THRILLER LIVE

By Kelly Jackson | @kellyjackson88 | Press Invite

A lot of people have strong opinions on people covering Michael Jackson’s work, and that’s fair enough because he was such an influential artist. I get that, I really do, but keeping the music alive is also important and Michael Jackson actually wished the producer, Adrian Grant, well with his venture. So knowing that Thriller Live has the MJ seal of approval might just help those die-hard fans go along and enjoy a night that pays homage to his music in a fun and upbeat way.

The Lyric Theatre is so easy to find you more or less stumble out of Piccadilly station and find yourself more or less there (it’s on Shaftesbury Avenue). If you are a theatregoer you probably get the feeling of excitement as soon as you get to this part of London and see the huge, lit-up sign of the show you are seeing and the Lyric doesn’t disappoint in ensuring you spot Thriller Live a mile away.

I have to admit I was intrigued to see Peter Andre perform. I’ve met him and he is an undoubtedly lovely guy, but some of the pop hits he has released don’t exactly hint at a vocal superstar, do they? It was pretty busy for a weeknight so I am assuming that a fair few people had a similar curiosity. Once I received the programme and had a good look at the setlist I actually got really excited. I’m actually one of those people that think Dangerous is one of Michael’s most underrated albums, so I was pleased to see there was a song of two from this one on the bill.

The format follows Michael’s career chronologically, so all of the early Jackson 5 and solo hits are covered first before they move on to his later solo hits including the production’s namesake, Thriller. The singers rotate, so it isn’t always the same person singing “Michael’s” part. One of the reasons I went along to review this was because Peter Andre was singing, but all of the other singers were phenomenal and deserve a mention. The two women vocalists, Vivienne Ekwulugo and Sophia Mackay lent a certain texture to some of the songs that worked really well in a huge theatre.

But on to Mr. Andre and his take on certified bangers like Rock With You and Can You Feel It. I’ve seen Peter Andre live a couple of times, but I can’t say I have seen him in circumstances where his vocal ability is stretched. I don’t mean that offensively towards Pete at all, but a lot of his own songs are easy to listen to pop songs and although most of Michael Jackson’s songs also fit into that category, his voice just takes them all up a notch to classics.

I was genuinely surprised by Peter’s vocal range. It wasn’t just the fact that he managed to sing Michael Jackson’s songs, it’s the fact he managed to sing them really well. Another amazing thing about seeing Pete is that as well as a singer, he is an all-around performer. Despite the fact that I was on my own doing a review, I still got up and clapped and danced when he encouraged me to. Because let’s face it: we can’t be sure of a lot in life at the moment, but one absolute certainty is that if Peter Andre tells you to dance, you dance.

In January Thriller Live celebrated its 10^th birthday with a special anniversary performance, welcoming back some of the original cast members to join the current company on stage, and you can read our review of that show here.