Omar Lye-Fook, the father of Neo Soul, has been in the music business for thirty-five years, but he still has a thirst to entertain and his performance sent a Hideaway audience home happy.
Omar opened with the song, ‘I Can Listen’ from his 2013 album ‘The Man’. This set the tone for the night with a series of up-tempo soul numbers featuring Omar on Lead Vocals and Moog, Lex Cameron and Brian Henry (Keyboards), Alan Simpson (Guitar), Colin McNeish Bass, Westley Joseph (Drums) and Chris Ballin (Backing Vocals). They all combined exceptionally well to provide some compelling music.
It is difficult to pick the stand-out songs, but if pushed I would choose ‘Sunshine, Omar’s tribute to the late Leon Ware ‘Gave My Heart’ and his biggest hit ‘There’s Nothing Like This’. There were no songs that weren’t performed well.
The audience was responsive but remained seated for the first set. During the second set, most were up on their feet dancing and singing choruses when prompted by Omar.
Omar pretended that ‘There is Nothing Like This’ was his closer but returned to the stage as the audience were singing along and performed four more songs.
Omar is a great performer and has inspired many young artists. His performance was an object lesson in how to keep an audience entertained.
Johns London Music Reviews 