Being a tribute group
is a tough profession. At worst you can
ruin some classic material, but a small minority of these can sometimes transcend
their origins and re-create the magic of timeless material. I am happy to
report that Q – The Music Show falls into the latter category. The opening concert of their 2018 tour
brought all the thrills and spills you expect of material centered around the
world’s most popular spy – James Bond 007.
A first class orchestra
of 11 musicians – led by their founder, musical director and Bond afficiando
Warren Ringham – faithfully recreate the
sounds and arrangements we have all become familiar with over the past 50 years
of Bond-age. The superb musicianship is
further enhanced by two note perfect vocalists,
Matthew Walker and Kerry Schultz, who together bring the vocal dynamism
needed to life.
Matt Walker & Kerry Schultz
Kicking off with John
Barry’s original Dr. No arrangement
of Monty Norman’s ‘James Bond Theme’ set the tone perfectly for the evening. It
fell to Matt Walker to give the first vocal performance of the night, recalling
Matt Monro perfectly with ‘To Russia With Love’. The Bond series has always sought to showcase
popular performers of the day and it now reads like an A – Z of music greats,
so recreating the songs brings with it many chances to fail. But Walker rose to the occasion perfectly, as
the loud and sustained applause confirmed.
However, not to be outshone, Kerry Schultz arrives, all sass and
sequins, to launch into ‘Goldfinger’. Schultz is a vocalist who is not
intimidated to be taking on a vocal so firmly associated with Dame Shirley
Bassey, and she gives it all she’s got. Even Auric Goldfinger himself would
have been quaking in his boots with her powerful delivery.
The girl with the Midas touch
And so the tone and the
standards were set from the off by this hugely impressive outfit. Former Bond
girl Madeline Smith (Live And Let Die)
who has enlivened many a British comedy film with her sparkling personality,
proved to be the perfect host for the evening. Her bubbly introductions before the
Q Band launched into songs which hint at
dark deeds and a world on the edge of disaster, was the ideal juxtaposition. The Q Band are equally
at home with the jazzy intonations of ‘All The Time In The World’ as they are
with out and out rockers like Chris Cornell’s ‘You Know My Name’ and this
versatility is the key to the evenings success.
A heartfelt dedication
to the memory of Sir Roger Moore before performing ‘Nobody Does It Better’
proved to be a popular close to the first half of the show. We did too get a few instrumentals which
showcased the band by themselves, including the disco inflected ‘Bond 77’ from The Spy Who Loved Me and John Barry’s ‘007’ from the earliest Bond outing. Bringing it more up to date Moby’s Remix of
the theme demonstrated that in what ever soundscape, the melody is pure class.
As with many tribute
shows, you are dealing not only with the material but a shared nostalgia for
the songs and how they fit into our own experiences. So when Walker delivers a stunning
‘Thunderball’ or Schultz stops the show with ‘Licence To Kill’, they are
recreating a bit of our own lives. That they manage to do so with spectacular
results is the reason the audience were on their feet and demanding more at the
end of the show. My one criticism would be that Madeline blithely announced the
band would not be performing 'Die Another Day' because it was unpopular with
Bond fans and the band themselves. I
don't think it is the job of a tribute like this to censor our enjoyment. There could well have been people in the
audience to whom the movie or the song 'Die Another Day' held special memories.
As such they would have felt cheated. And besides the Madonna track was a
considerably bigger chart hit than some of the material being performed. A home
goal ladies and gentleman of the band!
There really is no star
to Q – The Music Show, each of the 14 people on stage contribute something
unique to the total. You would be hard pushed to find an entertainment with
better musicianship on the road today.
Even my hard-bitten live theatre experience has to concede that this is the ultimate James Bond music experience. Warren Ringham can be justifiably proud that he is has created a concert that is worthy of the 007 legend. Can there be any higher praise?
Details on tour dates, CDs and DVDs can be found at their website:
