Marc Almond at Shepherd's Bush Empire...

Last Monday was Marc Almond's 55th birthday and Dave had bought me a ticket to go and see him in concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London's glitzy West London.

Along with Dave we were joined by Darren, Paul and Simon - oh and 2000 other devotees.

It was a tremendous gig. Marc was in good voice and obviously very happy to be there. The crowd loved it too - well, except Darren who hated it as did Simon (who left halfway through). One for the fans maybe? But that's who was there! Lots of self-penned work, a Northern Soul section and pleasingly few 'hits'.

There were some great great reviews, notably The Arts Desk and The Guardian.

As Marc himself said on Twitter:-

@MarcAlmond: To those that enjoyed and appreciated the show thank you, you get it and understand.thank you for your cards and gifts.
@MarcAlmond: To the disgruntled in the usual moaning areas, time to go away and follow someone else. You'll never be happy, I CAN'T BE WHAT YOU WANT,
@MarcAlmond: All I all in my top 3 Me shows. Atmosphere,crowd, musicianship,songs,vocals,brass and BV's,sound,glitter canon,emotion,4 me gig perfection.

And here's the setlist:-

The Stars We Are
These My Dreams Are Yours
Redeem me
I Who Never
Under Your Wing
There Is a Bed
The River
Waifs and Strays
The Sea Still Sings
Trials of Eyeliner
Sandboy
Tale of a Tart (Hell)
Vanity, Poverty, Revenge
Your Aura
Nijinsky Heart
You Have
Always
This Beautiful Day
Night Owl
Love's Gone Bad
This Love Starved Heart of Mine
After Laughter (Comes Tears)
Run Like the Devil
The Night
Tainted Love
What
I'll Be Gone

Encore:
'Happy birthday Marc'
Jacky
Hot love