3/4 of Team LMAS have reported in (briefly) that Lee was " sexy, so sexy, sure of himself cool sexy". *ahem*

And some great tweets - here's one:

mai bullen ‏@mariannebullen
Wow!! I've just seen Lee Mead at G live and it was amazing! Les Mis's Bring Him home evoked a standing ovation half way through the show!

I hope we hear more tomorrow (your time).

In the meantime, Abs tweeted this lovely:

http://www.964eagle.co.uk/podcastdirectory/curtaincall.php

This is the link for the Q&A session. 25 minutes of Lee

It felt very odd waiting. There was about 80 of us arranged in seats with a central aisle. There was a low step up stage with two chairs and mics and lighting surrounded. Quite odd.
While we were waiting, several times doors opened or banged and everybody hushed in anticipation. Actually it felt like we were a wedding party waiting for the bride and groom!!

Lee arrived finally, coming through a door at the front. I think he felt it was a bit odd doing an interview with all of us watching. His legs and hands were constantly fidgeting and moving.

Lovely to watch. I'm glad they are playing it in full. I'm listening now

The hot seats! Taken by my daughter.

I'm listening to the podcast - "It's like an England team press conference!"

Being ambushed by a camera-wielding woman on the tube!

He wasn't worried about being booted off ADWD! That's a good attitude to have, though - there's nothing worse than evicted contestants having an on-camera melt-down!

Chris in Miss Saigon was his favourite role, and he got down to the end of the audition stages for the latest WE revival - apparently, CamMac was keen for him to play the role!

He'd love to back into the WE after Casualty!

He wants to be part of a brand-new musical, originating a role.

Might be going back to Camberley and Barnstaple with the tour next year.

Ooh, Maggie Ball asking a question!

Good questions from the audience!

Nice interview!

Love to hear some reviews and photos when everyone has recovered
from their journeys.

Thanks maggiemay

I'm not the only person who was there, surely someone has something to say about the concert? I will do a review but I don't always like to be the first to speak!!

#useitorlooseit

I will try to write a review later.
GLive is a lovely venue & having the Eagle radio Q&A before the show made it extra special.

I really like Preeya Kalidas & her duet with Lee was a real treat.
Lee & Amanda Henderson can sometimes look like naughty school children
their knowing looks at each other & the smiles that are stifling a fit of giggles make me beam with delight.
Chris Norton James aka Alan a Dale in Robin Hood showed us what an brilliant talented singer he is.

more later #promise
if you want more that is

part one:
What can I say about Wednesdays gig at Glive?
Getting there was Ok.
Even though I had a very big heavy bag to carry around with me. #longstory
When I got off the train I saw a few familiar faces on the platform.
4 of us had taken the same train but were all in different carriages.
What a shame we could have had a pre show squeee on the journey there.
The walk up the hill was made more pleasant with the company of Ros.
( one of the ladies on the train)
We arrived had a coffee & said hello to the few fans already there.
Then it was time for food before the Q&A.

We went to a local pizza chain restaurant nearby.
Our waitress was very chatty & she told us that she wished she could go to the show.
I told her that there was tickets still available but it was to late for her to swap shifts
She had tried the web site the previous evening and it showed no seats available.
We since found out this was a glitch but what bad timing.
She had seen Lee in Joseph but nothing since then.
While we were waiting for our food we saw a group of people come in and take the window seat.
It was Lee’s family with Betsy. She looked adorable wearing a cooks hat & sitting at the table reading the menu that was almost as big as her.
We left the restaurant & excitedly headed to the Q&A & found ourselves sitting near the back.
You could feel the air of expectancy in the room, with each sound making heads turn.
But then Eagle Radio's Lewis Mason came on & introduced Lee.
Nervous at first but he soon settled in because of the interviewers talent of asking just enough & letting Lee do the talking.
This meant that we didn’t just get the stock answers but saw the real Lee.
At the end a few questions from the floor & it was over leaving us all in a state of anticipation of what was to come.

