Meeting and thanking our lucky stars...



Deano and me at The Capitol



Sunday 3rd October:

Went to see Dean Friedman in concert at the Capitol Theatre in Horsham on Sunday night. I’ve seen Dean in concert quite a few times over recent years but the last time we saw him in our home town was in the early to mid seventies so it was a nice surprise to see him pre-show outside the auditorium doing his warm up vocal exercises. After a welcome hello and brief chat outside we then moved on into the small but packed studio theatre for a really enjoyable evening with Dean singing all our favourites. As always he started off with Company and this likeable troubadour spent the rest of the gig singing classics from his back catalogue such as Lydia, Well Well Said The Rocking Chair, McDonalds Girl, the beautifully moving Shopping Bag Ladies (my personal favourite), the soft and gentle Love Is Not Enough, Jennifer’s Baby, Woman Of Mine and he hit the high notes once again with a powerful vocal on the lyrically wonderful Ariel. Dean also sang some funny and captivating songs that brought a smile to the faces of the audience with the likes of Luddites Lament, Death To The Neighbors, the delightful A Bakers Tale (a riposte to Half Man Half Biscuits 'The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman') and the wonderfully weird S&M.

The second set gave us songs from his excellent new album, Submarine Races. The touchingly sympathetic Under The Weather written for a friend having health issues and the graceful You're A Criminal Darling (You Stole My Heart) dedicated to his wife Alison. A couple of other new songs were I'm A Lucky Guy and the politically astute Essie May. Sadly we didn’t get to hear what I think is the best song on the new album, the heartfelt and emotive Let The Boys Come Home, this really is a song you should try and get to listen to. You may or may not agree with the sentiments of the song but there’s no doubting Dean’s honest feelings on the issue of war in far places. The evening finished with the traditional audience sing-along Lucky Stars, as always a crowd pleaser and great show closer. A couple of encores later and the gig was over.

An appreciative audience gathered around after the show to meet Dean where he graciously spent time with his fans, signing autographs and having his photo taken countless times (even I had to have a couple of photo attempts as dearest wife Jane and new technology don't always see eye to eye). Dean Friedman is a class act, a stylish singer songwriter who possesses both wit and emotion in equal measure, a genuinely real nice guy. If you want to have an evening that will make you laugh, make you cry, make you smile, make you think and even make you sing-along, then try and catch him on his next UK tour which will hopefully be very soon. A terrific evening and certainly value for money.

For more information on this talented singer songwriter go to www.deanfriedman.com/