All images on this page are the property of Matt Sprake, professional photographer, who has kindly given me permission to use them on this page. Please do not use them on your own web pages without first consulting him. Please click on his picture to visit his site, where all the pictures can be viewed in full, and fantastic full colour prints ordered.

The photographs on this page are taken from the Wembley arena concert on the Soft and Gentle Tour 1997, and were taken by Matt Sprake. The page is best viewed maximised.

Portsmouth Guildhall, November 23rd 1997
6:30pm, its dark, dismal, and it looks as if its going to tip down any second now. The Guildhall, Portsmouth is looking pretty active, there's already a queue of about 50 people waiting for entrance to the gig, which isn't due to start until 7:30. I walk on by, I have to go and meet a friend from the station. We go and have a bite to eat and get back by about 7:15, and there's the first shock of the evening. The queue has expanded to about 80 meters long and 3 people wide. I'm pleased to note that my worst fears aren't going to be confirmed. Only about 60% of the crowd are under 16 or look like the parents of people under 16. This is good, as now me and my friend Steve (21 and 22 respectively) won't look like the oldest perverts in town. We get to the entrance and the queue behind us is as big as the one we joined in the first place. I've never seen such a large turnout for a concert in Portsmouth, Ok, so we don't often get decent acts, but this is ridiculous!! Anyway, we take our seats (Front row, thanks to a combination of blind luck and a very nice lady at the box office on Friday.), and wait for the show....

First up are the support acts, a group called 'Cleopatra' who sing and dance around enthusiastically enough, and get the youngsters in the crowd going mental. They have some good tunes, and their main vocalist has a very good voice. I'm pretty impressed with them as a first support, that is, until I read the postcard about them that was on the seats when we arrived. I have to hold back the urge to throw up when I read their 'catchy' band slogan. 'Cleopatra - comin' atcha!'... still, at least they sound ok. Second and final support is provided by the four-piece boy-band 'Ultra' (isn't that a washing powder?) who have, apparently 'decided that they're going to be the next pop sensation'. Oh, they have, have they? Well, at first glance they have all the credentials of a chart topping boy-band:- They don't play live and they could all present Blue Peter. Once I've set aside my feelings of disgust at their obvious miming (The drummer is using foam drumsticks!), and listen to the tracks, its pretty straight forward to work out why their promoters are pushing them so much (Their information postcard is postage pre-paid! Cleopatra's isn't.). From a teenage girls viewpoint (not one I use often, honest!), I can see that they look good, and most of all look like they are enjoying themselves. The songs are instantly forgettable, but they are the sort of thing that's shifting records by the dozen in the present chart. Between them Cleopatra and Ultra take about an hour to go through their stuff, and by the time they go off, the crowd is screaming at everything. (Even the houselights going up?!!? Weird!).

We have to wait 15 minutes whilst the backstage crew sort everything out for the main attraction, and finally our patience is rewarded by a cinema screen descending near the back of the stage, and showing a couple of minutes of what is presumably Lou's new video documentary, before the screen fades out and rises back up out of the way... The music starts... The fact that it's a real band playing it makes it harder to work out which tune it is for a while, but then the backing singers come in and we all work out that its 'In Walked Love', So where is she then? We're all looking to the sides of the stage to see where she's going to come in from. About a second before the first verse is due to start the spotlight hits the back of the stage and a beaming Louise and a group of dancers burst out through the paper curtain that is where the screen just left. Ok, so now we look stupid, but do we care? Nope. The first song is dispatched with enthusiasm , and a confidence which you wouldn't expect considering that this is only the 3rd concert on her first ever solo tour. More or less as soon as she hits the stage she comes to the front and starts waving at everyone and saying hi, this is whilst carrying the tune and doing a dance routine. Looking back at it now I can't really describe how she did it, but you just get a feeling that she means it all, for about an hour and a half, it's just her and you, even if 'you' happens to be about 4000 screaming fans. I think this must be what they call the 'personal touch'.