I didn't take many pics but here is the best of the bunch

Thanks Joan very nice,I am sure Betsy looked cute

We took our seats in the main theatre & although it was not full there was a lovely atmosphere.
The lights dim Will Stuart takes his place at the piano and my heart does little flippy flops in my tummy.
Then Lee appears and opens the show with “Pure Imagination”
He looks happy and he was spell bindingly perfect.
This first song sets the scene.
Then Mason & the new bass player Neil come on stage & Lee gave a faultless Close Every Door
He joked about his lack of dance skills before singing in the rain but the moves he makes on stage show that he has more dance ability than he gives himself credit for.
He chatted about MGM era of films & how much he loves that style.
I think Some Enchanted evening came next which again was perfection

He dedicated “Fix You” To Robin Williams.
He told us how he watched Hook & Mrs Doubtfire when he was young.
I don’t know if it makes sense to say it was different this time & after the first lines

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

you could tell that this was going to be the song that everyone will remember from this gig

just as well Preeya Kalidas was next I was emotionally rung out by this time

Thanks Joan - great review!

Thanks Joan for the lovely review, both of Q&A and the concert.
Always very much appreciated.

Ro has also posted a lovely review with some gorgeous photos today
of Lee on her Lee Mead Timeline page.

I have not felt well enough of late to travel too far on
my own this year, so therefore have missed Lee's brilliant concerts,
which has been very hard. I am looking forward to Lee's London
concert at the Garrick Theatre in December though as my son has
very kindly agreed to travel to London and back to Torquay with me
as he knows how much I love to see Lee's concerts. Mind you he does take
the mickey out of me a bit, but in the nicest possible way of course.

So thank you all once again for posting your reviews.

maggiemay

I've been trying to get my head around doing a review. However, I made the mistake of spending the night in Guildford, then going back to work the same afternoon as travelling home. I will never, EVER, do that again, as I had a horrendous afternoon at work and my post-Guildford euphoria bubble was well and truly burst. Anyway, that's beside the point.

Well, what can I say that hasn't been said before? Obviously, the Q&A was a new departure - and I only spotted two men in the whole audience! Lee seemed quite at ease, although he did fidget and keep waving his hands around quite a bit! I didn't ask a question, although I did have one to hand, just in case they'd thrust the microphone under my nose!

Lee was gorgeous, his voice perfect, and Fix You just gets better and better, and more emotional each time. A has been said, on this occasion he dedicated it to the late Robin Williams. In the middle of it, when the musicians are doing their stuff, he closes his eyes, completely lost in the moment, and sings something so quietly that it's hard to hear what the words actually are (in fact, it's almost a private moment, like a prayer). No "Kiss" this time, but I wonder if that's because his mum was in the audience?!

As everyone else talks about Lee, I'll mention his guests. No Stephen this time, as you know, but the new line up made it interesting.

I've seen Preeya a couple of times with Stephen, at the Hippodrome and the Pheasantry, as his other guest (apart from Lee! ). She has a great voice, and I'm always fascinated by her skyscraper heels! The duet she did with Lee ("She Will Be Loved", by Maroon 5) I have to say is not a favourite song of mine, but their version was lovely.

I just love Amanda, and it's so obvious she and Lee are very fond of each other and great friends. She has a fabulous voice too.

We were stunned by the Chris Norton aka Norton James (his stage name) version of Stars from Les Mis. In a word - fantastic! We had no idea he had a voice like that. He was of course Alan A'dale in Robin Hood.

Interesting moment at the Stage Door while we waited for the main man. One of us was convinced they recognised a man in a blue shirt who was inside the Stage Door (for anyone who hasn't been to GLive, you can see inside as there is a lot of glass). When he came out, she had a quick word, and it turned out he was Allan Wells, the Olympic sprinter who won a gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980! I think he was with a lady who was a friend of Preeya's.

Lee's mum and several friends went into the Stage Door, and it was a while before Lee appeared, but he spent quite a while signing and having photos taken. There is a flight of steps directly opposite, perfect for admiring from afar and watching all the goings on!

We took a taxi back to our hotel, where this time they were prepared to serve us. At Horsham, apparently we missed last orders (called at ten past ten!!), and were refused drinks, so we had to resort to the local off licence, and then held an impromptu party in a certain lady's room! Our post-concert de-briefs are part of the whole event, and are the icing on the cake of our trips away - long may they continue!

Hope you make the Garrick and have a great time Maggie May!

I wrote a review earlier, and then slipped on a key and the page closed down, gutted that I lost it and doubt I'll write anything as good again as I've already forgotten most of what I've written but I'll start again:

Pure Imagination is a wonderful start in the darkness and stillness inviting you to open your eyes and your ears to join him on the journey for the evening, the stillness of this song leads perfectly into Close Every Door and the mood is set for the evening.

But then he lightens it all up as he starts to talk about the influence of the MGM musicals and his hopes for the tour next year. I get a thrill every time he sings Singing in the Rain, and then tip toes down the lane; I just love the vocals on it.

