Diana Ross’s pre-show publicity promised an extraordinary evening of glamour, dazzling visuals, and spectacular fashion, with two sets of career-spanning hits. At 81 years old, and as the last active and iconic female singer from the 1960s, it’s hard to believe she could live up to the hype.
Tonight’s show opened with a video featuring footage from her decades-spanning career — from Motown to the present day. At its conclusion, the house lights dimmed, and the 65-piece Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Sean O'Loughlin, launched into an instrumental medley of her biggest hits. This built-up anticipation until Ross herself entered from stage left, singing ‘I’m Coming Out’. She immediately followed with ‘More Today Than Yesterday’ from her 2006 album I Love You. She asked the audience if they would like to go back in time with her, and as the opening strains of ‘Baby Love’ were met with a roar, you knew they did. The Supremes medley included ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, ‘Come See About Me’, and ‘Stop! In the Name of Love’.
The relentless pace continued as Ross sang ‘Touch Me in the Morning’ and ‘I’m Still Waiting’, which the audience sang most of, as she held out her microphone, and ‘Chain Reaction’, which had the crowd in a frenzy.
Ross was keen to engage with the audience on a personal level and introduced two songs from her film Lady Sings the Blues, ‘Don’t Explain’ and ‘Good Morning Heartache’, on which the intimacy of her voice truly gripped the arena.
‘Love Hangover’ was greeted by a collective sigh around the venue. However, her voice did waver slightly on ‘Ease on Down the Road’, which concluded the first set.
She returned to the stage, having changed out of a lavish red ballgown into a glittering gold one. ‘The Boss’ opened the second set, before she continued with ‘Endless Love’, ‘Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)’, and a gospel-tinged version of ‘Amazing Grace’. ‘Upside Down’ had the audience up and dancing again. She wanted to play tracks from her most recent album, Thank You, and performed ‘Count on Me’ as a duet with her daughter, Rhonda Ross Kendrick. ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love’ followed, and as the orchestra extended the outro, she left the stage again, this time returning in a sparkly silver outfit. The set concluded with ‘Theme from Mahogany’, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, and a high-energy version of ‘I Will Survive’. Of course, the audience wanted more, so she encored with ‘Thank You’.
This was more of a show than a concert, but as a heartfelt tribute to her legacy, blending grandeur and intimacy, it worked beautifully as a celebration, despite the minor flaws.
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 30.06.2025
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