Review: Roy Orbison – In Dreams, The Hologram UK Tour, BIC
Featuring a live band, the rich Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, and the distinctive songs of Roy Orbison, this concert is an extraordinary, surreal, bizarre experience.
The live sound starts with the unforgettable five-note riff of Pretty Woman; the lights dim, and seemingly from the stage floor rises the spot-lit hologram figure of Roy Orbison.
He’s wearing a silver suit and trademark shades, holding a red guitar, and launches into the powerfully dramatic three-octave Only The Lonely, Crying, and In Dreams.
He nods appreciatively, mutters “Thank you” (Orbison always was quietly shy with his stage patter) and turns to his band to start the next number.
When he occasionally “leaves the stage”, video clips of Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne – his affectionate band-mates in the Traveling Wilburys – continue the tributes.
Orbison gems include rock’n’roll Blue Angel, the dramatic Running Scared, and classic ballad Love Hurts.
This bizarrely brilliant show ended with the woman in front of us silently crying to the sound of You Got It, Orbison powering through the operatic It’s Over, and the relentless master-piece I Drove All Night.
The inevitable trademark climax was Oh, Pretty Woman.
Yet does this surreal hologram concert belong in a high-tech pop music museum? Does the superb technical trickery mask the ghoulish experience? Mawkish and manipulative? Or stunningly creative?
We’ve got your fantastic recordings, Roy; maybe after 30 years, you should be allowed to Rest In Peace.
Brendan McCusker
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here