Churchill Theatre, Bromley – 5 February 2020
Reviewed by Elizabeth Smith
4****
Marketed as a special evening with the “Prince of Soul”, An Evening with Marvin Gaye is exactly that.
With a plethora of songs sung beautifully by the main man Wayne Hernandez, the auditorium came alive within minutes with gyrating bodies.
Wayne was accompanied firstly by Holly Petrie, who had amazing power and tone to her voice and the chemistry between the two was super sexy. Hot on Holly’s tail was Ladonna Young who sung with great passion. It almost felt spiritual, especially as the opening number was The Lord’s Prayer.
The band were visibly enjoying themselves and that shown through their music. The trumpet player, Matt Holland and the percussionist, Rob Anderson, were especially animated through out.
Working through all of Marvin’s greatest hits and a few lesser known numbers the evening flew by with sing-alongs and plenty of stand up and dance tunes.
Wayne Hernandez had incredible charisma and had the audience eating out of his hand. Speaking in his dulcet tones he was making most of the audience weak at the knees.
This is not just a band playing covers of Marvin’s songs this is a performance of talented musicians and vocalists.
Come the finale the audience had reach fever pitch and the Churchill Theatre was truly alive with music.
If you’re a soul devotee this is an evening not to be missed