I think then Preeya came onstage, I can’t really remember the order of things just the emotions of the evening. She’s matured in the last few years since I saw her, I really enjoyed her performance and there is a great fondness between her and Lee. I think though he asked her to ‘guest’ whilst pretty tipsy on the embankment one night; he tells the story!

I think Fix You came in the first half , and he dedicated it to Robin Williams and there was a silence just before he started were we all took a moment.

I didn’t like the original arrangement of Fix You on the Love Album or tour, but now the stripped back instrumentation and his powerful vocal make it so special I think the whole audience took a gulp at the end.

Part 1 was over too quickly, and by the interval I was feeling short changed but Part 2 more than made up for it.

I love Dancing Thru Life as it’s a character song, so he gets to act, and bit of Fiyero shines through (I miss Fiyero!) . I think he sings the song so much better than he did then, in fact I said to my friend 4 or 5 times during the show - ‘he’s singing that so much better than…’! He had a real huskiness to his voice this week, but it was with strength too, this was noticeable on Father and Son where the lower register part seems easier for him to sing now, a year on from when he first started singing it at The Pheasantry last August.

Amanda joined him for the Wicked Duet and whilst she was trying to profess her love for Fiyero , Lee was taking the mickey and mouthing ‘me? Me?’ But, he switches in an instant into Fiyero and by the time he grabbed her hand I was whisked right back in the time of the Britches! Love the intensity when he performs like that.

I thought Chris Norton Norton James (covering all name bases there!) would join him as a duet on Luck Be A Lady but he didn’t and Lee took that zinger on all by himself. I think Stephen (Rahman Hughes) influence on Lee here has given him the confidence to be exaggerated and take a performance ‘over the top’, though Lee still keeps it contained, he does bust some moves… and I will say this – flippin’ sexy!!!

The confidence in his vocals and his ‘MGM’ style make me think next year’s album is going to be even better than Love Songs.

Chris Norton Norton James sang the Javert solo from Les Mis and he did a crackin’ job with a booming bass, he’s made for that role one day and I hope he gets himself the gig he deserves , I can see him in that costume… .though I confess my mind wandered to Russell Crowe (another fav)!

Preeya came back on to sing a duet with Lee, a Maroon 5 hit ‘She will be loved’, I never really liked that song, though I do like the band, but this arrangement was beautiful and their voices gelled. You ‘heard’ the words and I would suggest it’s a song that is better without the original tune ,as the words are amazing and Lee’s huskiness just added to the performance. I would vote for Preeya to duet that with him on an album, the way the words were divided up really made it too.

Lee’s Bring Him Home was powerful to the last night, another song you don’t dare breath during and I like that Crazy Little Thing has been moved to the end to finish on a bang! I love his body actions as well, I do…. I can’t help it!

Moon River, for his dad and nan, always a tender note to finish on, a wistful ending to bookend a similar beginning. This is a low key opening and end to the show but somehow is far more powerful than previous shows. I think it’s because instead of a light show and beats and loud music, its darkness and stillness and Lee’s voice fills the hall, and that is why we keep going back… his sublime vocals.

Thank you ladies for the lovely reviews,much appreciated,

Thanks Ladies for your reviews. I know it takes a lot of effort and time to write a review (especially if you should be getting on with other things,naughty ) and then when you lose it like Petrus, you almost lose the will to live .
Don't think I can add anything other than to say,although I've loved all Lee's tours, I think this 'striped back' tour as he calls it is the best yet and it does exactly what he said it would. Lee's voice doesn't need a big band with him on stage,his choice of songs set the mood and his stunning vocals and expressions on his face convey his feelings exactly.

I love reading other peoples take on a concert.
It sort of helps me to relive it all through other peoples eyes & from every view point.
We all know that every view of Lee is drop dead gorgeous

Annie I also loved the "stripped back Lee
He just oozes confidence & yet in those certain song moments you can feel a sensitivity that touches your heart.

I hope to read a few more reviews soon.

Well I'm having a very unmotivated Saturday afternoon so I thought I would add a few of my own thoughts (the aftermath of an amazing week of enjoyment).

Loved reading all the reviews. I agree Joan, its nice to get others' take on the same show as its different for everyone.

Petrus I really agree about your thoughts about the beginning and the end songs that Lee sings. Pure Imagination is the best way to start that amazing journey of songs with him, a gateway to 2 hours of bliss and then Moon River is a chilled, almost melancholy finish, bringing it home that the concert is finished and letting us down gently. Very clever planning.


