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Carried by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the show is fully-seated, allowing audiences to relax and absorb Ross’s extraordinary discography through a classical arrangement.
Before she takes the stage, a documentary-style reel takes us through her life and career highlights. The montage flies us through her early life, to being flown out of the 1996 Super Bowl by helicopter. It shows her mother, Ernestine Moten, stating how high energy Ross was as a child and how she was always a fighter, even when the family had nothing.
It’s a reminder of how much passion Ross has maintained over decades and decades, through shifts in music, society, and within her own life. She’s always given it her all and made music that has resonated through generations and across nations.
Can you imagine her entering a stage to any song other than ‘I’m Coming Out’? There would be outrage. So, of course, that tradition is maintained tonight. The song’s name and lyrics have seen it embraced by LGBTQ+ people and her support for the community goes back as far as the AIDS crisis in the ’80s.
She then sings her version of Spiral Staircase’s ‘More Today Than Yesterday’, sinking us right into the mood for 60’s pop, before we’re treated to four, back-to-back songs from The Supremes. ‘Baby Love’, ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, ‘Come See About Me’ and ‘Stop! In The Name of Love’, are all nostalgia hitters, even for those born long after the their heyday due to their distinct sound and enormous popularity.
They’re recognised as one of the most successful female bands of all time and helped change the wider public’s perceptions of black people, during a time when the civil rights movement was at its very height and black Americans were fighting to be seen as equal.
Officially named the Decades Of Hits Tour, Ross dubs this her Sacred Memories Tour, and the setup makes clear that the special memories are not just the music, but the effects and the impact it has had.
Ross and the orchestra pack 26 songs into the two-hour show, including covers like ‘Home’ (by Charlie Smalls) , ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’ (by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers), and ‘I Will Survive’ (by Gloria Gaynor, with a similar anthemic defiance to ‘I’m Coming Out’). She even includes her collaborations with Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, ‘Ease on Down the Road’, and ‘Endless Love’.
Ultimately, the show lives up to its purpose and there’s practically no corner of Ross’s career untouched, but one of the most endearing moments is when she moves on to tracks from her most recent album, ‘Thank You’.
Ross brings out her daughter, Rhonda to perform ‘Count on Me’, written by Rhonda and her husband for Ross, and seeing the two sing it together is a special glimpse into their dynamic, whilst proving she has built a family of talent.
Tonight, is a celebration designed to make us emotional and have a sing-a-long, rather than get us sweaty and lively. That said, when it comes to her disco numbers like ‘Chain Reaction’ and ‘Upside Down’, people who can are quick to jump out of their seats and wiggle without knocking over the next person’s drink.
Despite the orchestra following her lead when she makes slight tweaks, the two-hour performance doesn’t feel overly spontaneous. Ross doesn’t stop for too long in between songs (in fact, takes little to no break at all except for a couple of dress changes) but always has a good word to say, with showers of “I love you all” and “I love you, and you, and you…”.
And even with that, it barely borderlines on cheesy because it does feel genuine and matches the outlook she has been preaching for over half a century in music.
One of her last words to us tonight is, “Performing for you is good for me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually” and knowing that the feeling is mutual tops the night off exquisitely.
