Lenny Henry at Dudley Concert Hall - review

Lenny Henry at Dudley Concert Hall

An emotional Lenny Henry stood before his adoring hometown crowd having finally arrived back at his roots after a 67-date UK tour.

Henry serenaded the audience one more time at Dudley Concert Hall last night on his Cradle to Rave tour.

Polished and in playful mood, Henry seemed a master of his trade delighting the near sell-out crowd with a feast of music and comedy.

The show takes audiences on a journey past the musical signposts in his life and his ultimately unfulfilled aspirations of being the UK's answer to Luther Vandross.

Yet in the midst of this musical extravaganza the Dudley-born comic appears wistful about missed opportunities in his life and the golden memories of his youth.

The show dived into periods of deep self-reflection as Henry charts a meeting with top music producer Trevor Horn where he failed to seal a lucrative record deal.

Light-hearted tales of writing songs and even once performing backing vocals for Kate Bush seemed tinged with sadness which provided a striking contrast with upbeat stories of childhood in Dudley.

The audience laughed along with Henry as he mentioned places in and around the Black Country town which had been his teenage stomping ground.

From nights in the Queen Mary ballroom disco in the grounds of Dudley Zoo with a DJ called Oscar Michael where he first took to the stage to impersonate Elvis, to the Summerhill disco in Kingswinford where he met one of his first girlfriends.

A huge screen behind Henry helped illustrate his musical memories with videos and old photographs of him from his days as a 16-year-old hanging out in Buffery Park.

The show broke into regular fits of song with rousing choruses of Hi-ho Silver Lining mixed with Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye.

Henry finished in true rockstar style with a near 30 minute encore accompanied by a live band rolling out his favourite tracks on the mic.

While Henry occasionally struggled to find belly laughs during the value-for-money two and a half show, he certainly proved home was where the heart is for the talented all-round performer.

Review by Andrew Turton