Steele yourself for Big O's magic recreated
Barry Steele and Friends played tribute to Roy Orbison, recreating the image and sound of “The Big O".
Barry Steele’s ability to master the detail of how Roy Orbison performed in an almost lifeless stance with the barely moving lips whilst wearing the legendary dark glasses is remarkable.
From the minute he appeared on stage he captured the audience’s attention. Throughout the show all the iconic favourites are performed: Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman and my favourite, Wicked Games.
Barry’s voice is exceptional although he does not have quite falsetto voice that Orbison possessed. As the performance takes place a large screen at the rear of the stage displays a continuous screening of events in Orbison’s life. Initially I found this distracting but after a while it started to work for me as it told the story of this amazing man. The tragic loss of his first wife aged 25 in a motor bike accident and two of his sons in a house fire. The stage setting is clever and well constructed creating a sense of depth with simple lighting effects throughout the show. The sound is well managed and the vocals could be heard clearly.
The fantastic support band consists of Boogie Williams (talented pianist and singer), Shane Osborne (lead guitarist and singer), Alan Whittam (bass guitar/backing vocals), Steve James (drummer/backing vocals), Tom Arris (keyboard/backing vocals) and Tudor Morris (acoustic/electric guitar and vocals).
Have you enjoyed the show? asks Barry before the final song. 'Yeah!’ comes the shouted audience response. Sadly Orbison passed away from a heart attack in 1988 but his memory will live on thanks to these talented musicians.
The Roy Orbison Story is currently touring, and will be showing in Stafford and Rotherham in October
