Review: Jason Donovan’s Even More Good Reasons tour comes to Cambridge
I’d waited decades to see iconic Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan in concert - and he didn’t disappoint when I finally got the chance on Thursday, October 28 at the Corn Exchange.
Backed by a solid four-piece band and coming on stage dressed all in leather and wearing sparkly high-heeled shoes, the 53-year-old certainly made an impression. Aptly, the opening song was Sweet Transvestite from The Rocky Horror Show, one of the stage productions in which he has previously appeared.
A couple of songs in, he sat down, took off the shoes and put on a pair of socks and boots, noting that a “quick change” like this is usually done off-stage. “I love you, Jason!” yelled an enthusiastic audience member. “I know you do, I love me too - I wouldn’t have been able to do this for 30 years if I didn’t!” he joked in response.
The affable singer chatted to the audience about, among other things, the disadvantages of getting older, all that’s happened since his last tour in 2016 - including the pandemic and joining Kylie on stage at her Hyde Park gig in 2018, “giving her some publicity” - what his children think of his music and, inevitably, Neighbours.
He warmly reflected on THAT wedding and sang the Angry Anderson song Suddenly that was so memorably used as the soundtrack to that unforgettable piece of television history, which was shown in Australia in 1987 and in the UK the following year.
Video footage from Scott and Charlene’s wedding was projected on the screens behind as the artist formerly known as Scott Robinson sang the song. It was wonderful that he decided to include it and I could feel myself welling up at such beautiful nostalgia.
Jason said he’s often asked whether he would ever return to Neighbours and revealed the reason he always says no is that “the publicity would be bigger than the moment”. As much as I'd like to see him return to the soap, he has a point.
He followed Suddenly with another timeless classic: Any Dream Will Do, from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Could it get any better than that? Yes it could.
After an interval, the second half kicked off with Jason, now dressed in billowy blue trousers and a white shirt, singing perhaps his best known song, Too Many Broken Hearts. The audience remained on its feet, singing, dancing and clapping along as he ran through his much-loved debut album Ten Good Reasons track-by-track.
Nothing Can Divide Us, Every Day (I Love You More), Sealed with a Kiss - the hits just kept on coming (clips from the original videos were also shown on the screens) and when it came to the final song of the album, Especially for You, Jason asked the crowd to sing Kylie’s part as the words flashed up karaoke-style.
Another emotive sing-along, this time with swaying and phones held aloft, which again brought a tear to the eye as I fondly remembered watching the pair perform this lovely ballad on Top of the Pops as a child.
Happily, we were treated to an encore as the star of the show came back out, wearing a yellow waistcoat, and sang Too Many Broken Hearts for the second time. A great night was seemingly had by all.
Read more:
Jason Donovan: 'Life is not all Disney moments'
