Diamond geezer
There’s a real sense of event at Saturday night’s BBC Electric Proms closer on Saturday night and why not?
The legend that is Neil Diamond has agreed to sprinkle a little stardust on 2,000 believers, so it’s one gig that will drag the Saturday night audience away from The X Factor.
Women of a certain age squeal as if Elvis himself has entered the Camden Roundhouse as the black-suited balladeer takes to the stage and launches into Beautiful Noise.
From the balcony, a sea of bald heads can be seen crowding round the extended stage front podium that Diamond has erected to allow worshippers to touch his hem.
His devoted followers may be Saga age but they are more enthusiastic than most indie kids, singing and clapping along to Blue Jeans, before delivering ritualised hand gestures along with Play Me.
Neil is in fine voice at 69 and delivers his catalogue, which can veer into the melodramatic, with verve. There’s an autocue for his lyrics but he doesn’t seem to need it.
Despite his reputation for singalongs like Cracklin’ Rosie, there’s a lot of angst to well-crafted songs like Solitary Man. And isn’t Cracklin’ Rosie a pretty odd title for a hit song anyway?
The New Yorker doesn’t take himself too seriously, telling the crowd: “I was wondering before I came out here tonight, ‘Are you going to make a fool out of yourself?’ And the answer is absolutely, yes. I have every intention of doing that.”
When he plays his “new material”, it’s actually versions of classics like Midnight Train To Georgia, Ain’t No Sunshine and a slowed-down, country take on his own I’m A Believer. “Buy my new album and enjoy it forever,” says Diamond. “Steal it and feel guilty forever.”
A spritely Lulu joins Neil for The Boat That I Row, which she performed on a 1967 edition of Top of the Pops where she first me Neil. “Is that show still on?”, Neil asks optimistically. “Bring it back”, yell an audience raised on Jimmy Saville.
Amy Macdonald also arrives and batters Shiloh into submission with her strident vocals. The guest slots give Neil a breather and presumably tick a female Scottish singer quotient for the Electric Proms.
There’s a full orchestra too, as well as a slick backing band but Neil doesn’t pay too much attention to them. The evening is very much about him and the backing musicians know it.
The set ends with the inevitable singalong Sweet Caroline before Diamond returns for some preacher-style testifying on Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show. The applause for the brisk 95-minute set is rapturous.
Diamond’s performance, available in HD Sound on the BBC iPlayer, is possibly the ultimate in old school Radio 2 entertainment, and a classy end to the Electric Proms season, following Elton John and Robert Plant.
There’s no doubt though that the initial conception, of musicians from different genres creating exciting new collaborations across London, has got lost somewhere, no doubt due to BBC budget cuts.
Radio 1, 6 Music and 1 Xtra have bailed out, leaving the event to Radio 2. Ladling some strings on to your hits isn’t what it was supposed to be about. Can Radio 2 be less conservative in its musical choices and let Radcliffe and Maconie curate a night?
At least the average stage age will drop below 65 if next year’s rumoured stars, Take That, join the party.
A Night With Neil Diamond will broadcast on BBC Two on Saturday 13 November, together with a documentary about Diamond’s career. Red Button and online will provide exclusive clips and behind the scenes footage from Saturday 6 November.
