Ruby Wows Warwick

Ruby Turner at Warwick Arts Centre, 28 January 2023.

REVIEW by Maxine Burns.

Ruby Turner entered stage left bathed in a blue luminous glow, looking fabulous to be met with a rapturous welcome from a near-packed auditorium of fans. On stage, she joined the coolest of bands, Nick Marland on lead guitar, Peter Daley on keyboards, Des Woodbine on bass and Simon Moore on drums.

It was obvious from the warm welcome she received that the audience could not wait to hear that powerful and emotional singing voice of hers. She introduced herself with a track taken from her latest album, ‘Love was Here,’ recorded in 2020, explaining the lateness of the album's release being down to the pandemic.

Ruby certainly didn’t disappoint and her many fans were transfixed by her energy and her interpretation of such classics as Curtis Mayfield’s, ‘People Get Ready,’ and a powerful rendition of the slow, jazzy, ‘Stay With Me Baby.’ Throughout the 2-hour show Ruby entertained with witty, good-natured responses to the humorous calls from her audience, many of whom she seemed to know from past gigs and her appearances with Jools Holland.

Her second set was slower, a tad more bluesy, and even more confident and dynamic. Here she introduced each member of her band, allowing them to show their musical prowess, and while all were great musicians, special mention must go to Nick Marland on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Peter Daley on keyboards.

Ruby sang a host of her most popular songs including ‘Runaway’ and ‘Under Your Sky’, while her interpretation of the Etta James classic ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ was stunning – you could have heard a pin drop in that packed auditorium. A good portion of the song was sung acapella which earned her a well-deserved standing ovation.

After a dazzling encore, Ruby left the stage, inviting the audience to join her for an album signing and photo opportunity. She will be doing a short tour in Europe later this year and has more dates booked at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. If this performance was anything to go by – go see her!