Respect (The Aretha Franklin Story) – Eventim Apollo Hammersmith 23/03/2019

The 77^th anniversary of Aretha Franklin’s birth was on March 23^rd, this celebration of the Queen of Soul’s music seemed an ideal way to mark the occasion.

The show started unusually with a trailer for the documentary film ‘Amazing Grace’ which was made in 1972 but has not been released until now because of a major technical problem which the development of new technology has been corrected. Following that, Cleopatra Higgins took the stage to sing ‘Think’, the sound was poor to begin with but it was soon sorted out.

The leading vocalists for the night were Mica Paris, Amber Riley, Jaki Graham and Cleopatra. They were magnificently supported by The London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC), three backing vocalists, The Urban Soul Orchestra, two keyboard players, a guitar, a bass and drums.

The songs were a selection of Aretha’s best known songs from her glittering career and the show was anchored by Mensah Bediako in the role of the preacher who, between performances, told the story of Aretha’s life. Mensah performed his role well but I did not think that this role added anything to the show and merely disrupted the flow of the music.

Aretha’s songs were uplifting and moving and that was the case in the way they were sung on this night. There were several outstanding moments. The three backing vocalists and LCGC combined on a breath-taking version of ‘Amazing Grace’. The closing song of the first half, which saw all four vocalists together singing, ‘Natural Woman’ was superb, as was their combination on ‘Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves’. As a lover of gospel music I particularly enjoyed ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water featuring Mica Paris and LCGC. Another of my favourite moments was Cleopatra Higgins singing ‘I Knew You Were Waiting’ with a male member of LCGC. All four vocalists have their own styles but each performed well and did justice to Aretha’s music.

Aretha is now singing with the celestial choir, but as this show illustrated she is not forgotten and will never be forgotten, she will be the ‘Queen of Soul’.