Magic Of Christmas @ London Palladium (Evening Show) 26/11/2022

Where: The London Palladium – London, England (UK)

Venue rating: 9/10 (very good venue which has an “old-timey” feel to it but there was confusion queuing to get in, making it very disorganised. It was a seated event anyway, so it didn’t matter who got in first but it was cold outside)

Who I went with: Myself again!

Where I stayed: Castle 3 (an apartment near Elephant and Castle)

How I travelled there: Flew from Inverness to London and then travelled via tube. The apartment I stayed in was the most affordable place I could find at such short notice. I needed Paul’s help with which tube lines were best to take as London is practically his second home

Beverage of choice: I had a massive coffee from Costa and juice from a corner shop which, of course, I had to chug before entering the venue

SETLIST:

Paloma Faith:

Only Love Can Hurt Like This
Better Than This

Mica Paris:

My One Temptation
This Christmas
Dancing In The Street (Martha Reeves & The Vandellas cover)

Mark Owen:

Magic (of Christmas)
Silver Bells (Elvis Presley cover)

Marisha Wallace:

Purple Rain (Prince cover)
And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going) (Dreamgirls cover)

Tom Chaplin:

Somewhere Only We Know
Walking In The Air
Overshoot

Paloma Faith:

Christmas Prayer
Make Your Own Kind of Music

Heather Small:

Moving On Up (M People cover)
Proud
Silent Night

Marisha Wallace:

All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey cover)

Mark Owen:

You Only Want Me
Shine

I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas. It’s not that I actively dislike it or don’t ever get that “warm and fuzzy feeling” but I’m rarely in the mood for it when it comes around. This year was no different, especially after gallivanting around California in the heat with Christmas songs confusing me in the background. Christmas is too expensive and social for me, where tons of people get wildly drunk and public transport stops operating properly. The older I get the more I think “Ugh, here it is again!” when shops start stocking seasonal products as early as September. It just doesn’t fill me with excitement like it did when I was a kid. However, when I saw Tom Chaplin announced as one of the guest stars I hunted down a ticket to see him again. I was also excited to see Paloma Faith and James Morrison in the line-up but JM sadly pulled out. He tweeted, ‘I’m sorry but due to family illness I’m afraid I won’t be able to perform at Magic of Christmas evening performance this year. I know you’ll all have a fantastic time watching the other performances. Merry Christmas and I will see you all very soon. James x’ the day before the event. It was disappointing but family and health come first. I hope everything is okay with him now.

Tom Chaplin was announced late, so there weren’t many tickets left. I should have looked on Ticketmaster first as I realised too late there were some nearer the stage than the one I got on the official Palladium website. I considered swapping my ticket for a seat up in the Royal Circle but couldn’t get an aisle seat and didn’t think the view would be all that much better. My seat turned out to be okay. There was an extremely tall man in front of me unfortunately, so I often had to lean to the side to see past him. He didn’t stand up for the majority of the show, so I got a good view when we were encouraged to stand up. I always feel guilty standing though, since I’m so tall. I stood up periodically as sitting down is much more comfortable but I understand it’s easy to look disinterested when remaining seated.

I got the early morning flight from Inverness to London and jumped on the tube, using Paul’s guidance. I travelled to Elephant and Castle to locate my hotel/apartment. All of the buildings looked alike, so it was anxiety-inducing finding the one matching the number I found online. I called the people working there to get a pass-code and also instructions on how to get in and use the elevator. I should have contacted them a lot earlier than when I arrived on the doorstep but my organisation skills have been terrible since I had so many events and got lazy when it came to figuring out all of the finer details. It was dark and eerily quiet inside and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if I found out the place was haunted. I found my apartment number and didn’t realise there were two other bedrooms inside, which were occupied by other people. It was strange to turn a light off when exiting only to find it on again when I re-entered. Using incredible stealth, I avoided everyone else during my stay. It was only one night but I’m still proud of my avoidance skills. I’ve never stayed in a shared apartment (as an adult anyway) and I will try not to do so ever again. Do I introduce myself if I bump into someone, or is that weird?

