Nostalgia rules amid disco, divas and Abba

Sounds of the 70s, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall
YOU always expect 70s nights to be fun, but this concert was a real cracker.

Four vocalists combined under the name of Capital Voices fronted an orchestra which was out to join in the spirit right from the start.

Clad in brightly-coloured bell bottoms, slinky jumpsuits, stripey skinny ribs jumpers and airy-fairy smocks, topped by long blonde wigs and black mops and ’taches, with flowers in their hair and sandles on their feet, the musicians looked for all the world as if they had walked out of a 70s textbook.

And what a joy it was to see them enjoying the evening as much as the audience, swaying to the music, brandishing their instruments in the air to the unmistakable 70s beat, and boogeying and jiving with the best.

All that, while still managing to play perfectly on a nostalgic journey through a decade of pop music, plucking out tune after tune from the romantic and the disco, to the diva greats and the inevitable Abba tribute which rounded off the concert with a storm.

It isn’t often you witness bums out of seats at a Halle concert, but by the end of the night, virtually everyone was on their feet, swinging in the aisles, jiving at the back and boogeying in the rows to a fantastic choice of music which brought the memories of fun nights on the disco floor — dare I say it, almost 40 years ago — flooding back.

The musicians and vocalists put their heart and soul into two hours of shameless nostalgia, under the enthusiastic baton of conductor Roderick Dunk.

The list of tunes was immense, with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, “I Will Survive”, “You’re the First, My Last, My Everything”, “Y.M.C.A”, “Touch Me In the Morning”’, “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, “So You Win Again,” and “MacArthur Park” just a small selection from the programme.

An Abba medley of seven favourites rounded off a magnificent evening, with an encore of “Bohemian Rhapsody” pulled out of the bag as a parting treat.

It takes a brave singer to attempt a Queen song, and no-one could ever come near the awesome Freddie Mercury, but the four vocalists, led by Mick Wilson, did a superb job, bringing the audience to their feet in appreciation of a fabulous night.