Express & Star

Classic night as legends Bryan Ferry, Gary Numan and the Sterophonics come to region

Between them they produced three decades worth of the most recognisable anthems in British music.

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And last night, Bryan Ferry, Gary Numan and the Sterophonics were all recreating their heydays on stage in the Midlands.

Music fans would have faced a tough dilemma when choosing whether to watch Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry with his legendary smooth style and velvety voice at Birmingham's Symphony Hall or to go down the road to Birmingham NEC.

Here, anthemic Welsh rockers Stereophonics were performing with a return to the region following their hugely successful appearance at the V Festival in Staffordshire.

Or those who prefer the sounds of the eighties might then be wondering whether to go instead to Wolverhampton for retro favourite Gary Numan.

Last night there was something for everyone who wanted to take a step back in time to their youth or simply enjoy some of the most talented names in music.

And best of all the years just melted away as the music men took to the stage.

One of the biggest crowds was at the LG Arena in Birmingham for the Stereophonics.

From the moment frontman Kelly Jones took hold of the microphone the crowd fell under his spell.

Dressed in head to toe black he looked – and performed – every inch the rock star.

The band kicked off their set with a few tracks from their latest album, with songs such as Graffiti On The Train and Indian Summer going down well.

But it was when they launched into their back catalogue from the late 1990s and early 2000s when the crowd really got going.

Have A Nice Day, Maybe Tomorrow and Bartender And The Thief saw thousands of fans scream every word. The evening came to a close with show stopping performances of Just Looking and Dakota which got everyone in the balcony up on their feet.

From start to finish Kelly and the rest of the band had the crowd transfixed, they may be twenty years into their career but the Stereophonic lads showed no signs of slowing down.

And it was a similar case over at the nearby Symphony Hall where music legend Bryan Ferry was playing. From his earliest recordings with Roxy Music in the early 1970s, Ferry has taken his place as one of the most iconic and innovative singer/songwriters to emerge in popular music.

But on his latest tour the star chose to adopt a new style with his nine-member orchestra, which played the first six of Ferry's songs without him. The orchestra themselves were excellent, but they were no Bryan Ferry.

When Ferry finally took to the stage wearing a retro dinner jacket performing Reason or Rhyme the show came to life, with his voice as strong and edgy yet uniquely sophisticated as ever.

The County Durham-born star wowed audiences with his excellent performance of numbers including Same Old Blues and NYC, which was teed up perfectly with his orchestra and rock band. Just before the end of the first half, Ferry gave a wonderful rendition of Dylan's Knocking On Heaven's Door – reminiscent of Ferry's 2007 cover album Dylanesque.

But for me, it was the second half that stole the show.

To begin the second part of the set, Ferry's two backing singers took to the stage in 20s-style dresses, dancing to the orchestra's version of I Thought.

Ferry then emerged dressed in a sharp grey suit and blew fans away with his powerful performance of a range of hits including When She Walks in the Room and Jealous Guy.

By the time the star had reached the latter end of the two-and-a-half-hour set, crowds were in the aisles and lining the front of the stage, dancing along and belting out the words to Love is the Drug and Let's Stick Together.

Fans of the 1980s music scene headed to Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall where Gary Numan walked on stage looking years younger than his age after cries of 'Numan' Numan' from the crowd.

And throughout the show his contortions and gymnastic gyrations belied his age.

He has a cult following and each track was lapped up by the fans.

These were of a cross section of ages and styles who managed to pack the Wulfrun.

Songs such as Down in the Park and I Die You Die demonstrated the commanding power of Gary's voice and ensured that musical fans from across the decades who headed out in the Midlands last night had plenty to be happy about when they got home.

By Bethan Motherwell, Kirsten Rawlins and John Darby. Pictures by Patrick Mulvaney (Gary Numan) and Jason Sheldon (Stereophonics and Bryan Ferry)

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