I thought about also attending the afternoon show with George Ezra and co but decided that would probably be too tiring and all of my favourite artists were in the evening show. It wouldn’t have been worth the money for me to see GE alone. I ended up having lots of time to pass in London and enjoyed exploring the cobbled streets until night fell and people were suddenly everywhere. It was the busiest I had ever seen anywhere, ever. When I was going to get my pre-show coffee I saw a large crowd of people swarming the stage door of The Palladium, desperate to catch a glance of the celebrities going in and out. I saw somebody come out of a car and get ushered inside but I couldn’t make out who it was. I wondered if the people waiting actually had tickets to the show(s) or whether they were just chancing their hands at a celebrity encounter. Whoever went in didn’t have any time for pandering to them, anyway.

Because I was in the area so early I was one of the first people to start queuing. They gave us all kinds of mixed instructions for where to stand, sending some people across the road to wait for a delivery to unload (I think). They ended up not being the first people in, even though they were waiting the longest. They didn’t keep their unhappiness about the situation quiet, either. There were three queues, for the stalls and each of the higher levels. The woman in charge was becoming flustered, which didn’t start the evening off on the best terms. Once inside, I went to my seat and stayed there until the interval. I was paranoid other TC fans would recognise me or people might judge me for going on my own.

Paloma Faith came on first and jumped straight in with ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’, her biggest hit. Her dress was pretty and trailed along the ground. I have no idea how she didn’t trip over it and fall flat on her face but I suppose artists have a lot of practice wearing impractical outfits. I didn’t know ‘Better Than This’ but thought it was interesting how it was written about these past couple of years and how tough they have been. Lots of artists wrote songs inspired by lockdown and all the current events, which reflect the strong emotions and turmoil experienced by all. To me, it already seems like a long time ago that COVID hit. She introduced this song by saying, “This next song is very apt as it’s been a terrible few years, let’s not beat around the bush” and “I’m all for 2023 as this last one was appalling!” She got us to join in with her, saying we can definitely do better. Afterwards, she was interviewed by our host Emma B and they talked about upcoming music in 2023 (promised to be “slightly above average”) and her recent roles in ‘Pennyworth’ and ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ – what it was like to play a villain for a change and wearing period costumes which take hours to get in and out of. I haven’t seen either of these but was intrigued to find out PF has so many acting roles under her belt. I didn’t know she acted alongside making music.

Mica Paris was next to take the stage. Emma B introduced her as ‘the undisputed Queen of British Soul’. I didn’t remember seeing her name on the evening show poster, so I wonder whether she filled in for James Morrison or not. I’m not very familiar with her music although I did recognise the highly built-up song ‘My One Temptation’. Throughout the night I was recognising most of the songs even though I didn’t already know the names of some of the artists. Emma B talked about MP’s achievements for a good few minutes, including her recent MBE award. Between all of her gushing (I kind of tuned out, as there was a lot of it) she laughed about how small the microphone made her look when she stood next to it. The songs were energetic and had no trouble getting people moving and cheering. She did three songs and we finally got our first Christmas one – ‘This Christmas’. The artists picked their own Christmas songs to sing, by the sounds of it. I’m glad not all of the songs were Christmas songs as the performances might have felt a bit “samey” and it’s always nice to hear artists sing their most popular songs. MP did a wonderful job energising the crowd and keeping the atmosphere alive. She was the first to encourage us to get up on our feet but around half of the people in the room seemed reluctant to do so. There were people dancing like there was no tomorrow on one of the side balconies, though. They looked like they were about to topple over the edge. She said she is celebrating thirty five years in the industry!

