Whilst it would be incredibly difficult to replicate that performance, HOME put on for us a fabulous homage to that historic night.
The stage was set for the ‘band’ and a single microphone took centre stage with the atmosphere reminiscent of a smoky supper club.
We were initially treated to a live recording taken from the night itself and it was as if the audience were transported back to 1991, in our mind’s eye imagining the great lady herself then aged 58 but still for whom the word feisty was invented.
When Yemi Bolitawa sang for us it was magical, as if Nina was with us; at least in spirit, with the gutsy performance she gave.
Simone’s songs undoubtedly stand the test of time and are no less meaningful today as they were when they were written. We were treated to the classics My Baby Just Cares for Me, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Ain’t got no. I got life, Sinnerman, I Put A Spell On You – along with the haunting Billie Holiday song Strange Fruit.
The whole evening was interspersed with both impassioned and poignant tales of Nina shared with us via the ‘storyteller’ Audrey Hall, who now broadcasts with All FM but who had been involved in the media publicity for this event in 1991.
