, rock and soul sounds with Celtic and traditional Irish folk music which honours their Dundalk roots – and there was roars of applause as Andrea’s sister Sharon worked her magic with a violin.
All age-groups were in the crowd, even teenagers who hadn’t been born yet when their biggest hits were released, demonstrating that the tunes have passed down the generations and transcended the barrier of time.
The 1990s was an era of strong female solo singers, but perhaps none more so than Andrea Corr – and although the group’s UK tour ended last night, future live shows shouldn’t be missed.
Finally, I wasn’t prepared for the quality of Natalie Imbruglia’s set; my memories of her songs had faded and her set had already started when I made my way into the arena, but I was stopped in my tracks by the explosion of pop-rock sound, particularly on finale Big Mistake.
The sequined singer ended up being the perfect accompaniment to the main attraction.