COLIN BLUNSTONE

The 100 Club
Oxford Street, London
Sunday 22nd January 2017

Colin Blunstone is like a fine wine...... gets better with age!

We have seen Colin perform many times, both in his solo shows and as part of that great 60's band, who have had a new lease of life since the turn of the Millennium, The Zombies, and we were really looking forward to seeing him on stage at one of the most iconic London music venues, the 100 Club.

Emma Stevens

The support act was Emma Stevens, someone we had first come across when she played at the London IPO festival in 2013. At that time she was bubbly, energetic and had a clear passion for music and enjoyed every minute of her performance.

Almost 4 years on, in which time she had some great exposure on Radio 2 and in particular from the late great Terry Wogan, she has not changed a bit. She is still bubbly and comes across as absolutely loving being a musician and very grounded as well.

Tonight we had a set of her own songs, playing guitar and for a couple, ukele. There is something infectious about Emma - she always manages to keep a happy vibe throughout her songs, even when the underlying topic is tinged with sadness, such as the song she wrote to remember her Mum by.

A great set and it went down very well with the audience too.

Colin was backed tonight with the touring Zombies' drummer Steve Rodford, plus a bass player, keyboard player and an exceptionally expressive guitarist. Usually as you age, the ability to sing as well as you did when you were in your 20's fades quite rapidly. For some reason the opposite is true with Colin. His voice just seems stronger and stronger every time we see him.

The venue was packed (and extremely hot!), and our "space" was just right of centre stage so we had a good view. A set of solo songs mixed with some Zombies songs, was perfectly balanced and sounded great.

Colin, at home behind the microphone

The gig was filled with lovely little anecdotes from Colin as well as that wonderful singing voice. Colin is never slow when it comes to praising the song-writing talent of his friend, Russ Ballard. "I Don't Believe In Miracles" is ALWAYS a highlight.

Misty Roses is another bit of a show stopper every time.

The set list is shown below, so you can understand what a great show this was.