Forum Theatre, Malvern – 18th February 2022
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
4.5****
A musical legacy handled with care!
The Travelling Wilburys were a super-group initiated by George Harrison in 1988. Given George’s penchant for fun (he funded Monty Python’s Life Of Brian film) it’s only fitting that the evening should start with a whole lotta fun chatting with Jayne (Jayne Connor, the show’s Manager) at the intriguing merchandise stand with an exciting Wilbury Twist: a brand new Epiphone guitar, signed by the band, being raffled. You don’t get that at every merchandise stand!
Tonight’s tribute band consists of Paul Hopkins (Roy Orbison), Mark Pearon (George Harrison), Aubrey Robinson (Bob Dylan), Red Litchfield (Jeff Lynne), Buddy Baker (Tom Petty) and Jake Perrett (Jim Keltner). Paul is a very engaging (main) front man, with an assured onstage presence and an infectious sense of humour. It’s an ensemble affair though, as the entire band are crowd pleasers. This is a genuinely funny show, with special mention going to Mark (as George) explaining what happened to Travelling Wilburys Vol 2. Hilarious! The band do a fine job of appearing like our heroes, which adds to the occasion (of course), but it’s really all about the music. And boy does it help when you have a back catalogue as rich as the original Wilbury lineup! That’s a classic show of top notch tunes covering the history of rock ‘n’ pop right there! I could single out each band member for marvellous solo moments but it’s as a collective that they shone most brightly. “I Won’t Back Down”, “Pretty Woman”, “Mr. Blue Sky”, “Blowin’ In The Wind”… as you can see the instrumentation needed for such an eclectic set list is extremely varied. Luckily the band have plenty of talent, which hit its peak perfection (for me) on “Here Comes The Sun” with the stunning backing parts sumptuously recreated on keyboards! Fun facts about the songs and band are interspersed throughout by the musicians as well as on the big screen behind them. Audience participation is greatly encouraged too and with everyone having such a fab time we didn’t need much persuading!
The introduction of Jayne showed she was a natural on the stage as well as off! She even managed to make not winning the guitar enjoyable. I’ll buy more raffle tickets next time… This was a real feel good night out with talented musicians engrossed in the music of the band they’re paying homage to. In fact that’s one of the biggest things I took away from the show – it was a total celebration of these great artists and their music. I’m sure the original Wilburys would be thrilled to know that their legacy is being handled with care. From the evidence of tonight’s performance this new incarnation has certainly not come to the end of the line! I will definitely catch their show next time they are in town and I unreservedly recommend you do the same. I’m sure you will love them just as much as I did tonight.