Gabrielle has gone on record as stating that she is not a "soul singer" and prefers to be seen as pop. This is nonsense. Soul is not a style of music. Soul, as Kevin Rowland taught us, is a burning. On several occasions tonight, notably album tracks 'Falling' and 'Going Nowhere', Gabrielle burns bright enough for one to imagine the show is taking place in the legendary Harlem Apollo, not Hammersmith.
It's true that these are "pop" songs, but pop songs of a different class. Pop, by definition, is ephemeral; class endures. Gabrielle isn't remotely cool. During tonight's set she babbles and giggles and at one point encourages the audience to take part in "Gabriella (her real middle name) aerobics!" But cool, also, is a transient thing and one which Gabrielle, and her audience, have no time for. During 'Rise', which neatly segues into the actual 'Knockin On Heavens Door', maturemale members of the crowd do that 'affectionate backrub thing' to their modestly dressed female partners, signifying that THIS is their 'special' song. It's wrong to be cynical, though. Gabrielle makes music that affects people, real people. They know a good song when they pay twenty quid to hear one.
Tonight is, mostly, a greatest hits show, with just one new song 'Down That Road' and current hit 'Out Of Reach' from the forthcoming fourth (!) album. After an emotional rendition of 'Give Me A Little More Time', Gabrielle gushes to the audience, "I'm nothing without you!" and she means it. She is so grateful for every ounce of applause but is seemingly unaware of the gift she has been given from a higher source. Modest to the extreme (her trademark sunglasses now joined by a, never removed, fulllength coat to cover that area Bridget Jones is so concerned about) she is a very British star. But her shyness cannot hide that soul. Long may it keep on burning.
Timothy Mark
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