Lucy Rose is back on tour after a seven year hiatus and it was so good to see her back. When you have been through the rollercoaster of life with what Lucy went through, the joys no doubt of the arrival of her children to the lows of a breaking her back in eight places after giving birth due to a rare form of pregnancy-associated osteoporosis.
She admitted to the audience how she had been in a dark place and lost all confidence in music until a couple of her band mates had come round to just play some music at the piano and rekindle her love again and she then performed one of the songs that helped her escape that phase “Life’s too Short, a very heart felt but upbeat rendition.
Unlike most tours, Lucy was not out on the road on the back of a new album, her 2024 fifth studio album “This Ain't the Way You Go Out” being her last release.
Given all the above it was no surprise there was a few nerves on show at the start but these soon disappeared as Lucy delivered a great set of her songs. A list curated for the audiences pleasure but also with a self confessed addition of a couple that she just wanted to play primarily for her self that never been a record before.
Lucy played most of the set up front on the piano with the benefit of a clearly, in tune to the evening, 7 piece band with an interchanging trumpet (Sheila from Kokoroko), flute and saxophone player. The band were really on top of their game all evening. Also a shout out to the support act, Margaret Glaspy, a perfect complimentary opening would recommend catching live if you can in her own right. The undoubted star though was Lucy herself. The years away have not diminished her great voice, if anything it seems to resonate even better now especially on the slower ballad numbers.
A quick word on the venue, what can you say, the iconic Chapel Union in Islington, London, so atmospheric, so conducive to the sound and some of the best lighting going. Everyone is seated of course but the gig was far from reverential, everybody was up for a good time and the chance to see Lucy performing again. Maybe the smallest of criticisms for the production was the distortion of the bass on the quieter numbers and a biased personal observation as a photographer, the overuse of the smoke machine.
We had a great mix of slower and uptempo numbers, the latter ones getting the biggest cheers on the night, such as “Find Myself” and “Pink”. We had perhaps my personal favourite on the night, the beautiful “Shiver” and “Over when its over” last performed by Lucy on “Later with Jools Holland” no less.
Of course we had an encore, songs with Lucy now on the guitar. The first of which, a duet with Eloise was another personal highlight. We had the band intro’s, with well deserved applause and of course the long and noisy standing ovation for Lucy at the end. Welcome back Lucy, you smashed it!
