Thomas Dolby (Thomas Morgan Robertson) has always been for me a really intriguing artist. A GRAMMY-nominated musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur, and teacher. A go to session musician who has contributed his talents under a pseudonym to bands who`d you wouldn`t associate him with such as Def Leppard. He has worked with Lene Lovich, Joni Mitchell, Belina Carlisle and George Clinton and he was also a member of David Bowie`s band at Live Aid. The list of his achievements is almost unending.
I didn`t catch up with him until 2007 when he played what I’d call a straightforward set at Birmingham`s Carling Academy and was shocked to realise that its been twelve years since I saw him at the Midland Arts Centre. That night was a show with songs and screens to raise awareness and support saving Orford Ness Lighthouse on the Suffolk coast. Sadly due to land erosion this landmark lighthouse had to be demolished. So it was with some eagerness I arrived to witness what has been titled the ‘Iconic 80’s Recollections Tour’.
The next one hundred minutes was a kind of an audience with Thomas Dolby as he shared videos, music, and wonderfully amusing and touching anecdotes from his long and eventful career. It was heartening to hear tracks such as the emotive `One Of Our Submarines` which melded into Gary Numan`s `Cars`. The inspiration for the song was Stephen Spring-Rice, Dolby’s late uncle, who died as a submarine crewman during World War ll.
But the bulk of the show was a variety of passages where the artist offered blended movements that included artists such as The Cure, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Ultravox, U2, Billy Idol, Bronski Beat, Duran Duran, The Smiths, Prince, Grace Jones, Michael Jackson, Terence Trent Darby, Eurythmics, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen along with too many more to mention.
We enjoyed tales of the artists life such as crossing the Atlantic thirty seven times in 1985 as his passport will attest. Towards the end he introduced us to a Ukrainian artist whose name I couldn`t hear whose work visa was denied but joined him on screen and Jason Mraz who was also shown on screen aiding Mr Dolby on `My Brain is Like a Sieve`.
The show ended with `She Blinded Me with Science` with the original video with the iconic British scientist advisor and television presenter Dr. Magnus Pyke shown on screen behind the singer.
The obligatory encore included the superb `Hyperactive!` a top twenty hit from 1984 and a song that was initially composed for Michael Jackson and the reflective `Airwaves`.
This evening`s event was quite fascinating and I think will divide opinion as it wasn`t just a straight up gig but more of a reflection on the eighties music that those of us of a certain age enjoyed and presented in a kind of symphonic composition format with visual accompaniment. The hits were there as well but for me it`s interesting for an artist to experiment with a live format. It was at times enthralling and captivating in equal measures and will be an experience that will stay with me for a while to come.
