Carroll Thompson – Hideaway Streatham 11/05/2019

Carroll Thompson thrilled a packed Hideaway audience with an outstanding performance.

Carroll is the ‘Queen of Lovers Rock’; she recorded her first album in 1981 and is still filling venues and selling albums almost forty years later.

My wife and I first saw her perform in 2015 and have been fans ever since. We last saw her a year ago, when she co-hosted a celebration of the life of Claudia Fontaine who was her friend and backing vocalist.

Carroll is a charismatic performer with a beautiful voice and an ever present smile. She instantly creates a feel good atmosphere when she is on stage.

Carroll performed two sets; most of the songs were taken from her Lovers Rock albums. There were three songs from her album of Phyllis Dylon songs, the first of which was dedicated to her grandmother and the Windrush generation. There were three classic songs arranged in a Lovers Rock style: Diana Ross’ ‘Touch Me in the Morning’, Irma Franklin’s ‘Piece of my Heart ‘ and Kriss Kristoferson’s ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’. There was one very moving new song from Carroll’s forthcoming album.

My favourite song of the night was ‘Hopelessly In Love’ featuring the Hideaway choir on backing vocals.

Carroll had the support of a magnificent band: Adrian McKensie (keys), Peter Lee (Guitar), Megumi Mesaku (Sax), Colin McNeish (Bass0 and Kennrick Rowe (Drums).

The audience were superb singing along with Carroll’s most loved songs, they were loud and in tune, however a small minority irritated the remainder by incessantly chattering. A peer-reviewed announcement just before the second set reminding the audience to respect each other by keeping conversation to a minimum was cheered and applauded but the message was not heeded by the guilty few. It is a shame because Carroll deserved better.

Carroll Thompson is a great performer and deserves to be seen, I recommend that you go see her next show, but book early to avoid disappointment.