Well what can you say but had a fantastic night place was lovely river tees running at the back with tables and chairs on the veranda on two levels not only that but a huge full length picture of Lee greeted you as you went in pity it was not there when gig finished as it would have been in the back of the car!!did try and get small picture on the door when leaving of him
The songs were new to me as not Been to see him for a while very good choice of songs he did the usual chat about jodi and a lot of things that went on in his life Michael Bubble songs were interesting the song I just have not met you yet got a reply from a lady in the front when he was saying how nice Michael was she replied you just have not met him yet and then to top it all he was on about the people who had been to the PAA Leo Sayer there was big picture of him like Lees in the dressing room and he went behind the curtain and said oh hello and brought the picture of Leo on stage to huge laughter and said daddy and pointing to his hair he had Natasha Barnes as a guest who sang really good can't remember the songs in order but did love Bring him home and Fix You and Lullaby then all to soon it was the end of a fabulous night with the song ADWD and a standing ovation and cheers for him and I'm sure someone will fill in what I missed out till the next time for my fix luv Mazza PS sorry I did not bump into you Tanith

Thanks for that, Mazza!

Sorry we never got together; I decided to play it safe and not go to the stage door this time, but to ask for help in finding a taxi back to my guest house. I'll be at the Christmas concert and hope you will.

Glad you had such a brilliant evening Mazza. Thanks for your review.

Aww Thanks Mazza.
I love reading reviews and comments about Lee's various concerts.
It is wonderful for those of us that can't get to these gigs to hear sound bites and snippets.

Yarm. WHERE?

Yes, that was my first reaction (and that of several other people, I'm sure!) when this gig was announced. I looked it up on the map. A long way from deepest Essex - could it be done? Checked trains and stations - with the help of the odd cab or two, a definite YES!

So, we ended up in Yarm last Saturday afternoon. A lovely, sleepy little market town, with some nice restaurants and a few quirky shops - oh, and the big school with the incredible theatre, a little like the Starship
Enterprise, the outside of which changed colour as you looked at it.

We arrived mid-afternoon, taking a taxi into Yarm, then going a walk to get our bearings. We found the school, but weren't sure of the way in. Someone had kindly posted a photo of the gate with a big pic of Lee attached, so we walked around until we found this - on the exit gate. We had already passed the entrance, so went back to that. No sign of the theatre, but while we hovered (in grave danger of being arrested for unauthorised entry onto school premises , a security man arrived and very helpfully told us that the pedestrian gates in the high street would be open later in the evening, the theatre would be lit up and we would be able to see it from the street (he was absolutely right). So off we trotted to discover the delights of Yarm and to have a meal before the show.

Meal over, we strolled up the high street, past the bars (which seemed to be waking up a little) towards the gates we had been told about earlier. Sure enough, they were open, leading to the school grounds and theatre. The theatre was amazing, being lit up outside with pinks, greens, blues etc, a very modern design and overlooking the river. There was an outside terrace adjoining the foyer, which would have been lovely in the summer - well, it was lovely as it was, but you get the idea!

Anti****tion mounting, we took our seats. There must have been a dozen or so of Lee's 'regulars', and we all seemed to be seated fairly close together. It was a low stage and good rake, which is always great! The show was the same as the one Lee has been performing at the Pheasantry, 'Up Close and Centre,' so no surprises there. The Leo Sayer moment was so funny, as Lee had mentioned earlier the people who had appeared at the theatre before him, then he disappeared to bring out the full-size 'cardboard cut-out'.

Natasha Barnes (Lee's Cinderella from the Palladium last year) was his guest, and we have subsequently discovered she will be guest at Lee's Christmas Concert. She has a fantastic voice! Apparently she is rehearsing for another show, so only had a couple of hours to rehe**** for Lee's gig.

Lee's voice is out of this world at the moment. I think this 'Up Close and Centre' set is my favourite of all time (so far!). Each time I hear it, I have a different favourite, but this time, at Yarm, 'Bring Him Home' was the stand out - the ending was breathtaking.

Concert over, the 'regulars' congregated in roughly the area where we thought the stage door might be. The theatre wasn't circular exactly, but didn't have corners either (I'm hopeless at describing it!), with slopes rather than staircases. After a while, a couple came down one of the slopes, saying that Lee didn't think anyone wanted to see him! He was at the door, up one of the slopes, but hidden from us. We all stampeded as one up said slope, to have a few words before he left. He was wearing a long coat over his white shirt and looked gorgeous!

Happily we said goodbye and set off back down sleepy Yarm to find a taxi. Did I say sleepy? Wow, what had happened to Yarm? The town had come alive! There were clubs with bouncers on the doors, pubs with live music, everywhere with live music - the place was jumping (there was obviously a late night curry house somewhere too, as Lee and the band were headed there)! We realised we had left it a bit late to get back to the bar in our hotel before it closed, and the local pubs were too loud for us , so we popped into the local Spar (yes, it was still open at 11.00pm) for a little light refreshment before we picked our way through the clubbers to the huge taxi rank. Back at the hotel we toasted our man and set the world to rights in our normal fashion until the small hours. So glad we made the journey to Yarm, worth every minute!

Thanks for that A/Liz!

Thank you, Mazza and A/Liz, for those lovely reviews. We also have one from Jane W on the website - and have you seen the photos on Ro's Timeline? Just gorgeous.

The "daddy" bit must have been hilarious! I love that Lee is confident enough to do a bit of improv - he has good comedy instincts, doesn't he?