Just watching his Black and White concert from the other night, so much better, so alive and enjoyable, couldn't keep still, wanted to join in. Just a commenbt.
I saw the tribute evening as well, Carandrog & Nungate. (It's great to know that there are others who enjoy BBC4!).
While I can only agree that The Big O had a superb voice (with the song-writing skills to match), I think that I would have felt short-changed if I'd have attended one of his concerts. A live performance ought to offer something more than just listening to the recorded songs of the artist. Roy Orbison certainly knew how to sing but he never knew how to 'perform' to an audience.
I agree to a certain extent Chris, but in "Those days" you didn't realise there was anything different with the Big O. Yu just enoyed his music. I saw him 4/5 times in all sorts of places from Batley, NEC, Derngate, can't really remember other places but you just enjoyed the man. It's only nowadays you realise how stilted he was, I think he was shy and didn't really know how to react to an audience. When he was with his contempories he was totally different.
Since I have never seen any of those people perform I couldn't possibly comment. What I meant that the musicians appearing on stage with Roy Orbison are all superb and therefore it wasn't necessary for Orbison to "perform" I enjoyed the concert despite having seen it before a few times. Frankly I want to be entertained and I was. We can't all be showmen like Elton John or Jagger. Roy Orbison sang his songs, he wrote great songs that's enough for me.
Most embarassing was Roger de Courcey and Nookie Bear at NEC, took clients there for a night out, he was so rude and blue, I didn't know where to look.
I saw Roger de Courcey at Butlins in Bognor Regis around 1995. He was pissed, vitriolic (about his treatment, as he saw it, by the BBC) and totally unfunny.
Back to Roy, just watched him doing Pretty Woman with the full entourage, best ever version I have ever heard, so alive, great mixture of stars who brought nhim alive.