35 years after his Doin’ Fine 90 tour, Jason Donovan is back with a bang in his follow up tour, Doin’ Fine 2025 and judging from the palpable excitement in the room, it’s been a long time coming.
In a relatively small and cosy Bradford venue, Donovan was able somehow combine the loud, bright, high energy feel of an arena tour with the intimacy of a local gig; singing and dancing along with Jason felt like hitting the karaoke bar with a (much more talented) old friend. Despite the decades that Donovan’s career spans the audience was a lot more diverse than expected, fans both young and old alike came out in their masses for a fun Friday night of 90s pop nostalgia, and that’s exactly what they got.
Reliving his musical theatre days, Donovan opened with hits from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which proved popular and were a great way to get the crowd warmed up. His impressive vocals have aged like a fine wine, hitting high notes with ease and showing a range and level of control that can only come with so many years of experience.
While we were treated to a wide range of Jason’s many hits from over the year, from slow and sultry ballads such as ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ to bouncy bangers like ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’ there were a couple of special moments that really stood out. Donovan had a great rapport with the adoring audience from the get-go, deepened by his candid story sharing about his past, his family life and his views on fame. It was these personal moments of connection and memory that made an already intimate performance feel all the way special. The show was set against a backdrop of a constant stream of home videos, photographs, posters and film reel of Jason’s incredible history in the limelight, but it was the introduction of a 1961 video of his father Terence that provided a truly unique moment unlike any I’ve seen before. Using this black and white video from his father’s early days in performing allowed Jason to join him for a beautiful rendition of Sinatra’s ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’, and it’s clear where Jason’s talent came from. Stealing the show was a stellar encore performance of Donovan and Minogue’s classis ballad ‘Especially for You’ complete with Neighbours-esque costumer change, his vocal backup from Sophie Hiller was the perfect accompaniment, and his band were top notch.
All in all, it made for the perfect trip down memory lane for long time fans and beautifully encapsulated a long and decorated career. Donovan provides an incredibly charming look back over the years, while showing just how excited and wistful he is about what’s still to come. Even if (like me) you don’t know every song you won’t feel left out, as with Jason’s amazing energy and the love in the room you just can’t help but dance and sing along. It’s definitely a night I’ll remember for a long time, and not just because Jason Donovan whizzing around a stage on a skateboard wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, but that’s definitely up there.
Reviewed by: Hazel Kaye
Review Date: 07/03/2025
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