Will Young Live Review @ Cadogan Hall (London) - 25 Sep 2008

Will Young

Image: Press Association link

Live Review

In advance of his UK tour and fresh from appearances at various summer festivals, Will Young showcased from his new album, "Let It Go", at the super posh Chelsea venue, Cadogan Hall.

Will took to the stage at 7.45pm, introduced by his very (physically and sonically) funky band.

6 years after winning Pop Idol, you could still capture a few mannerisms of his shyness, which he promptly brushed off by interacting with the crowd in a way close to stage comedy. Will even confessed he never thought he was funny, but explained his non-stop chatting throughout the performance, by "having a great time".

So did we, watching him deliver the tunes: "Disconnected", in particular, was plain awesome!

Fifth song on, the band was joined by an all-female violin assemble to go straight in the acoustic ballad "You Don't Know", a new song which Will described as the kind he would like someone to sing to him.

On hearing "Let It Go" - title track off his new LP, closing your eyes, you could have mistaken Will with a young Smokey Robinson (circa Smokey and the Miracles).

This was followed by his new hit single "Changes".

10 songs on, he and his crew briefly exited the stage, to face the ritualistic encore demand of his hysterical female following.

They came back to perform a rendition of Joan Armatrading's "Show Some Emotions".

Due to the 9pm curfew operated at the venue, Will appropriately closed the show with "Leave Right Now", which owed him a standing ovation.

Will being the nice guy that he is, made it clear that this was a team effort, by introducing his band members one by one and kneeling at their feet....

But let's face it, it was HIM that the crowd was finding hard to let go of!

With this showcase, Will Young proved his sound qualifies as decent blue-eyed Soul, long lost since George Michael went astray....

Solange Moffi