Lee was in talkative mood at Crawley, entertaining a very receptive audience with longer than usual, and very funny, tales of his life and times. There was humour elsewhere too - taking the mick out of his tour manager Neil, who would clearly prefer to remain invisible, and losing his mic stand - but when he sang, it was with the passion, endless energy and emotional depth he brings to every performance, although there is room for humour here too, with an outrageously cheeky version of Kiss!A new guest singer, the lovely Laura Wright, meant a small change to the set list - with a beautifully arranged duet of More Than Words taking the place of One, and Laura's own sets also brought some new material to the mix.
Further support came, as ever, from Lee's band - including the brass section, consisting on this occasion of Andy on tenor sax, George on trumpet and a first gig for Harry on trombone, who continue to bring a fabulous new dimension to the sound (in fact Lee himself mentioned that once they'd made their debut at The Coliseum in December, he simply couldn't let them go!)
My personal highlights were many, but if I have to choose just one, it would again be the phenomenal performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, which left me literally open-mouthed in amazement ... Lee mentioning afterwards that he also has his eye on Gethsemane, a song you "have to be ready for" to use his own words. But who said I had to pick just one? Anthem was absolutely stunning - it seems every time I hear it, I feel it is the best Lee has ever sung it!
Click for the full setlist, along with a few extras I hope you'll enjoy. And finally, just a few photos from the very end of the concert ...
Lee's full concert schedule (including past appearances) can be found at - CONCERT DATESLast updated: 8 November 2014