Bonnie Tyler, Indigo 02, London 2024 – Review and Photos by Dawn Osborne

Bonnie Tyler was to support Michael Bolton at the 02, but due to public demand, when that show was cancelled, she rescheduled last minute to the Indigo 02 which is packed with some of the most enthusiastic fans I have seen, ABBA-mania comes to mind.

There’s no support band, instead Ultimate Power DJ warmed up the crowd with 80s tunes like ‘St Elmo’s Fire’ and ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ quite appropriate for Bonnie Tyler who does have naturally stunning blue peepers making her instantly recognisable with her mane of long blonde hair. She is wearing black sparkly boots and black sparkly skin tight pants with a white jacket heavily decorated with South Western style patterned diamanté.

She is friendly and engaging and stops to talk to the crowd immediately after opener ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’ (Creedence Cleerwater Revival cover) to tell the crowd that the next one ‘Hide Your Heart’ was written by Paul Stanley. But before she gets to Stanley’s name a fan had already shouted it out. As she comments some of the people in the audience (who are from all over the world) have seen her show 40 times. She also has family there from Wales who I am sitting near and the combination of the two gives the show a real party atmosphere from the start. Her band are professional and not too showy, although there are a couple of extended guitar solos they are full of respect for Bonnie and THE VOICE, as is the entire building. It does not disappoint.

Telling stories between the songs she introduces ‘Lost In France’ as her first hit in 1976 and then does a cover of ‘To Love Somebody’ (Bee Gees). We then came bang into the 21^st Century with ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ a song she explains she wrote (ironically) just before lockdown, although of course we are now able to experience it, so the song was right after all!

Before ‘It’s A Heartache’ she said she was relieved that this was her first success in the USA (going to no.3) as two other artists rushed out recordings of it before her, but it was her version that got played and became a hit even though it was later. It is, of course, one of her quintessential songs, suiting her raspy voice and its lovely low register so well. It definitely ratchets up the energy and has instant satisfaction factor to have it appear to early in the set as the crowd enthusiastically sang so loud that Bonnie allowed them to take over at times.  It is a summer’s evening and Bonnie changes her jacket for a lighter weight white frock coat with military buttons. Perhaps with her success with ‘It’s a Heartache’ in mind she follows up with ‘Notes From America’.

 

Introducing the Bryan Adams cover ‘Straight From The Heart’ by referencing her recent autobiography of the same name she explains that in the book she tells the story of how she got into the music biz, but adds as an aside that  she was already living the dream by playing local clubs. To rapturous applause she announces she will never retire because she loves performing so much. Unsaid is that she is still recording, and she then plays one of her much more recent songs ‘When The Lights Go Down’ which proves to be a great live track as she shimmies along to it, still dancing, getting the crowd to clap and blowing kisses to the crowd.

After namechecking her family in the audience, Bonnie explained that after 5 years of success with RCA she signed to Sony who were enthusiastic about her trying a new direction until she said she wanted to record with Jim Steinman which they thought would be impossible. She insisted that they ask him and the next minute she had a meeting with Steinman in New York. I like to think that transfixed by her ‘bright eyes’ he wrote the chorus to ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’. On cue she performs it right there and then. I am surprised it is not the encore, however, it injects further energy into the show as the crowd go wild. She looks like a beautiful impresario in her white frock coat directing the crowd like a choir. The audience have worked out that security are not going to stop them standing up and crowd up to the stage and there is much dancing and waving of the Welsh flag. Referring to the No 1 Album ‘ Faster Than The Speed of Night’ she follows up with that.

Bonnie stops to pay tribute to Tina Turner whose music Bonnie used to play when she was young. Referencing that Tina was electric on stage and explaining how devastated Bonnie was when Tina passed she acknowledges that Tina made ‘Simply The Best’ a massive hit, but as Bonnie had recorded it two years before Tina Bonnie made this the last song of the main set. I have to say Bonnie’s version is just as iconic.

Coming back on for the encore Bonnie introduced her band, tour manager and husband making sure everyone gets a thank you before playing an excellent version of  ‘Turtle Blues’ which she introduces as an old Janis Joplin tune (Joplin often having been cited by Bonnie as one of her influences).

 

The night reached its climax with ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ another of Bonnie’s bangers. The crowd spontaneously sings the backing vocals as they appear on the record and it is clear that when it comes to Bonnie’s concerts it’s not their first rodeo. There’s an element of beloved Queen and Court and it’s lovely to see how much she is completely loved by her fans in a respectful, but devoted way. She is, of course, wonderfully down to earth and she loves them back. After a few short bows it is all over. It’s great to think that it is demand to see Bonnie that meant she has a heaving gig at short notice when Michael Bolton cancelled. I am so glad I found out about the reschedule. Lovely to know she’s not retiring either. When you can have such a good time and still perform to this standard, why on earth would you ever?

Dawn Osborne