James Morrison concert – in pictures
Monday 30th March 2009, 1:22PM BST.
James Morrison in concert at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury. Pictures: Simon Williams
The first major act to appear at Shrewsbury’s new £28 million theatre was a huge success, officials said today.
Brit award-winning soul singer James Morrison’s Saturday gig at Theatre Severn was a sell-out.
Morrison had one of the biggest selling debut albums of 2006 and was also the stand-alone bigg- est-selling British male solo artist of that year.
- For more pictures see below
Morrison wowed the audience with his music – including his new single You Make it Real. His visit to Shropsh- ire followed a tour of the US.
It was the second major visit for the theatre, after Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, officially opened it on Wednesday.
Theatre marketing officer Jan Edmondson said: “It is really unusual for James Morrison to play an arena as intimate us ours and to have him here as part of our opening week was superb.
“Tickets sold out almost as soon as they went on sale. He is such a well-known star and doing so well at the moment.
“He is on a high and coming back again after his success in 2006. It was a sell-out performance and it was as good as we could have hoped for.
“His many local fans thoroughly enjoyed the evening. The audience were abs- olutely thrilled with his performance and it was a very special evening.”
Morrison’s debut album, Undiscovered, debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart.
His second album Songs for You, Truths for Me entered the top five in the UK chart last year.
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Theatre marketing officer Jan Edmondson said: “It is really unusual for James Morrison to play an arena as intimate us ours and to have him here as part of our opening week was superb.
“Tickets sold out almost as soon as they went on sale. He is such a well-known star and doing so well at the moment.
OK, two not-so-difficult things for Jan Edmondson to consider and maybe pass on to her (presumably aged) bosses then:-
1. People like pop music and
2. Let’s do some more of it.
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BTW, the ‘crowd’ in pic 2 are really going for it aren’t they!!
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Totally agree with the first comment – it shouldn’t be a surprise to the theatre that musicians want to play to sold out venues. Start booking more (equally contemporary) music please!
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I wonder if he’s noticed that his fanbase appears to be mainly twice his age.
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James Morrison was fantasic in concert, as always!! It was great that he came to Shrewsbury, putting our new theatre on the map!!!!
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merc, probably because they are the only ones that can afford those extortionate prices!
There is little opportunity to watch home grown talent now that the council are effectively killing off live music in the town.
shame
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I agree completely with you Frank, we do need more contemporary acts….and not just from middle of the road singers.
When the promoter for Goldie Lookin Chain was seeking a new venue on Sunday (as he didn’t want to let down all the people that had already bought tickets) he was told by Theatre Severn it wasn’t the sort of thing they would like to promote.
I suppose it was good to see a sell out for a Shrewsbury venue, even if you could of seen him half the price on the rest of his tour.
And looking at the 2nd picture they do look like they had a fantastic time!!
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so glad to see big names in shrewsbury, the theatre is really a success, well done all
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The new theatre is run by idiots who promote the music they like. !! its a joke !!
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Ben – the performance was sold outc incase you missed that fact – that probably means a lot of other people liked it too. Thanks for your well thought out and intelligent comment.
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The Theatre is not run by idiots, it is run by a team of dedicated hard working staff who genuinely love their work. They work very long hours and have a limited social life due to their commitments. The hours involved on a big concert like James Morrison would have required a start at about 10am or earlier and a finish time of about 2am. They certainly don’t do it for the money because traditionally the job is poorly paid.
I am involved in this work on a casual basis and comments like yours Ben are unnecessary and hurtful. Any event for the public, be it a one off, or a concert weekend in the Quarry requires massive planning and a dedicated team to make sure the paying public gets a professional production that it pays for.
I resent your comment !
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In response to Steve’s comments
“They work very long hours and have a limited social life due to their commitments. The hours involved on a big concert like James Morrison would have required a start at about 10am or earlier and a finish time of about 2am. They certainly don’t do it for the money because traditionally the job is poorly paid.”
This is true of ALL promotion in this town…..
People don’t get paid for their efforts….in fact most people who do music promotion don’t do it because it is part of their 9 – 5, they do it because this town needs some sort of social scene that doesn’t just cator for Theatre Severn patrons!
It will come to a point that because there are no venues, or venues willing to aid the local scene, that guerilla gigs will be held….encouraging crowds of people (of all ages) to turn up and and disturb an area until the police show up.
That would be one in the eye for Shropshire Council!!
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Lisa rather than complain get on a do it. Or talk to Thearter Severn about booking the Walker Theatre, yes there are two there which is designed to provide a space for smaller gigs and events.
Go on do something possitive I dare you.
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errr… but event management is their chosen career – with it’s inherent hours included in the job description?
I work long hours – very often until the early hours of the morning to keep my head above water yet would accept criticism of the management of the company I work for because strategic decisions they make affect people with a right to an opionion.
Don’t take the criticism personally – unless you are the manager of said venue????
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R Jaggs – I know there is….I’ve asked….they said no.
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I am sure there is a reason they said no. They have only just open give them a breack i know they are doing a battle of the bands if these events do well they will do more of them. If they have support instead of anger then they will do more. Think abput it!
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What the dissenting voices seem to forget is that the Theatre is a council run venture and as such, highly answerable to the tax-payers in terms of where profit or losses are made. The James Morrison gig was a massive loss leader which was only possible due to the success of other profitable events.
I’m sure the management of Theatre Severn would love to be able to finance popular music of this calibre on a regular basis but ultimately, Shrewsbury is a small market town in middle England, with the funding (and small-minded attitudes) to match.
To cite the Goldie Lookin’ Chain as an example of the Theatre not looking to promote contemporary music is absurd. They’re an abysmal joke.
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