St George’s Venue, Hartlepool
Friday, 5 June 2026
There are some artists that are part of our lives but more in the background of our minds than forever in our consciousness. Maybe you heard their hits long ago, still recognise a tune or three and you might even have a few of their albums tucked away in the collection. Played once or twice but mainly forgotten. And, of course, you see that they are touring, and you think you’ll go see them, but other things come up and the plans go by the wayside. After all nobody can go to every concert that they see.
When it comes to Kiki Dee all the above applied to me but, thankfully, when I saw that she was playing at St George’s Venue I knew I had to go. There is something about concerts in churches that seem to make them special and if I am to see an artist for the first time then that particular location is a great place to go.
Performing with her, on guitar, was her longstanding musical partner Carmelo Lugerri who, strangely enough, I was familiar with as a member of the obscure 80’s band Sons of Heroes. Which, even before a note had been played, made me confident that I was in for a wonderful night of music and I was not wrong.
Having started singing at the tender age of 16, in 1963, Kiki undeniably demonstrated that she had honed her talents and the subsequent years had not diminished her skills, personality or enthusiasm.
With a mixture of own compositions, songs from her illustrious career and covers it was a well-balanced collection of songs. Opening the show was a Kiki and Carmelo song, What You Wish For. A tune that had a classical/flamenco guitar feel to it and they managed to plant their colours in the ground to promise that a memorable concert was in the offing. Next up was the number one charting song, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, which was originally a duet with Elton John, with an introduction that included an interesting anecdote and insight about him.
To me covering any Kate Bush song is a brave thing to do as, thanks to her squeaky distinctive and magical voice, she has a way of stamping her mark on them as if they were her own private property that nobody else should touch. However, Kiki’s version of Running Up That Hill worked. It was not some rigid attempt to be Kate, instead her own take managed to add a new and unexpected dimension to it. Sung in a way that made me think she was releasing the words from her heart and a couple of the verses had the hairs on my arms standing up. Unexpected power and beauty and the version on YouTube is well worth checking out, hopefully you hear the same depths as I did. Or, even better, get their Walk of Faith album.
Following that were a couple more covers, Robert Palmer’s Every Kinda People was poignant, and Harvest Moon managed to sound better than the original but, to me that is not difficult as I could easily take or, invariably, leave Neil Young’s original. Kiki added an element of sensuality rather than lust.
Then, to draw the first half to a close where a couple more Kiki songs, Loving and Free and The Long Ride Home. Both title tracks from albums that were recorded almost 50 years apart.
For the second set they started off with a couple of songs from the Where Rivers Meet album, which, is my least favourite Kiki and Carmelo record. I have played it a few times but it had always left me cold so hearing that they planned to sing Amen and Goodbye and Smiling Now didn’t fill me with enthusiasm however the moving talk about the background of them and the live renditions made me think that I should give the studio recordings another try.
Although I have focused mainly on Kiki Dee I feel that I should give credit where it is due and tell you more about Carmelo Lugerri’s contribution to the concert. A guitarist of skill and talent who, at times, had hints of Ry Cooder, at others I felt like I was listening to Juan Martin and then there’d be echoes of Chris Rea. A superb player who deserves more recognition than he gets and an excellent musical partner for Kiki where both could shine brightly without turning it into a competition.
There were more of Kiki’s own, less well known songs which could easily have lost the attention of anyone in the audience who were not overly familiar with her less well known back catalogue but when Kiki sings you listen, and if you have any taste at all in music, you enjoy it.
Thanks to me sneaking a look at the set list before the show it came to the encore and what should have been the final hit song I’ve Got The Music in Me which was performed with a special surprise guest in the form of Geoff Grange, the former band member of Sons of Heroes, with Carmelo, and a current Rhythm King with Bill Wyman. This was performed with energy and a sense of fun which seemed to bring the show a jubilant end.
But, with lights up and people about to leave, there was a hurried announcement that there was even more. The despite it being stuck in the middle of the second half of the set list the hit Amoureuse had been accidentally missed with Kiki only realising the omission after she had left the stage. However, not one to let an audience go without giving them more than their monies worth, Carmelo and Kiki returned to ensure that, even if it was out of sequence, the full set list was delivered and what a beautiful song to end with.
There you have it, if in the past you have seen that there was a Kiki concert playing but you hadn’t gone then maybe next time you will think again and treat yourself to a great night of music. Elton, or even Geoff, might not be the surprise guest but when you have two people with such talent, Mr John can stay home with his mug of cocoa and watch Eastenders.
[Photos courtesy of Paul Rogers – St George’s Venue]
SETLIST
What You Wish For
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
Running Up That Hill
Every Kinda People
Harvest Moon
Loving and Free
The Long Ride Home
– Interval –
Amen and Goodbye
Smiling Now
Can’t Fix the Maybe
Until We Meet Again
Forward Motion
Official Encore
I’ve Got the Music In Me
~ Unplanned Encore:
Amoureuse
MUSICIANS
Kiki Dee – Vocals, Keyboard, Tambourine
Carmelo Luggeri – Guitars, Vocals
~ With:
Geoff Grange – Guest Vocals, Harmonica
LINKS
Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri – Website | Facebook | YouTube
