Having suffered the embarrassment of asking someone emerging from a BBC office for directions to Broadcasting House, only to have her point to the building across the road (well it just looks like another office block from the side!), we found our way to the queue at the entrance.
Doors opened spot on time, and a short corridor led to the Radio Theatre. It was immediately obvious this this was going to be a wonderfully intimate venue due to its small size, with only some fifteen rows of seats. The tiny stage was close to, and level with the front seats, but crowded to the extent that several of the band were going to be half hidden behind instruments and equipment.
The concert was introduced by Richard Allinson. He told us the new album would be released on the 29th March 1999, and went on to cryptically mention that Beverley would be doing a brief tour of the UK commencing on 14th December, which would involve filling several large stadiums with 5000 school children.
In what was (to the best of my knowledge) her first public performance in over two years, Beverley confessed to being nervous. She began by playing a new song called Move On written about someone in her family, whom she didn't embarrass by naming, but continued to say that all her songs were very personal.
This was followed immediately by a new song that was not introduced, but based on the lyrics, the title might be
Her introduction to Mollie's Song revealed that she has three children, not two as I had previously believed, and that my understanding that she had written a song for her youngest daughter Constance was incorrect. Before the concert started, I had noticed two little girls on the front row of seats, and being aware that she took Mollie to the Ludlow concert in 1996, it crossed my mind that they might have been her daughters, but I dismissed this thought as the younger of the two was too old to be Constance. However, the news that she had three children made it seem likely that they were indeed Mollie, and Beverley's second daughter whose name I was subsequently told is Brenna.
After another new song, Come Home To Me, Beverley confirmed my guess at the title of
Keeping me guessing about song titles, the title of the next one wasn't stated, however, the words
Several times during the concert (when he wasn't playing in the next track), saxophonist Frank Mead wandered off stage - to some amazed yet amused looks from Beverley. So she exacted her revenge by introducing the band as he was walking off. The band included Ian Bairnson on electric guitar, John Giblin on bass, Neal Wilkinson on drums, Malcolm -? on keyboards, Suzanne Rhatigan and Andy Caine on backing vocals, and the Electra Strings quartet.
Whilst singing the line “like my father I`m much too proud” in Woman to Woman, Beverley glanced at a man on the front row. You can formulate your own deduction from that - he was certainly able to mouth all the words to the song. At one point Beverley said she had specifically asked her mother not to come to the concert because she made her even more nervous.
The next new song, Afraid of Letting Go was obviously an intensely emotional song for Beverley to sing, so much so that I almost expected to see tears running down her face.
Another new song - We Found a Place - was introduced as having been written for a film starring Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham-Carter (presumably The Theory of Flight), but that like all her songs written for films, wasn't used. She remarked that these alleged film deals are probably a ploy by her manager to get her to write more songs!
After Promise Me, the final track was I Miss You , which Beverley announced as the first single from the new album, only to be contradicted by (presumably) her manager from the back of the theatre who shouted out that they hadn't decided on one yet!
The concert was broadcast on Radio 2 at 20:00 on Saturday 12th December 1998.
Chris Ward