Concert review :
Wembley Arena, London, UK - 8 February 2001
by Lisa Blanco

Some concerts are good, others are great but few reach the pinnacle of just being sublime…. Texas have reached this pinnacle. Their Wembley concert was a magnificent, magical, sultry blast of gorgeously crafted songs. This is their “Greatest Hits” tour and belt them out, they did. From out and out rock classics of “Black eyed boy”, “Halo” and “Summer son” to sultry ballads of opening song “In demand” and the acoustic richness of “Put your arms around me”. Sharleen’s powerful vocal range and Texas’s strong live performance shone throughout the whole 90 or so minutes worth of concert.

There were some great moments, such as Sharleen’s fantastic keyboard playing skills in the extended “Insane”. Reminding us that she is not merely a vocal talent. Sharleen continued to play the keyboards for the follow up song, Texas cover of Al Greens classic “Tired of being along”. This being it’s first live outing since becoming part of a Texas album with it’s inclusion on the Greatest Hits LP.

If there is one special quality to Sharleen, it is her ability to always surprise you and this she did. Taking a leaf out of the pop band handbook, lovingly used by the likes of Steps and Britany Spears, Sharleen decided to create another great moment by getting an audience member up on to the stage with her. She choose a boy to join her in doing some dirty dancing to a track played by DJ Mark One, the Grace Jones hit “ Pull up to my bumper “ The idea appeared to pay off and excite the crowd, although you were left with the impression that her large gay following would rather it had been one of them.

As this is their Greatest Hits tour, there were no new songs. However “Guitar Song” deserves a mention as it was played live for the first time and went down a storm. A good contender for the next single. In the spirit of surprises Texas 1st encore was to produce a novelty.. the first ever costume change for Sharleen. Originally wearing blue shirt and jeans, She came out in her Elvis leather suit to set the crowd alight with the full throtal powered “Inner Smile”. She then went on to do a stonking cover of Elvis classic “Suspicious Minds”. For a moment Elvis was well and truly alive, and in the house.

The crowd were then treated to a second encore. Texas choose to finish their concert with the single that resurrected their career “Say What You Want”. A complete extended version which included Sharleen getting the very hyped up audience to sing a special breakdown corus during the middle.

Overall the concert was a very polished affair. The songs were strong and full of emotion in the key places. Sharleen had a great rapport with her audience and entertained them with her witty jokes, sexual banter, and funny anecdotes. The crowed loved her ,lapped up her every word and sang their hearts out. This was one of those nights to be engrained in your mind forever


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