...with John Barker In Bristol.

Eurythmics
Bristol Colston Hall

It's been a long road for Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart from the break-up of the Tourists (a regressive dull vehicle for their talents over which they had little control) to the stylish maturity that is Eurythmics, but from here on in it's likely to be paved with gold.

To think of the Eurythmics is to picture a classic blending of intelligence and style in both music and visuals. Their videos serve to illustrate the depth of the songs because the lyrics are always strong enough to stand it. That they managed to put as much drama into their live show as well was a wonder to behold.

Annie and Dave are mature troupers wise in the ways of winning over an audience, and although much of their recorded sound is electronically produced they instinctively understand that on stage it's bodies (and lively ones) that count. So to our right are three female singers swishing about in true Supremes style and in the centre is a bass player to give the rhythm that authentic gut punch. Sometimes a song needs the warmth and raunch of a horn section, so on a podium at the back is a trumpet and a sax player, both resplendent in their tuxedos. Dave sticks to his guitar for the most part, leaving the electronics to the main synth player and the drummer whose kit is electronic apart from the snare.

Plenty of musical muscle to be sure, but as soon as Annie Lennox steps on stage your eyes seldom stray elsewhere. Exuding that severe sensuality of hers, she is as much an actress as a singer; and as a singer she is probably the finest female vocalist in Britain today. She packs such power, depth and feeling into each song that we were all captivated from the opening number. Don't expect me to run through the set list; suffice to say that it was a superbly paced selection of classy soul, plaintive ballads, white hot funk, more sinister speculations and of course those swinging singles. The way Annie manipulated us through so many moods and rhythms without ever losing our complete attention was simply masterful.

By the time the last number "Sweet Dreams" arrived, the lights (and the pace) had gone through sombre blues and reds to the burning whites and yellows of the climax and had us all begging for more. This was provided in the form of the latest single "Right by Your Side" with its highlife guitar, steel drums (courtesy of a Yamaha FM piano), and Caribbean lilt and a storming "wrap it up" which finally blew the roof off. Returning to unstoppable applause, Annie wound us all gently down with the slow lament of "Jennifer" and was gone.

This was the best gig I've been to for ages. Eurythmics are smart enough to take the best of modern technology and more traditional instrumentation and make it into music that is articulate, intelligent and completely compelling.

Mike Batt
Barbican Hall, London

High technology meets classical music with a confrontation between the arch-Womble and the London Symphony Orchestra. Mike Batt's recent vinyl excursions, such as 'Zero Zero' (CBS) have exploited all the possibilities of the modern studio and the sounds of Simmons kits and synthesizers, with TV tie-ins being very much in mind. However his training (or self-training to be accurate) has been in the discipline of orchestral arranging and his pieces translate well to the orchestral format. One of his most recent pieces is the score with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones for the film 'Digital Dreams', and the theme tune together with another purely orchestral piece 'Waves' proved highly popular with the audience.

Mike's career has also included work with many distinguished vocalists, represented that night by Linda Lewis and by Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel). Steve agonised through 'Ballerina (Prima Donna)' which he described as 'the only Mike Batt song in the last three years not to get into the Top Ten', and Linda performed 'My Aphrodisiac Is You' and 'Caravan Song', which displayed her precise style and huge vocal range to the full.

The rhythm section, which balanced well with the orchestra throughout, included Herbie Flowers (from Sky) on bass and percussionist Frank Ricotti (Rick Wakeman etc.). There was no danger of the rock instrumentation overwhelming the more delicate wind and string sections of the orchestra, in fact the latter appeared more likely as a tremendous climax was reached in Mike's closing song, 'Run Like The Wind'. Coming as it did after the popular 'Bright Eyes' it was a carefully calculated crowd-pleaser, but would perhaps have been better held back for the encore which consisted of a gentle and rather slight orchestral piece.

Mike's getting airplay with a single, 'Railway Hotel', and if you keep your eyes open he can probably be seen with more credits as producer and writer than a normal human being should have time to fit in. Oh yes, and the Wombles did make an appearance to conduct 'Minuetto Allegretto', although we suspect that under that skin may have been Spike Milligan's old collaborator Ed Welch.