Blancmange / O2 Institute / Birmingham
Blancmange were formed in London back in 1979 by Neil Arthur (vocals) and Stephen Luscombe (keyboards). Their synth-pop style hit the big time in the early 1980’s with four top 20 singles Living on the Ceiling, Waves, Blind Vision and Don't Tell Me. The broke up in 1986, but released three studio albums “Happy Families” (in 1982), “Mange Tout” (in 1984) and “Believe You Me” (in 1985).
The reformed in the early 2000’s, and following Stephen’s departure with ill health, Neil Arthur has continued releasing a number of albums, most recently with “Everything Is Connected” a ‘best of’ collection.
Support on the tour, was The Remainders, fronted by Neil Arthur, with Finlay Shakespeare and Liam Hutton his current project collaborators, dressed in matching ‘Re’ t-shirts. Neil joked with the crowd how nervous he was, it had been 30 years since he last worked with a new band lol. The set was still synth-pop, but had a different, darker edge to it, and added an extra layer to the night. As they left the stage Neil waved and reminded us he’ll ‘see us later’ !
Shortly after, Neil reappears with Finlay and Liam, this time as Blancmange, now dressed in a black suit. The set was a nice mix: a celebration of the classic early 80’s hits, blended with newer material since their reforming. It was great to see a pretty much full house in the Institute tonight and they eagerly responded singing and dancing along, fully immersing themselves in the experience. Most evident as the opening notes to classic hit Waves started, which saw the enthusiastic crowd dancing along to the iconic song.
The atmosphere was excellent, and Finlay and Liam were excellent on keys and drum pads, and the place reached fever pitch with their classic and show-stopping chart hit Living On A Ceiling. Everyone was singing along eagerly and the cheers brought a broad smile to Niels face.
I loved Blancmange back in the day, and loved their version of Don’t Tell Me which for me was such a memorable song from 1984, and left everyone in awe as the show drew to a close.
A brilliant night and a wonderful nostalgic journey back to the synth-pop 80’s. The performance was thoroughly enjoyable and just showed how timeless the music of the 80’s really is, just as good today as it was then.