As most of you know, my travelling time was about 15 minutes lucky lucky me! It was lovely to welcome a few friends to my home town. And how surprised I was when I went to the station to pick up a couple of people, to be confronted by about 6 fans who had all been on the same train but didn't know it. To see everyone's faces arriving at 'my' station was quite a strange experience! But lovely.
After a bite to eat at home (and a bit of bubbly) we made our way back to G Live for the Q&A. No idea what to expect and it turned out to be very different from the meet and greet that I had had with Lee when I saw him there for WEM.

I loved the Q&A although I thought Lee did look a bit uncomfortable with us all watching at first, he commented on how weird it was. But it was lovely to see what was basically a live interview, and to be part of it. My daughter managed to ask the last question so that was nice for her. (I hope i'm not repeating myself...I've forgotten what I wrote further up!)

I really enjoyed the concert but along the front row, there seemed to be cool air coming out of the vents along the bottom of the stage and by the end I was feeling quite chilly. I don't know if anyone else felt the same.

I was also quite nervous but for personal reasons. If anyone has ever experienced the 'home town' gig for themselves in their own local venue, they might understand how I was feeling. Its the nervousness that everyone will enjoy it and that it will go well, silly really.

Vocally I thought Lee was spot on, his voice is just amazing (we all know that!). I loved his duet with Amanda and Preeya and it was lovely that Norton was able to sing a number on stage too. He has just graduated from PPA in Guildford so I hope this will be a good extra line on his CV. I did miss Stephen for the 'Luck be a Lady' duet though, I've got so used to seeing them larking around for that song which has become one of the highlights of the show for me. I felt lucky to be treated to the extra guests. Every concert is so different.

So moving when he dedicated 'Fix You' to Robin Williams and yes, those first lines of the song were suddenly so poignant.

I feel like I've been mixed up and whooshed around in an amazing tropical cocktail for the last week! I've had such fun with everyone I met and I feel very spoilt that its all been so close to home. Maybe he will come back one day...who knows.

There are a couple of my pics on the main page but I will add a few others here. I try to be discreet and just take a few at either the beginning or the end of a song so as not to disturb anyone. The problem with this is that most come out blurred but I do get a few that I am happy with. I'm only a amateur but its satisfying that I can call them my own and use them for whatever I want to and share on here.


Roll on Southend but Newtown is rapidly becoming more attractive!(8 weeks seems like an age to wait) I'm very tempted to enter the free ticket comp on Twitter and Facebook and if I win I will just get there somehow!

Photofest, I hope there isn't too many!!





Found this back view rather satisfying!

A few SD ones.











My favourite one of Norton and Lee together.

Just one further thing to add. I was a little disappointed by the lighting. It seemed fixed on the same colours for most of the evening and several times when Lee went to the sides, he ended up in almost darkness. He did comment about it at one point. Compared to Horsham this was a shame because the lighting makes such a lot of difference to the performances. Perhaps that was just my view from where I sat. I'd be interested to hear what others thought.

I don't think that anyone else has mentioned that Lee sat on the front of the stage again for ADWD which was so exciting for a certain friend who had not seen him in nearly a year! I love it when he does things that we are not expecting

Lovely review (and pics) Jazzy!

Nice to see that the ROTY is still pert and peachy!

Thanks for your review Jazz
I agree with you about the lighting it was just not quiet as good as previous shows.
Lovely photo's thanks.

Thanks to Jazzylou and everyone for the lovely reviews and photos.

Thanks for the reviews and photos, what a lovely memory of a great night.

Thank you ladies for your lovely reviews and photos. I wish I had some of your skills and recall.

Don't think I can add anything other than I have also loved these 'Stripped Back' Lee concerts, and 'G Live' was a really wonderful example.

Lee's voice skills are just getting better and better.
He has such a deep understanding of the lyrics too, and loves to get right inside a song. This comes across immediately in 'bucket loads' to his audience, so much so, that you don't quite know what's hit you until the end of the song, when the applause breaks the spell, and also that private little bubble you have surrounded yourself in, throughout the song, bursts too!...
Not many singers have this skill. Lee has! and it's lovely to see his confidence growing with each concert too.

I absolutely loved 'Fix You' (dedicated to Robin Williams - a lovely gesture by Lee) It was so deep, intense and breathtakingly beautiful, many in the audience had tears in their eyes. (Me included)

Lovely to be present at the birth of a new Lee/Preeya duet too. I hadn't heard the song before ('She Will Be Loved' - Maroon 5) but really enjoyed it. The harmonising was quite special, and I really hope Lee includes it in future concerts.
Bring on Newtown - Can't wait!!!

