Review: Belinda Carlisle

DESPITE opening the night with the energetic Live Your Life Be Free, for the first few songs, the Broadway crowd seemed to be glued to their seats and surprisingly subdued. Up on stage, the bubbly personality of Carlisle only served to highlight the stillness in the audience and after one bouncy pop track - there were a lot of these - she was even brave enough to tell the audience straight that she could have heard a pin drop.

It was a wise move as soon after a few people dashed down the aisle and began dancing in front of the stage. The group slowly grew and each time I saw a figure walking towards them I feared it was an over-enthusiastic usher asking them to return to their seats. To the credit of the venue, it never was. Soon both aisles filled. The entire stalls were on their feet.

I had forgotten just how many great tunes she had recorded and all of the big hits were played with a passion that did them justice. I wasn't expecting Heaven Is A Place On Earth to match the excitement it creates when it's blasted at crowds late in nightclubs - but it was better, her whole heart was in the song, her hands raising the voice of the crowd.

She knows how to write a great tune and she knows exactly how to put them across on stage. The lesser known tracks were melodic and stylish and all signs point to her upcoming album being worth a very careful listen.

She looked and sounded fantastic, dancing barefoot across the stage and reaching for the tambourine towards the end of many songs. She's much more than an icon of the 80s - she's an icon of pop fun and I hope we see much more of her in the near future.

CHRIS BOLAND.