Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Ronnie Spector...

On Sunday night Stuart, Darren and I went to see Ronnie Spector at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's glitzy South Bank Centre.

Telling the story of "Beyond The Beehive" 70 year old Spector treated us to a slideshow cum confessional cum gig peppered with happy reminiscences, missed chances and woe. Phil Spector loomed large over the night - meeting him, her big break, the hellish marriage, the abuse, the bullying and the controlling influence even to this day.

Ronnie was a charming hostess with a dry line in (albeit well-rehearsed) patter. She choked back a tear or two as she told us about her first gig, meeting Phil, falling in love, meeting The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, her drinking, her break-up, her failed attempts at trying to perform, her wonderful successes then she did, the unpaid monies, the court case, her comeback, the pleasure and the pain of working in rock and roll.

Her voice still sounded good and along with her eight piece band she performed hits such as Walking in the Rain, Time is On My Side, She Talks To Rainbows, Back To Black (Amy Winehouse's mother was in the audience) and encored with Be My Baby - a song she had not been allowed to sing for years.

It was an emotional show and ended with a defiant statement from the voice of the beehive herself, “Ronnie Spector will not be erased.”

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