When the curtain falls, it's time to leave the stage...

Spector on the BT Vision Stage

While everyone else was going sports-mad around the time of the London Olympics, we were excited to hear about the fortnight of free gigs taking place in London’s Hyde Park. BT London Live was the name of the event where anyone and everyone had the opportunity to watch screenings of live Olympic events – and also to see a variety of live musical performances.

 

When we heard Spector were performing on 8^th August, we were curious to find out more about the band who, before the gig, we associated with their radio-played song ‘Chevy Thunder’. For those of you who’ve never heard of Spector, think of vocals similar to those of Tom Smith from Editors with a White Lies vibe; their music is characterised by their love of electric guitar-powered intros and ambiguous, thought-provoking lyrics.

L-R: Jed Cullen, Fred Macpherson, Danny Blandy, Chris Burman, Tom Shickle

Anyway, here is our review:

Spector's Fred Macpherson singing 'Celestine'

We were surprised by the number of people who turned up for the gig, especially as Spector were not playing the main stage. The band opened with the recognisable intro of ‘Celestine’ (lyrics from which are in the title), which instantly kicked off the atmosphere and had the crowd jumping. We couldn’t help but notice their pride at their debut album, Enjoy It While It Lasts, being released the following Monday, as lead singer Fred Macpherson kept reminding us to buy it!

As we mentioned earlier, we were anticipating the aforementioned Chevy Thunder, which had introduced us to the band, so when Fred made reference to giving the audience “chevrything”, we knew what to expect. With a performance impressively similar to the studio recording, Spector had the audience singing along. Last, but not least, Spector treated the audience to a memorable performance of their latest single release, ‘Never Fade Away’, throughout which the crowd’s swaying gradually turned to clapping as the song progressed and the 30-minute set came to an end.

Enjoying it while it lasted; Spector

We’d definitely recommend seeing Spector; they’re one to watch for 2012, with both a crowd-entertaining stage presence and a sound which translates very well from recording to stage. “Enjoy It While It Lasts”? We certainly did.

Isabella and Felicity, OTJ x