The Win Entertainment Centre is a large venue near to the sea and the concert hall capacity was probably around two and a half thousand. We sat on the edge of our seats as Callum and the Australian orchestra struck up the initial chords of ‘I Was Born To Love You’. Annie (Skates), David and Kaye-Michaels backing singers - stood silently waiting for the moment when Michael burst onto the stage. Annie and Kaye looked very smart in black trousers and black cropped tops. David looked handsome in a black suit with a white open necked shirt. Suddenly the audience erupted and it seemed as though everyone stood up clapping and cheering to welcome Michael to Australia.

 

 

From the word ‘go’ I feel Michael won the hearts and minds of the Australians, New Zealanders, Americans and of course the Brits and many other fans too. He looked dashing in his black satin suit and black satin shirt as he went into ‘Get On With Your Short Life’ and ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’. He paused to thank all his fans for coming to support him and said that the next song ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight?’ – was kind of appropriate.

 

After this Michael spoke of the genius of Steven Sondheim and said that those people with children would appreciate ‘Not While I’m Around’ from Sweeney Todd. This was followed by ‘Lift The Wings’, which he said always made him think of home.

Two of my favourites came next - ‘Walking In Memphis’ and ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’. The latter, he said, he loved and it reminded him of the time when he was in New York doing Aspects and feeling very homesick. He went on to say that you should always tell the ones you love how you feel and that he did this in a song that he wrote himself- ‘Just When’.  Tonight, he said ‘It’s for you’.

After the applause had died down, Michael explained that he had been unable to return to Australia sooner because of his commitment to his role in ‘Chitty’ in the West End. He chatted about how he had loved the film as a little boy and how his mum and gran had sung ‘Hush-a-Bye’ to him and that he was now going to sing it for us. ‘A Boy From Nowhere’ nearly brought the house down and everyone to their feet once more. Michael introduced ‘Prepare Ye The Way’ and ‘Gethsemane’ by saying that these two songs told the story of the last days of Jesus in very different ways. He talked about his dad taking him to see ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ when he was seven years old and how it had inspired him to become a performer. He went on to explain how he got his equity card and first pay packet for playing John the Baptist and Judas in ‘Godspell’. With a cheeky grin he described how he loved the spotlight hitting him and how he’s still partial to it!! This, of course, made the audience laugh and endeared them even more to his natural talent, charm, humour and wit and of course, looks! He explained how a note from a horn sounded and he sang acappella.

 

The first half of a fantastic concert came to a close with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. We caught our breath in the interval and returned to our seats for what proved to be an equally amazing second half in which Michael wore a lovely dark grey suit, white shirt and his black sparkly tie. He treated us to a brilliant rendition of ‘Evita’ and ‘This Is The Moment’. Again, the audience rose to their feet clapping and cheering enthusiastically in appreciation. Danielle Everett was Michael’s Guest Artist and you may recall that she performed in the closing ceremony of the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Together they gave a stunning performance of ‘Phantom’. Danielle is tall and beautiful and wore a long, rich dark blue velvet dress with a train. It was trimmed with diamantes on the shoulder straps and around the back of the neck. A diamante drop fell from the top of a thigh slit and she looked and sounded a million dollars! The audience loved her as she sang ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’. After this Michael returned and they sang ‘All I Ask Of You’ and then Danielle left the stage to rapturous applause.

 

The concert flowed on with Michael introducing ‘Les Mis’ as an amazing musical and sang two songs from it-‘Empty Chairs’ and ‘I Dreamed A Dream’. Both, he said, were songs about loss - one of friends, the other of innocence. The orchestra and Michael broke into a rousing delivery of ‘Something Inside So Strong’. Following this, Michael joked about loving Australia, but said that when he went to his hotel room and needed to wind down after a concert, he flicked through all the T.V. channels and there just wasn’t enough sport!! This brought up the subject of rugby and then he sang his heart out to ‘Bread Of Heaven’ with a few strains of ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’! We, of course, joined in the actions. By now, the mood in the theatre was ‘party’ – and so most did! They got up and danced, clapped along and some just sat and ‘enjoyed’---‘Let The Rivers Run’, ‘Dancing In The Dark’, ‘Help Yourself’, ‘From Here To Eternity’, ‘Love Changes’ and Michael’s encore was ‘The Wonder Of You’ which he dedicated to his loyal fans.

 

Each concert ended with an astounding standing ovation and Michael seemed to enjoy himself so much that at a couple of venues he turned to Callum and said laughingly ‘Right Callum- from the top!’

 

With such a variety of great songs, Michael somehow manages to please us all.
At the After Show Drinks Function, our man arrived wearing a dark suit and white shirt to huge applause. He spoke briefly of the pleasure of being in such a beautiful country and how pleased he was to be doing the concerts. He thanked everyone again for being there and then signed autographs and had photos taken. He was relaxed and thrilled at the reception he had received.

This was to be repeated at each venue but at Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane an area was cordoned off and tables were placed for him to stand or sit behind.

Michael was Michael as only ‘he’ can be- patient and lovely with everyone, interested in what they had to say and I’m sure he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

At Sydney he wore a white jacket and black tee shirt at the After Show Function. At Perth, a white cheesecloth shirt and blue jeans. At Melbourne, he wore a white jacket, pink shirt and jeans but at Brisbane he looked completely drop dead gorgeous in a brown and beige striped shirt, brown brushed denim (I think!), cropped trousers and brown trainers.

 

The Sydney venue was of course very special, quite majestic and, as Michael said, reminded us of The Royal Opera House at Christmas- another great excuse to get out the posh frocks! Someone said they could have sold it out three times over and I’m not at all surprised.

 

The Burswood Theatre in Perth was a beautiful venue just outside the city over the river Yarra. It was in a large picturesque complex with gardens, many restaurants and a lively casino. The Melbourne Victoria Arts Centre was, again, just outside this impressive and more traditional city centre. It was also very plush and quite ornate.

Brisbane, after Sydney, was my favourite place. It is a magnificent city and I would love to go back there and see more of it. The QPAC Lyric Theatre was on the other side of the spectacular river estuary among gardens, swimming pools, riverside restaurants and bars- totally out of this world!

I also think that Michael’s Brisbane concert, together with Sydney, was possibly ‘The Best’- he left the stage to resounding cheering with the whole theatre up on their feet wanting more-as he waded through the sea of colourful streamers that had been thrown at the end. The evening was suitably rounded off with a nightcap in the hotel bar chatting to old friends and new, reminiscing about the last two weeks we had spent together.

 

On a purely personal note, apart from the obvious reason for my being in Oz—a couple of highlights for me were my stay in Cairns and my trip to the Great Barrier Reef where I snorkelled and went on a helicopter trip- two things I had never done before. Seeing the sun set over Ayers Rock was an awe inspiring experience that I shall also never forget. In truth, I love the country and could do it all again tomorrow. One day I shall have to return to fulfil my ambition to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

 

Thanks to Mandy and the Arena Travel Group for a superbly organised trip. The whole sixteen days ran like clockwork which enabled ‘us fans’ to relax and thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

 

Many happy memories’ indelibly etched on my mind. I think it will be quite a while before I really come back down to earth!

 

Thank you Michael for making this ‘fabulous adventure’ possible.