The Halle Orchestra Review: The 90's Big Night Out

The 90’s was the land of boybands and ballads, a world of incredible music before the invention of Autotune in 2001. The Hallé orchestra, conducted by Stephen Bell, gave audiences a flash back 30 years to enjoy some of the greatest hits of the decade, and filled the Royal Concert Hall with song and dance. 

Kicking off with Let me Entertain You by Robbie Williams, acclaimed West End performers Annie Skates, Emma Kershaw, Lance Ellington, and Steve Crowell took to the stage in the traditional outfit of the 90’s boyband, a t-shirt and suit jacket, and knocked the audiences socks off with their amazing vocal ability. The most incredible moment for me was hearing Emma Kershaw’s rendition of Whitney Huston’s mega-hit I Will Always Love You (originally written by Dolly Parton), the talent required to undertake such a monster hit is already quite high, but to leave the audience with goose bumps and wanting more is a skill possessed by few, but Kershaw has it!  

With numerous powerhouse hits including ‘Love Is All Around,’ ‘Everything I do’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,’ the musicians and singers kept the audience going throughout the night. It was clear however that one of the singers had forgotten to do his homework as several songs had jumbled lyrics, and at one point an explosive ‘yeaaaaahhhh’ where a whole line was clearly forgotten - but in the adrenaline of a performance, it can be forgiven.  

The night ended with ‘Tragedy’ by Steps, with the entire audience on their feet singing along and trying their best to recreate the famed dance moves, with varying levels of intoxication. The Orchestra however remained on stage for one more song, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ by Oasis, which was the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable night.  

Traditionally this is not the sort of show I would have booked to see, cover bands and tribute acts always remind me of dingy working-men's clubs, the kind of thing you would expect to see on Phoenix Nights, but this show really took me by surprise. Walking out of the theatre the audience were all sharing their favourite moments and talking about the sheer talent of every single person on the stage - apart from the timpani player who seemed surplus to requirements - and how well they all did. I would highly recommend this show to people who want to experience the thrill of live music with the knowledge that it will be high quality without the £100+ price tag demanded by artists on cash grabbing arena tours.