Eeek! I have yet to blog about last Thursday's visit to Wembley Arena to see the one and only Miss Gladys Knight.

Gladys is currently on her farewell tour - a course of action which needs to be stopped preferably by an act of Parliament! Every one of her 57 years on stage has made her a consummate live performer - effortlessly commanding the stage, always in control and performing monologues and bits of business as if she just thought of it that moment... and vocally either tearing it up or holding you in the palm of her hand.

Either by timing or design we missed Tito Jackson's opening turn but from the noise in the auditorium the biggest crowd-pleaser was the introductions of Jackie and Marlon Jackson in the audience. It's an odd life to be one of the Jackson family eh? Doomed to wander the earth looking for reflected glory.

Wembley Arena was about half-full which is a bit sad but then it's an odd venue to have booked her into. The empty parts of the Arena were draped in black curtains - handy as the show was being filmed, hopefully for a dvd. But then most gigs these days appear to be filmed and they rarely appear for sale!At 9pm Gladys appeared from behind a screen and we were off to musical heaven! From the start Gladys was on the money - she kicked off with a nice surprise I WILL FIGHT from her 1980s Columbia years and sounded fierce. She then took us on a whistlestop journey through her musical life with humour and of course, fantastic musicality. We were treated to great versions of I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, I'VE GOT TO USE MY IMAGINATION, BABY DON'T CHANGE YOUR MIND, BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME, THE WAY WE WERE, THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS (handy for a pee break), IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN, a thrilling LICENCE TO KILL and SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME.

There were surprises along the way - two early classics LETTER FULL OF TEARS and EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART and a personal favorite from the 80s SAVE THE OVERTIME (FOR ME). For an artist with so many hits to her name Gladys certainly did a few covers: NEVER TOO MUCH, THE END OF THE ROAD and IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME BY NOW - all of which got the audience singing along!

We had a 'surprise' visit from Bubba Pip who won the audience over with his comedy schtick and energetic James Brown impression and towards the end was the cherry on the cake - Gladys joined on stage by Dionne Warwick. Dionne might be even more wobbly than usual in her upper register these days but with Gladys on hand for harmony we were treated to unforgettable versions of I'LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN and THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR.
After two hours on stage it was time for the last song which of course was MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA - was there ever a more perfect soul song? She had another surprise up her glittery poncho sleeve with her encore - a full-on discotastic I WILL SURVIVE!

Yes Gladys you have - and you are as magnificent as ever.