Rocking in Britannia

Published Jul 3, 2015

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London - I stepped off a plane in London a few weeks ago to realise two long-held desires – to see Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney perform live on stage.

Eric at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall and Paul at the impressive O2 arena. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a dream – I was in London, I had tickets to the shows and nothing could stop me now.

Clapton and McCartney, both in their 70s, have filled my ears, warmed my heart and kept me rocking with their great sounds for the past 50 years.

Now I was about to hear both of them live within a few days of each other. I was in musical heaven, which London is in a way, with all the live offerings, much of it from top line performers.

My wife, Colleen, and I spent the first few days of our holiday walking the streets of London, hand in hand, immersing ourselves in the magic of the place – now officially recognised as the world’s favourite destination, with latest statistics showing it attracted 17,4 million visitors last year.

That was up on 2013’s 16,8 million, indicating that London’s breathtaking post Olympics boom shows no signs of petering out.

The visitors spent £11.8 billion (R230bn) in the shops, bars, hotels and restaurants which buzz until late into the night.

With so much on offer, including the Rugby World Cup later this year, bets are on this will be even better. The inhibiting factor for South Africans on holiday in England is the weakness of the rand.

 

As we sat down in the 21st row of a packed Royal Albert Hall the atmosphere was expectant and electric. I was next to a woman who had flown in from New York for the show after attending his concert at Madison Square Garden just a few weeks earlier. She could hardly contain her excitement at seeing him again.

We were there with a lot of other old rockers plus a spread of younger folk. When Slowhand breezed onto the stage and broke into an ad-lib guitar solo, pins and needles invaded my head.

After listening to him throughout his years with the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, in the great but relatively brief period of Cream and Blind Faith and into his solo career, I was now sitting 50m away watching him perform.

The evening got better all the time – I sang, played air guitar the best I’ve ever done and danced in the aisles as Clapton belted out Cocaine to close two hours of top entertainment. The experience will live with me forever. Oh, what a night in the middle of May, 2015.

Three nights later there was more nostalgia as McCartney rocked us out of our cheap seats at the 02 arena. He played for three hours, coming back for three encores and standing ovations from the near capacity audience.

His powerful rendition of the classic Live and Let Die was performed amid a light and pyrotechnic display which startled even McCartney with its powerful force.

We also went to the musical Memphis at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End and enjoyed an hour-long choral evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral. Live music in London this year features Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, the Foo Fighters, Take That, One Direction, Andre Rieu, U2 and Madonna.

I undertook another pilgrimage to White Hart Lane, the famous home ground of the English football club, Tottenham Hotspur, who I have supported for as long as I can remember and who both my sons now follow passionately and loyally. The coming season is the last there for Spurs as the stadium will be demolished to make way for a new one already under construction.

We allowed ourselves time to relax in our splendid room at the Shangri-La Hotel, one of London’s newest and trendiest hotels which stands out above the rest, heavenwards, competing for attention with the ancient city’s landmarks.

The hotel is contained within the Shard complex which, at close to 310m tall, is Western Europe’s tallest building.

With its floor to ceiling windows, the structure is an impressive architectural feature, which its designer, Renzo Piano, describes in this way: “The shape of the tower is generous at the bottom and narrow at the top disappearing into the air like a 16th century pinnacle on the mast of a very tall ship.”

The ultimate “wow” factor reveals itself inside the hotel: an underground station on its doorstep.

Stepping out of the high speed lift into the reception area on the 35th level, aerial views of London stretch as far as the eye can see.

All the sights are there to savour whether from the luxurious comfort of any of the 202 rooms, or the well-equipped gym, or the infinite pool on the 51st floor or the Lang restaurant serving gastronomical delights to tempt all palates, or the Gong Bar, officially London’s highest pub.

l For more details on the Shangri-La, call 00-44-2072348000 or e-mail: [email protected]. To book, e-mail: [email protected]

Greg Dardagan, Saturday Star

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