Jimmy Nail returned to the banks of his beloved River Tyne for a special set of stories and songs, treating his native Geordies to almost two hours' worth of his best hits and biggest name drops.
From Ain't No Doubt to Crocodile Shoes, and anecdotes involving Madonna to Bruce Springsteen, the 72-year-old musician entertained with gripping tales and sporadic bursts of his most famous songs.
After spending over five decades at the top in the industry, Jimmy has an impressive vault of memories to dive into, and that is what he did in his unique, witty and revealing way. He quickly revealed it was none other than Steven Spielberg who tipped him to take his show to the fans in such an intimate fashion, and if his show on Sunday evening was anything to go by, that call was a huge success.
A career of tales and tunes
Jimmy perched himself on a barstool-style chair with only his trusted pianist alongside him for all but a few songs as he reeled through a career's worth of tunes and tales. He opened with an honest admission that he landed himself the role of Oz Osborne in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet rather begrudgingly, confessing he had no real desire to veer down the showbiz path at first. But what it has led to is nothing short of remarkable.
Among other big names taking a bit-part role in his impressive recollection was The Beatles legend George Harrison, and exactly how Jimmy became his unofficial ukulele teacher. There was also time to make light of his flirtatious banter with Queen of Pop Madonna.
Highlights and standing ovation
As the night drew to a near close, Jimmy got the crowd involved with his number one single Ain't No Doubt. As he orchestrated the female and male audience members to take on their relevant parts, the men in the crowd particularly enjoyed their two-word cameo - she's lying. Even at 72, Jimmy showed his husky and soulful voice still has plenty left in it, including successfully hitting a tough seven-bar note in On This Night Of Stars from Evita.
His impeccably timed storytelling let his loyal fanbase into some of his most cherished times in a hugely entertaining way. This showing marked the second of five sold out shows at The Glasshouse for the singer. The hugely impressive location sits on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne that heavily features in his iconic tune, Big River, so it was fitting that he ended on the poignant tune before getting a very well deserved standing ovation.
