Heaven 17 at the Town Hall Birmingham Review
Heaven 17
Town Hall Birmingham
Reviewed by Heather Steadman
I am still buzzing this morning after such a wonderfully life-affirming gig last night at the Town Hall in Birmingham. Heaven 17 were absolutely brilliant.
As I took my seat in the tiered circle I was a little apprehensive. I had a fantastic view over the stage and stalls but 10 minutes before the performance this lovely venue looked empty. Would there be a good atmosphere? Would they live up to my expectations? Would I be a little bit bored? Let’s face it, watching two people stand at keyboard/synthesizers isn’t visually stunning however much you like Synthpop. I needn’t have worried. Although the staging was extremely simple, the sound was so powerful, all that mattered was the music.
The venue had filled very quickly so that all the seats in the stalls below were full when the band came on stage just after 8pm to a huge welcoming applause. The audience were people who would have been in their late teens or early twenties in the 1980’s with a smattering of younger people. It amused me to see so many bald and shaved heads where once there would have been big 80’s hair. Still following the lead singer’s fashion example? Not by choice anymore perhaps. It was a completely seated venue and the first couple of songs were received warmly but politely. The band opened with the Human League track ‘Circle of Death’ but it was ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’ and ‘Crushed by the wheels of industry’ that started to warm up the crowd. After the third song everyone in the stalls was standing and after the fifth song everyone I could see was clapping. The atmosphere just got better and better as we were treated to hit after hit. It is great testament to Glenn Gregory’s and Martyn Ware’s rapport on stage and with their audience that they were able to make a large venue still feel intimate. Glenn and Martyn, the two original members of Heaven 17, are joined on stage by a female keyboard player and two excellent female vocalists. Glenn has a great voice and I have to say that I found the way he smiled and jiggled around in front of the mike, looking very sharp in his suit with drainpipe trousers and maroon shirt, totally infectious. I absolutely enjoyed every moment. It was fantastic to hear them perform live and feel that urge to get up, dance, clap and sing my heart out.
I particularly enjoyed the covers of the Righteous Brothers ’You’ve lost that loving feeling’, where Martyn provided great harmony to Glenn’s wonderfully rich voice and David Bowie’s, ‘Boy’s keep swinging’. Of course the stand out number for me was, and probably always will be, ‘Temptation’. A long introduction built up the tension and exploded with fantastic vocals from Glenn and the girls who really came into their own with this song. It was an epic way to end the set and the crowd were very appreciative. After rapturous applause we were treated to an encore of ‘Penthouse and Pavement’, then ‘Only after Dark’, a song Glenn said they had only ever played live once before in a Birmingham club a few years earlier. The whole evening finished with the wonderfully rhythmic beat of The Human League track ‘Being Boiled’.
This was Heaven 17’s first performance of the year and marks the start of their 2014 live tour. I really would recommend that you go and see them if you get the chance to. I thought that the £22.50 ticket price was fair and that the gig was definitely worth the money.
I also think Birmingham Town Hall is a great venue and a beautiful building with excellent facilities. Centrally located it is very easy to get if you are travelling by train. I would advise booking car park tickets 24 hours in advance through their website if you are coming by car because of the number of entertainment venues in the vicinity. It would be hard to find parking if there was a big event on at the National Indoor Arena.
Rating: 5/5 
Heaven 17 are on tour until 12 July 2014. For more information or to book tickets visit www.heaven17.com.
