Soul II Soul, Town Hall, Birmingham - review

Entering the stage to a remixed version of Back to Life (However Do You Want It) the collaborative group sang their favourite tracks in the form of Jazzie B, Caron Wheeler and Coventry-native, Charlotte Kelly.

After being told to release our inhibitions by the talented Jazzie B the group performed classic tracks and more such as Move Me No Mountain and Get A Life, to an audience that never sat down.

Each of the three artists brought a unique element, alternating between performing together at and on their own but all in all they complimented each other like pieces in a puzzle.

Jazzie B acted as a modern musical oracle with his poetic narration running throughout the performance retelling the memory of when they were told Soul II Soul would never make it, his working class roots and how music is the key of life.

Caron’s familiar soft vocals that brought life to the tracks Back to Life and Keep on Movin demonstrated her powerful range and sounded exactly like she did on the recorded singles.

Charlotte, who picked out what Jazzie dubbed the Coventry crew in the crowd, kept the audience dancing with her strong voice and natural stage presence.

The music never stopped as they expertly weaved into the next song or played instrumentals whilst interacting with the audience.

With alternating graphics and animations from various points of the group’s career they certainly set the tone of each song. The audience were in awe as the stage presence of the band including the backing singers was natural and impressive demonstrating the talent that they brought to the group.

Everyone looked at home on the stage and they appeared to be enjoying it as much as the audience did, even the violinists were dancing.

Near the end of the performance the group played their 1993 single Wish in tribute to former member Melissa Bell, mother of Alexandra Burke, who lent her voice to the aforementioned track as well as Be a Man and had passed away last year.

The night demonstrated the continued talent and relevance of the group and it was easy to see how their collaborative sound put together by lead man Jazzie B has influenced many singers today. All in all, Soul II Soul are not one to miss, their style and presentation combined with their musical talent allowed you to get lost in the music, creating a fun and carefree night.

By Eleanor Forrest