WITH a long career working with household names such as Tina Turner, Scissor Sisters, Diana Ross, James Blunt and Mark Ronson, the songwriter and musician Guy Chambers shot to prominence as Robbie William’s collaborator in the early part of his solo career.
With only a piano and a guitar, he performed solo versions of many of the songs he wrote, along with stories and anecdotes about the numbers and how they came to be created.
Starting with Let Me Entertain You, the bombastic piano and lively playing showed musical thought while being true to the spirit of the song.
Throughout the evening, familiar songs were stripped back to chord blocks and rippling tonal clusters, revealing the melancholic heart that beat at the centre of many of the songs. This was particularly telling during No Regrets.
We also heard the story behind Millenium and the slower ballads Feel and Supreme.
In the second part of the concert, two members of the audience were called onto help write a song in real time. The slow, Pink Floyd-like tone poem that resulted showed the importance of collaborative working, creativity and working towards a common goal that is the key to Chambers’ success.
Another audience member was called on for the inevitable audience participation part with Angels. Luckily, Lloyd was able to deliver the well-known ballad with gusto, feeling and passion, along with sterling support from the rest of the crowd.
Although much of the show was based around his work with Robbie Williams, there was also time for a couple of songs from his other musical project, The Lemon Trees.
It would have been interesting though, to have heard more about his early, formative years playing as a sideman and musician in such well-known bands as Aztec Camera, World Party and The Waterboys.
