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Madeline Bell and the English Chamber Orchestra: 80th Birthday Concert
Cadogan Hall, London SW1
★★★★★
FOR those of us who grew up in watching Top of the Pops in the early 1970s, it seems hard to believe that Madeline Bell can now be 80. Until we remind ourselves that we are now over 60 and still wondering how the hell that could have happened.
Remembered for a string of hits as part of the pop duo Blue Mink with Roger Cook, her career is in fact much wider-ranging than this encompassing soul, blues, gospel and jazz.
Arriving in Europe from Newark, New Jersey, in 1962 as part of a gospel show Black Nativity, she has stayed ever since, initially working as a session singer accompanying a range of artists including Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker and the Rolling Stones.
This concert to mark her 80th birthday was a fitting tribute to her career.
Backed by the English Chamber Orchestra and interspersed with interviews from compere Paul Gambaccini, the concert treated us to an energetic performance that would put many younger artists to shame.
With a voice as powerful as ever, and occasionally backed by jazz singer Ian Shaw, the audience was treated to a range of songs from her long career.
Highlights had to be I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, which was a hit for Bell before the more famous Supremes and Temptations versions.
Also, Long John Baldry’s Let the Heartaches Begin and Dusty Springfield’s In the Middle of Nowhere, both of which she originally sang backing vocals for.
Kiki Dee was to have been a guest artist but was unfortunately ill. Bell was, however, able to compensate for this with a rousing version of Dee’s hit Amoureuse.
And to bring back memories of Blue Mink’s Top of the Pops performances, we also had the sing-along Banner Man and their most famous hit Melting Pot, which was a plea for racial harmony at the time, albeit with lyrics which now might not seem appropriate. But as Bell pointed out — the time and the context are always written into to the music and the world around.
All in all, a mesmerising performance and a concert experience which will long stay in the memory of audience members.
