TOUR 2008/2009 Tina turns back time in UK return
By Ian Youngs
Music reporter, BBC News
As she makes her way across the stage and back, there is the occasional flick of the head, a quick kick of a leg, a sudden lurch, a short shimmy. There's nothing too strenuous, but the theatrical gestures Turner has honed combine with her voice to build the drama. The two-and-a-half hour show is peppered with spectacular numbers where the costume and set budgets have been liberally splashed. For We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome), the single's original video is recreated on stage, Mad Max costumes and all. A giant metal frame is lowered onto the stage for the dancers to dangle and swing from, as Turner wears a majestic blonde mane, Sydney Opera House shoulderpads and silver tassled robe. Mini-fireworks go off in the background and clips of the original 1985 video flash up behind her. And you know what, she doesn't look much different. Anthems For Goldeneye, the song starts with a James Bond fight sequence between two male dancers, before Turner appears through a giant opening high above the stage, wearing a black evening dress with long gold chains. And for the (almost) finale, Nutbush City Limits, a narrow strip of the stage floor suddenly lifts up like a crane, with Turner cradled in its basket at the end. As she is swung out over the heads of the crowd, she leans over the railing with disconcerting abandon and bids the fans to join in the song. She then totters in high heels along the thin arm of the crane - still above the crowd - stopping in the middle to do a little dance, then totters back to the end. She does manage to sit on a stool for a four-song section of the gig, but even then her upper body is still as animated as ever. Simply The Best is, predictably, the musical highlight for many - the cream of her uplifting epics for those here, or the epitome of her slushy cheese for those who are not so keen. But not many artists can claim songs ranging from 1960s and '70s classics like River Deep - Mountain High, Nutbush and Proud Mary to some of the most recognisable anthems of the '80s, such as We Don't Need Another Hero and What's Love Got To Do With It. They were all wisely included in this show. And Tina Turner still has what it takes to belt them out. Fuente: BBC FansTalk
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