Dubai: Legendary British singer/entertainer Engelbert Humperdinck, billed as the King of Romance by his millions of fans around the world, battled his way through a series of ‘inconvenient' technical glitches to deliver a virtuoso performance at the Madinat Jumeirah's Johnarah Ballroom on Wednesday night.
Humperdinck, who is one of the last surviving contemporary crooners -- an American epithet that was coined to refer to great male singers like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Matt Munro and Perrry Como -- was unfazed by the setbacks as he powered though his lush catalogue of ballads to wow an enthusiastic crowd made up of gents in bow ties and ladies togged up in stylish evening gowns.
The ultra smooth balladeer, who in an illustrious career spanning over four decades has sold over 150 million records, was in surprisingly good nick despite his 75 years, as he sang, danced, flirted and joked his way through the 90-minute gig.
"You guys are truly amazing," he gushed at one stage during the concert, and the crowd responded with a roar that threatened to blow the roof off the posh ballroom as the countless security guards surrounding the dimly lit venue stood on their toes.
Amazing is the word that perhaps best describes Humperdinck, who deftly brushed aside the frequent stumbling attempts by technical staff to set right his faulty in-ear monitors, as he dived into classic hits like A Man Without Love, Quando, Quando, Quando, Love Story and Am I That Easy to Forget.
Humperdinck's song choices range across five decades and help showcase a performer with precise lyric interpretation and excellent vocal technique, even if age has marginally dimmed a voice that he famously said: "I can hit notes a bank could not cash."
That tongue-in-cheek citation was driven home to the hilt by his heart-felt rendition of Release Me, a song that launched his career back in the sixties and kicked off a streak of seven straight Top Five hits which included There Goes My Everything, the million-selling number one The Last Waltz, Am I That Easy To Forget and A Man Without Love.
There were moments when you could have been excused for wanting to beat up the sound technicians as Humperdinck's vocals dipped or waned, but all that was forgotten as the singer who will represent Britian in next month's Eurovision song competition belted out a wonderful medley of songs that featured the best-selling Spanish eyes, 10 Guitars and Love Me With All Of Your Heart.
For the most part Humperdinck, who has a great sense of humour and is a great all round entertainer, used audience participation to make you feel like your were a part of the show.
None more than Shaima Faisal, an Emirati fan, joined the singer on stage for one of his musical drolls.
"He's such an amazing artist… so much energy and what a personality," she said afterwards. "I'm a big fan of his music and know almost every song of his. It was a wonderful experience to be invited by him to be a part of his stage show."
And what a show it was.
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