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07/04/97 - SHEFFIELD ARENA
Review by Steven Stanley:
This was my first ever concert that I had gone to. I remember when
he came to Sheffield Arena twice in 1991 (I was 9) and my Mum and
Dad wouldn't take me......I was so heartbroken! They were amazing
gigs as well.....he even asked the audience to stay for a couple
of hours after the gig to make the 'There Will Never Be Another
Tonight' video! Then he did some stadium shows in '92 and '96 but
still they wouldn't take me.....finally on Monday the 7th of April
1997 (I thought he would never come back again!) I saw him!
It was the best day of my life....I remember getting home from school
and Mum had gone out and got me the 2 18 Til I Die singles that
day (it came out on the same day)...and I was just listening to
them full blast with the Wembley '96 b-sides on before the gig.
I was in the fanclub and we got really really good seats (my Mum
didn't wanna stand but I didn't care as long as I was there). It
was the first gig I had ever been to and there was no support act....so
the first person I ever saw live was Bryan! I didn't know what to
expect or how loud it was gonna be. Suddenly the lights went down
and a LOUD drum beat started goin 'thud thud thud thud'....I felt
it vibrating in my throat.....THIS WAS LOUDER THAN MY STEREO!!!
These drums beats went on for what seemed like ages while the crowd
were screaming in the pitch black. Suddenly a centre spotlight came
on and Bryan started playing his twangy guitar for 'The Only Thing
That Looks Good On Me Is You'....and Sheffield errupted! During
the first verse models started to walk across the front of the stage
while the band were playing (see picture below) ...near the end
of the song they drifted off though. 
They also used to have a bridge behind the stage
that the fans went on. Up until the second verse of 'The Only Thing'
the stage was just a black sheet
behind.......and as Bryan started the second verse.....'I'm not
satisfied with versace style..................' .........the curtain
dropped and all the fans behind the stage on the bridge were revealed
bouncin up and down which looked really cool! My Mum was goin 'Steven,
Steven it's him look it's him!!!!!!!!'......i'm goin 'i know i know!'....haha
that was so cool. The 18 Til I Die tour was awesome :) Tickets were
easier to get for Michael Jackson that year in Sheffield than BA......thats
why he came back 2 months later :)....and I went again!!!....this
time the whole family went!!!
Just before 'Touch The Hand' Bryan chatted with the crowd a little.
He mentioned he remembered filming a video here and asked us what
football teams we supported here. Most of us (including me!) were
shouting for Sheffield Wednesday, some for Sheffield United. Then
when it shouted some fool shouted...'Rotherham!!!!!'. Lol that was
so funny. BA just said 'who are Rotherham?!' hehe. He then told
everyone to put their hands in the air and sang 'Touch The Hand'.
During 'When The Night Comes' he changed the lyrics to 'just me
and you and the South Yorkshire skies' which was cool! You can tell
he just loves playing live and was there for the music and the fans...even
though his new single was out today he didn't mention it once. He
just played song after song. Bryan even pulled a band up onstage
(see picture below) and this young lad got to be the main singer
singing 'Summer Of '69' which was funny. Bryan asked the band to
come up with a name…they didn't so he called them 'Shit' because
they were!
The b-stage was cool especially '(I Wanna Be) Your
Underwear' with the massive inflatable flashing underwear that came
down (see the picture up above on the right)! Also 'We're Gonna
Win' rocked and 'Seven Nights To Rock' was cool as well....I remembered
watching him on MTV playing that so I'm glad he did it here!
Bryan and the band take to the b-stage (above)
Everybody knew that '69 was coming up after the
b-stage and as soon as the opening chords opened up I thought 'I
can die happy now I've heard this finally!' To me it was just fasinating
to actually see and hear live too. 'Let's Make A Night To Remember'
was nice to hear as well I really like that song. BA didn't end
the show on a bang like I thought he would but instead sang 'I'll
Always Be Right There' which was really nice.
Setlist:
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Do To You
Kids Wanna Rock
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Touch The Hand
I Think About You
When The Night Comes
Heat Of The Night
Everything I Do
Straight From The Heart
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Hey Elvis
There Will Never Be Another Tonight
18 Til I Die
Run To You
***b-stage***
C'mon Everybody
Seven Nights To Rock
We're Gonna Win
(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear
Wild Thing
She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
***b-stage***
Summer Of '69
Cuts Like A Knife
Let's Make A Night To Remember
It Ain't A Party.If Ya Can't Come 'Round
I'll Always Be Right There
"C'mon Sheffield, Let's Make A Night To Remember!"
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