STEVIE WONDER: THE SUPERSTAR’S CHARISMA REMAINS UNDIMMED
Stevie Wonder did not go as far as Bruce Springsteen did six weeks ago when he proclaimed onstage that America had fallen into the hands of “a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration”. But there was anger in the way Wonder talked of being “very disappointed with the leaders we have – all of them” at the start of his set at the Lytham Festival in Lancashire, reminding them that they’re supposed to make the world a better place. The 75-year-old set about doing just that with a joyful set that included lots of teasing interaction with the sell-out crowd of 20,000, plus a closing tribute to the recently departed Sly Stone as he rolled Superstition into Stone’s Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) in one epic funk workout.
It certainly wasn’t hotter than July at the breezy venue on the coast near Blackpool but Wonder had warmth to spare, opening with Love’s in Need of Love Today, from his 1976 double album Songs in the Key of Life, with its message of love over hate, then getting the party started with As If You Read My Mind and Master Blaster (Jammin’) from 1980. The latter matched the dazzle of Wonder’s bright red suit, with its sequinned portraits of Bob Marley and Malcolm X.
The size and stage presence of Wonder’s band, two guitarists, two percussionists and a drummer, two keyboard players (plus himself), bass, multiple horns and backing singers made for a big, funky sound, perfect for a rare UK tour that will take in Manchester’s Co-Op Live and BST Hyde Park. Dance tracks like Sir Duke sounded magnificent. Wonder’s voice still has its rich timbre, and all its shades of expression – it growls, yelps and roars – only rarely showing its age in a few places such as the repeated, rising vocal runs on Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing.
There’s just the hint of increasing physical frailty, too, but Wonder’s charisma is absolutely undimmed. Over a career that extends over more than six decades (he scored his first US number one in 1963 at the age of 13), the singer and multi-instrumentalist has created such a range of enduring works that it’s easy to forget what a huge, playful presence he is on stage.
He’s almost unique in his ability to roll out great songs of such astonishing variety, from pure 1960s pop like Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours to radical soul like Living in the City to heartfelt love songs like If You Really Love Me. Wonder has deep soul, but he also just loves to muck about; he’s a disruptor, exuberant, naughty – there’s something uncontainable about him.
Here, he had the band set up a slow reggae version of The Beatles’ Love Me Do as he played harmonica on it; and he wanted the crowd to sing along with him so much, he sometimes gave them almost the whole song, as on his classic pop-cheese ballad, I Just Called to Say I Love You, “It’s just gonna be me playing piano, and y’all sing, you good with that?” We were good with that. Then he made the crowd choose between Do I Do and Superstition as the closer. That was no contest.
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2025-07-04T12:15:53Z