CAMEO
Croydon Fairfield Halls
16th July 2004
There was no mention of a support act so we hurtled over to Croydon for the 8.00 pm start time. As it happened, Cameo didn't appear until 9.00 pm. Cameo were originally a quartet and by the mid 80s were a trio – they now number 2 vocalists, 3 guitarists and a drummer. Larry Blackman appeared on stage at the outset with that red item we all remember so well!
They immediately launched into 'She's Strange', and had most of the capacity crowd on its feet from the start. The brilliant 'Single Life' followed this up. The dance moves and hip swinging are still there and it was almost surreal to see this performed live.
A number of lesser-known songs followed, all with great moves and an almost rock- sounding guitar. Most of the crowd stayed on their feet but it wasn't until the opening lines of 'Candy' that everybody went mad and I realised we'd been quite reserved until that point. Everybody in the crowd sang along to this and when the song finally finished it was followed by… 'Candy'! The crowd were invited to participate by singing the chorus and it was definitely the highlight of the evening.
The last song before the encore was the phenomenal 'Word Up'. Unfortunately the performance did not live up to expectations and it was a bit of a letdown compared to the sheer brilliance of 'Candy'. Cameo left the stage and the crowd started screaming C-A-M-E-O to the tune of 'Word Up'. Of course the band duly reappeared but delivered one of their lesser known hits and then left. The ending was therefore a bit flat.
Overall it was a good gig and I'm glad I've seen Cameo in the flesh. Four members of the band sang lead vocals at one stage or other and each had a great voice and the music was infectious. As Larry Blackman pronounced, 'The funk still lives'.
There was no mention of a support act so we hurtled over to Croydon for the 8.00 pm start time. As it happened, Cameo didn't appear until 9.00 pm. Cameo were originally a quartet and by the mid 80s were a trio – they now number 2 vocalists, 3 guitarists and a drummer. Larry Blackman appeared on stage at the outset with that red item we all remember so well!
They immediately launched into 'She's Strange', and had most of the capacity crowd on its feet from the start. The brilliant 'Single Life' followed this up. The dance moves and hip swinging are still there and it was almost surreal to see this performed live.
A number of lesser-known songs followed, all with great moves and an almost rock- sounding guitar. Most of the crowd stayed on their feet but it wasn't until the opening lines of 'Candy' that everybody went mad and I realised we'd been quite reserved until that point. Everybody in the crowd sang along to this and when the song finally finished it was followed by… 'Candy'! The crowd were invited to participate by singing the chorus and it was definitely the highlight of the evening.
The last song before the encore was the phenomenal 'Word Up'. Unfortunately the performance did not live up to expectations and it was a bit of a letdown compared to the sheer brilliance of 'Candy'. Cameo left the stage and the crowd started screaming C-A-M-E-O to the tune of 'Word Up'. Of course the band duly reappeared but delivered one of their lesser known hits and then left. The ending was therefore a bit flat.
Overall it was a good gig and I'm glad I've seen Cameo in the flesh. Four members of the band sang lead vocals at one stage or other and each had a great voice and the music was infectious. As Larry Blackman pronounced, 'The funk still lives'.
Support RememberTheEighties.com and Buy Online At
