Verdict: Five stars.
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams needs no introduction.
But he gave the Hydro audience one to remember.
Opening up his Glasgow show with a tongue-in-cheek VT baring a slight resemblance to the start of a David Attenborough voiceover except it was perhaps more fitting for a rockstar than Planet Earth, the singer began his two-hour set with Kick Ass.
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Can’t Start This Thing We’ve Started and Run to You quickly followed proving that the star was ready to deliver on the big hits.
Delighted to be back on the city stage, the 62-year-old said: “Hey Glasgow, f**k me! It’s good to be back.”
He then joked: “Two years ago, we were supposed to be doing a tour and something happened.”
Dimming the lights, Adams managed to generate an intimate atmosphere in the sometimes overwhelming Hydro arena.
This particularly paid off on a performance of his 1985 hit Heaven. Vocally he never sounded better as the audience chimed in with every lyric of the haunting ballad.
The tempo then picked up with the 1996 pop-rock hit The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You before he impressed on Here I Am which was featured in the 2002 movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
The spotlight was on the songwriter as he performed the Melanie C duet When You’re Gone with just his guitar and without the band. With his raspy tones, the rock star sounded spectacular in this solo arrangement of the song.
The song which millions know him for (Everything I Do) I Do It For You was then delivered the way you would expect a pro like Adams to.
He might have performed it to audiences many times over but he gave it his all on every inch of the ballad leaving the Hydro crowd with goosebumps and giving the hit the glory moment it so thoroughly deserved.
Rock anthem The Summer of 69 delighted the crowd with the singer remarking, “I should have played that one earlier.”
The singer proved to be charismatic, entertaining, and flawless on vocals throughout the show. He presented a set of Bryan Adams songs old and new even taking requests from his fans reminding the crowd why he has remained at the top of his game for more than four decades.
Ending on a high with Somebody and All For Love, he beamed: “It’s great to be back in Scotland.”
And judging by the reaction of his fans the feeling was mutual.
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