Ray's Gigs

Daily news and reviews of gigs bars clubs restaurants product launches films theatre fashion shows books art galleries hotels competitions interesting places to visit ...and much more!

Wednesday 26 June 2024.

Wednesday 26 June 2024. CYNDI LAUPER live at The Royal Albert Hall. Cyndi Lauper will be 71 when she plays this show Cyndi Lauper has announced her first UK solo headline show in eight years. Lauper will play London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall on June 26, 2024, her first concert there since 1995. Fans will get to hear timeless classics including ‘Time After Time’, ‘True Colors’, and ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’. Cyndi will play the Pyramid Stage at the world-famous Glastonbury festival, on the Saturday following this. I have seen Cyndi just the once in 1987 at Hammersmith Odeon when both her and Madonna took off at the same time. This show sold out in advance , so Cyndi is back in London in Feb 2025 at the much bigger 02 Arena. Cyndi will play four UK arena shows. ----------- The show is fully sold out. Lots of gay men here , who can afford the £100 tickets for seats in the stalls and arena. Fashionista PAM HOGG is the DJ support tonight. On at 7.30pm for 30 mins , playing the likes of Lady GaGa, Suzi Quatro, Eurythmics and Blondie. CYNDI LAUPER arrived on stage at 8.25pm for her 85 mins set. Cyndi gets a full standing ovation for her arrival as there is certainly a lot of love and goodwill towards her...her cute New York accent is still there. Despite a faltering start and an issue with too-quiet vocals that wasn’t fixed until halfway through, Lauper and her seven-piece band (including Sterling Campbell on drums and m/f backing vocals) electrified the Hall right from the off. Lauper prepares for her live shows like an athlete, and remains a highly physical performer, whirling and leaping from one side of the stage to the other. Sporting spiky hair and exaggerated shoulder pads, she appeared almost cartoonishly 80s – until you remembered that she helped invent that look, a more-is-more approach that began with her 1983 debut album 'She’s So Unusual ' and involved corsets, fingerless gloves and flamboyant amounts of jewellery. Cyndi said to the crowd "Happy Pride Everyone" , and that went down very well . Cyndi was up the aisles of the side seats a couple of times...all her top notch big hits were played. For an encore reprise of ' Girls Just Want to Have Fun', Cyndi was joined by six well known drag artists. The show at 85 mins felt a bit short , but it was great. Full CYNDI LAUPER setlist played tonight... The Goonies 'R' Good Enough She Bop Into the Nightlife Rocking Chair I Drove All Night Change of Heart Time After Time When You Were Mine ( Prince cover) Fearless ( Acapella) Money Changes Everything (The Brains cover) Girls Just Want to Have Fun Encore Savage Daughter ( Sarah Hester Ross cover)(Acapella Snippet) Not My Father's Son ( Snippet) True Colors Hey Now, Girls Just Want to Have Fun (With drag artists - Michael Marouli, Jonbers Blonde, Tete Bang, Tomara Thomas, Chiyo and Joan Oh) -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- Tuesday 25 June 2024. I went to two events tonight... 7.30pm to 11pm. SERPENTINE GALLERY SUMMER PARTY - Kensington Gardens, London. A big crowd of some 700 or 800 here. One of the major London summer parties as lots of big names here , including Sadiq Khan , Mary McCartney, Nick Rhodes, Jackie St Clair and husband Carl , Bianca Jagger , Jourdan Dunn, Pixie Geldof ,Alexa Chung, Jessie Ware , Ghetts, Oswald Boateng, Edward Enninful, Munroe Bergdorf,Emma Weymouth, Skepta, Charlotte Tilbury, David Linley , Ron Arad, Mary Charteris , Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Bloomberg, Tamara Beckwith and many others. I chatted to the lovely DAPHNE GUINNESS who was telling me about her fourth album 'Sleep' which is out this week. ( See photo) LAURENCE FISHBOURNE ( see photo). MAYA JAMA ( see photo) . MAGNE FURUHOLMEN from A-Ha ( see photo). See my Facebook page for the photos and videos. Naomi Campbell and Venus Williams had a reserved table , with two personal security guards giving the eye to all " do not dare disturb them with anything ". There was a fun photo booth. We had three dj stints , including GILLES PETERSON. Check out Getty Images for some great photos . Complimentary Ruinart champers, three different cocktails , wines, bowl food, cheeseburgers canapes, desserts , giant brownies etc....superb event... then 11.30pm to 1.30am. Saatchi Yates Gallery , 14 Duke Street , St James's, London SW1 There were a couple of after parties for the Serpentine.This one was for the younger crowd. Around 200 guests here and it is very lively. Half of those here , were not at the main event. A DJ is playing tunes and there are complimentary drinks ...Whiskey Sours, Whiskey Cocktails and wines. The party was sponsored by the Evening Standard . In their paper the following day, they did an article on both events ...Maja Jama got the biggest photo. It mentioned pies at the after-party which I did not see. Then I remember on arrival I was thinking why was there such a big crowd outside the venue on the other side of the street......i just thought loads of smokers ....but it was actually a van giving out pies.