What I want to add is that I feel that his interpretation of certain lyrics has changed as his life has changed and what he is singing makes a different impression on him. I noticed it right from CED. He has changed the phrasing - Darken my daytime and torture my night. If my life were important - I would ask will I live or die. So suble and so right and if you had not heard him in a while you might not even pick it up. Listen to the YT video and put the pause in, lovely. Not that it was ever not but now its different. But that, Fix You and Hallelujah have a different phrasing vibe now. I wish this Fix You was on the album its so different. He is truly an artist with his phrasing. And his singing and feeling of these songs actually changed from Horsham to Guildford. Totally beautiful but a different feel at each place of who and what he was singing about. Takes real talent to do that and not just sing the same song the same way every time. It is what makes him so unique and wonderful. And IMO no one sings Bring Him Home better than he does. No one.

Thanks for all the reviews and gorgeous photos. Not much to add to what has been said, but just a couple of things.

The poor lighting to the side of the stage was annoying.

"Luck be a Lady", while I love the fun that Lee and Stephen have duetting this, in my opinion I prefer it when it is just Lee singing, so much more powerful and sexy - sorry. Love it when he does his little Marlon Brando impression in the middle, and at GLive he threw in a bit of, I think it was, umm .. Sir Cliff as well.

The banter between Preeya and Lee was funny. She said the last time she sang with him he was half naked (Joseph).

Lee commented just before he sang The Way You Look Tonight, that he always preferred to listen to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as he grew up,as in his opinion pop singers couldn't really sing!!!!

I am so glad that one lady, who doesn't get to many concerts was able to experience at close quarters, Lee sitting on the stage smack back in front of her during ADWD. I know from experience what that feels like.

It was lovely to share a meal with friends before the concert. These occasions, whilst Lee is the main event of course, spending time, putting the worlds to right and sharing feelings with like minded people, is just as big a part for me.

Thanks for all the great reviews and beautiful pics ladies.
I am very late getting on to this thread as I went straight from Guildford to babysit Bubs1. I had to go from dribbling, drooling, mushed up idiot, to sensible, calm, collected Grandma in a very short time. Phew.

I can't add much except to say I agree about the lighting in Guildford. He moved to the left of stage, as others have said and said "Ooooh, it all dark here" and zoomed back centre stage. It sounded so sweet so we all laughed but it was annoying. He kept saying this venue is so HUGE. It is and very beautiful too. Its just a shame it was not well lit for him.

Yes Graziella, I certainly agree with you. He puts so much into each and every song and it's different every time. Such depth and warmth to his voice. To me he is at his peak and Fix You is just beyond. When he sits on that stool and loses himself in the lyrics it is so, so beautiful. In the past when he used to ramp it up and belt it out in the middle section he now just sits quietly and hums and murmurs the lovely lyrics to himself, waving his head and tapping his foot in time. You just feel like you are melting into a puddle on the floor.

Talking about the floor....... After BHH everyone leapt to their feet for a massive Standing O. Everyone was going crazy. When Curly Liz and I went to sit back down we were so mushed we forgot to reach back and lower our seats back down. It was a miracle that we didn't land together in a heap on the floor. As we were Row A he would have seen us doing a very undignified scramble, trying to get up from the floor and trying to sit down properly. Honestly, we shouldn't be allowed out, haha.
I'm so glad we are allowed out though as yes, Ruthie, not only do we get to see our Man in such peak vocal perfection but we also get to see all our lovely friends. It's the biggest pleasure to chat to everyone in the foyer, then the interval and then at the SD.
I really hope by now he knows just how much fun and friendship we share.

Thanks Sue C for lovely review, had a little chuckle imagining you and Curly Liz nearly landing on the floor,but that is what our boy does to you!

Oooff! I wished I'd been there. Darkness and stillness and Lee with all the emotion he musters...unbeatable. Thanks for the reviews. Love that man

I can't top these great reviews so I'm just going to say thanks for other people's this time.

I'm just catching up (rather belatedly) with all of the reports and photos from Guildford - lovely to see so many as each gives a slightly different perspective on the evening!

Also loved the pre-show Q &A session - Lee is so down to earth and unassuming and that really came across in the interview.

And now it's a bit of a wait for Newtown - hope some forum members will manage to make their way there