If so, then she's incredibly good at it. She picks me out for a smile and a wave near the end of the first song, and that's it I'm afraid, I'm a schoolboy again, and will remain so for the rest of the concert. This has the unfortunate effect of rendering me unable to remember every song in exacting detail, but it'll take a few days yet to get the smile of my face. 'In Walked Love' finishes, the crowd go wild for 20 seconds and then she looks at us all and frowns, takes a couple of seconds to work out what's wrong, then comes to front of the stage. "Right.. I want you all to stand up". We all sort of look at each other, then she says "now!" and there's the sound of 4000 people all struggling to their feet. "That's better!", she beams, and takes off into another one. In among the first salvo of songs we get treated to 'Light Of My Life', 'Undivided Love' (complete with cane-wielding dance routine), and a couple of others off the 'Naked' Album. She then has a costume change, and we find ourselves being treated to 70's night, with Lou doing her latest single 'Lets Go Round Again', and a thumping cover of 'Car Wash'. At this point a mention should be made of the band. I've never seen Lou sing to live backing before, and I must admit to being impressed with the rapport there is between them. The lead guitarist is impeccable, and at one point covers a costume change with a two minute guitar solo that I would *really* like to be able to play. The major difference between the album and the concert is the hard edge to the music. The albums shy away from the use of excessive bass and guitar riffs, but these are much in evidence at the concert, much to my delight. (I'm an unashamed rocker at heart).

The highlight of the concert for me is also my favourite track off of the new album, the brilliant acoustic version of 'When Will My Heart Beat Again'. This one will stay with me for a while. Louise and her guitarist sit on one side of the stage. He just plays (brilliantly) and she just sings (beautifully). The album puts lavish production on this one, but it doesn't need it. At Portsmouth she sings it like these things are supposed to be sung. Every word is directed at the heart with nothing to distract our ears from the tear-jerking lyric and haunting melody.
The rest of the concert passes in a flash really. Thinking back on it later, I'll remember versions of 'New York Moon' (which left everyone smiling), 'Trust In You' (Another brilliant ballad) and a fantastically over-the-top 'Shut Up And Kiss Me' in which some lucky bastard is dragged on stage and made to sit in a chair whilst Lou goes through her dominatrix routine. (Taking a quick glance around the hall whilst this is going on, a large percentage of male mouths were found to be wide open. Yeah.. Mine too!)

Of course, 'Woman In Me' is there, as you can't really get away without singing the title track off your new album. But we have to wait until the encore for the one that most of us turned up to see done live... First encore, after a good minute of stamping, shouting, and general loutish behaviour (The sort that's usually reserved for a Friday night after one or five too many), is 'Arms Around The World', done, as is now completely predictable, with professional brilliance. The single reproduced with every detail of its production interpreted into a perfect dance routine.
We have to wait a good two minutes for the second and, sadly final encore. We all know what it's going to be long before it starts, and the anticipation adds to the effect. 'Naked' starts as the concert did, with the cinema screen showing the start of the 'Naked' video. And then she's back center-stage doing the whole dance routine which must last about 5 minutes, but if you ask me is more like 30 seconds. And then she dances her way round the stage waving and smiling, (Yes.. I got another one. Sigh...), and then she's gone. And that's that! No goodbye, just exit stage left. This is my one major disappointment with the whole show. We don't get the chance to say thanks and she doesn't say goodbye. Someone must have told her to 'Leave 'em wanting more' (and boy, do we want more!) But it's a small matter. The overall quality of the event soon takes over again as we float our way out.

I came with low expecations of someone who, lets be fair, is really still only a new light on the scene, and was blown away by her personality, charm, and, being honest, raw talent! In future years, I will look back and say 'I was there!'- my ticket will adorn the bedroom wall for a while yet - and for all my ranting, if you weren't there, you just won't understand what all the fuss is about.
But I will...

Rich.. (Copyright 1998)