Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at the Royal Albert Hall in London, July 2022
I wasn’t born when the 4 Seasons first came to prominence in the early ’60s. By the time they made their second time around in the ’70s, I was still young but an admirer of their harmonies and the beautifully structured songwriting.
Who: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
What: The Farewell UK Tour
Where: The o2 Arena, Greenwich, London
When: 2nd December 2018
A Frankie Valli concert in 2018… is, well, a Frankie Valli concert. Unless you haven’t seen him perform in recent years, it doesn’t come packed with surprises. In fact, it doesn’t have any surprises. Even the possibility of the inclusion of a less well-known album track, say, Streetfighter or Harmony, Perfect Harmony is all but gone. He will talk about a recent album (Romancing the 60s) but that album is 11 years old now. He has one album since then, the Christmas set, “‘Tis the Seasons”, but even though it is the right time of year for something from that, there will be nothing in the show. And the show will probably be much the same as last time you saw him.
So, this is going to be a negative review, right? No, this was a wonderful, wonderful show.
Who: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
What: Greatest Hits Tour 2017
Where: Bournemouth International Centre
When: 21st April 2017
A few years ago if you’d asked the average man on the street in the UK to name the legends of rock’n’roll, he would have begun with Elvis Presley and the Beatles but he might not have ever got to Frankie Valli or the Four Seasons. Since then a musical called “Jersey Boys” has become a phenomenon on Broadway and in the West End.
Now people’s awareness of how many great songs Valli and Seasons’ writer, Bob Gaudio are responsible for, has increased beyond recognition. And Valli and his current band, who were once reduced to playing medium-sized venues, are now back in the big leagues as a live draw.
Who: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
Where: Bournemouth International Centre (BIC)
When: July 3rd 2015
About 3 years ago, I was at the Royal Albert Hall reviewing the Frankie Valli and Four Seasons concert (https://twilightdawning.com/2012/06/27/seasonal-returns/).
It was a fine show but it had the air of being nothing more than nostalgia puffed up by the success of the “Jersey Boys” musical.
The next time Valli was in town my health was poor and I was prevented from attending.
In 2015, I was elsewhere when the band played their London show but I was commissioned to cover their show in Bournemouth. How would it be?
twilightdawning 