"Convincing eyes, persuasive lips, the helpless heart just can't resist their power,
You know you've got a hold over me..."
It's close to midnight and I have just returned home from the Belinda Carlisle Decades Tour. I've had these tickets for almost two years, but the concert has been rescheduled twice due to the Covid pandemic, so it has been a long time coming! It didn't disappoint.
I've loved Belinda ever since I was a young girl, when she was on Top of the Pops singing Heaven Is A Place On Earth. I loved the red hair, the 1980s image and the music. She was one of my top teenage idols, along with Kylie and Madonna. I listened to her music all the time and it would always make me want to jump up and dance around with my friends. It still has that effect on me, and I've been dancing like a lunatic all night!
So to see her live for the first time was incredible! I loved every second of the concert tonight. It's hard to believe that Belinda is in her mid-sixties, for she was full of energy and enthusiasm on stage. She wore the most beautiful floaty sequinned skirt - understated, classy, age-appropriate and perfect for her laid back vibe. Madonna could learn a lot from Belinda in that respect!
Unlike the Kylie, Britney and Little Mix concerts I've been to in the past, there was no projection, no harness work, no glitter drops, no dancers, no bells and whistles. It was just Belinda, doing her thing, with a dressed down band for backup and a professionalism that shone through. This was an actual, stripped back gig, from a bona fide musician and consummate vocalist. She sang every word live, with a few changes to suit her more mature voice, but which didn't detract from the originals we all know and love.
She held that concert together with such grace, showing no signs of pressure at being the sole reason everyone was there and the keystone for the entire gig. There were no dancers or backing singers to support her, or to take the pressure off. It was just her, dancing like a gypsy princess with her tambourine, her red hair swishing and shimmering under the lights. So glamorous! She's just so effortlessly cool!
She didn't perform Valentine, but she sang most of my other favourite songs, including I Get Weak, Do You Feel Like I Feel, Leave a Light On, Runaway Horses (which used to be one of my staples to sing as the anchor vocalist on karaoke nights!) La Luna, Vision of You, Summer Rain, Circle in the Sand and of course, Heaven on Earth. She opened the show with We Want the Same Thing and closed with an encore of Live Your Life Be Free. She even sang songs I've never heard before, from her Go-Go days, but I was too young at the time, to remember them! A lot of her songs have special meaning to me, so it was pretty emotional at times, remembering people I'll never see and the things we'll never do together.
I doubt very much if Belinda Carlisle will be touring the UK again on this scale, so the odds of her coming back to my home town in the future are pretty slim. It really did feel like a once in a lifetime experience. It is certainly one of the very best concerts I have ever been lucky enough to attend and it's a night that I will never forget. There wasn't much on sale in the way of souvenirs, no tour programs or DVDs, but it was enough to see her perform and to share space with my idol. I have come home very happy and content to tick this one off my bucket list. Now I'm going to play my old Belinda records until I feel sleepy and prolong the concert buzz for a bit longer. I'll leave you with the wise words of Belinda herself...
"If you want me I'll be there, to run my fingers through your hair, rules are made to be broken everyday...Live your life, be free!"
Marie xxx
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