Emma B told the ladies in the room to “take a deep breath” before Mark Owen came on. She made fun but excruciating puns such as “Our next artist is set to shine on the stage tonight” and he will be “bringing some real magic to the stage”. You expect cringe-worthy puns at events like this, so I tried to stomach it as much as I could. MO opened with ‘Magic’ but changed it to ‘Magic of Christmas’ for the event, adding in the words “of Christmas” each time he sang “Magic”. The crowd went wild for him and it was clear he was the favourite artist of the night as he received the biggest applause by far and was tasked with closing the show. I was never the world’s biggest Take That fan but I do like the band. ‘Rule The World’ will always make me feel deeply nostalgic. He did a fantastic job delighting the crowd, though he wouldn’t have had to try hard to achieve that. It was interesting to hear all of these songs with a whole new band, breathing new life into them. The band did well to learn all of these songs! MO’s crowd interaction was excellent and he complimented the Christmas outfits of people in the first few rows. They went more “all out” than me, in my black sparkly jeans you couldn’t even see when I was sitting down. He worried he’d get in trouble for talking too much as he told us how long it took him to get here with the busy traffic, saying “The whole of the world is here tonight!” He chose to sing ‘Silver Bells’ as his Christmas song because one of his favourite artists of all time (Elvis Presley) sang it and he thought it would be good for crowd interaction, with us repeating ‘Silver Bells’ back to him every time he sang it. When everyone erupted in cheers at the sound of Elvis Presley’s name, MO joked “You might be going ‘oooh’ prematurely! You might be going ‘oooh he’s going to do that one and ‘oooh’ I might not be!” The participation was a big hit with the crowd and chanting “Silver Bells” became a running joke throughout the night, when he kept getting us to repeat it back to him – even in the middle of his interviews. He said he met up with the boys from Take That earlier in the week but didn’t give too much away about an upcoming album. Emma B congratulated him on his recent solo album ‘Land of Dreams’, which I am also unfamiliar with for the moment.

Marisha Wallace opened with ‘Purple Rain’, from her new album ‘Tomorrow’. I figured it would be an original song but was quite happy it was a cover, as it meant I was already familiar with it. She has an incredibly powerful voice, which filled the room and captivated the crowd. This is a slower song, so didn’t hype everyone up like the few we had previously. She told us her accent is a mix of American and British (like Madonna) and explained how her next song, from ‘Dreamgirls’, put her on the map. She was excited to sing it for us as she has performed it all around the world but said it has been a long time since she’s performed it in the UK. I’m familiar with this song too, so was eager to hear it. There’s something special about how songs from musicals are structured – they are usually highly emotional and really draw you in. Well, that’s how I feel about them anyway. I definitely need to start going to more musicals when I have the money. She has her new album ‘Tomorrow’ and has another coming soon, if it’s not already out by the time I’m writing this. She is also going to star in a West End show in Spring, which hadn’t been announced at the time. A quick Google search several months later tells me it is going to be ‘Guys & Dolls’, which will run from March to September. The interval took place when she left the stage and Emma B said the second half is going to be better than the first and got people to chant “Oh no it isn’t” like at a pantomime. I didn’t really understand the joke in that context but not everything needs to make sense.

Tom Chaplin was the first to come on after the interval. He chose ‘Somewhere Only We Know’, predictably. Emma B made even more puns such as him being ‘an artist you are keen to hear’. She joked she’d asked him where ‘Midpoint’ was (the name of his new solo album) and he replied it was ‘somewhere only we know’. I was practically facepalming by this point but most people laughed politely. I have heard several different live versions of ‘SOWK’ now – with Keane, throughout the ‘Midpoint’ tour and now with the Magic of Christmas band. He did an amazing job, obviously. I won’t gush like Emma B did about Mica Paris but his voice is astonishing. People were singing along to the chorus, since it’s such a beloved and well known song. I swear he looked my way a few times but that’s probably only because I was one of the few people standing on my half of the theatre. I can’t sit down when listening to Tom Chaplin or Ryan Tedder – those are the rules. He talked about his Christmas album he made a few years ago and shamelessly said “Check it out, it’s really good!” He laughed about how he made the album in July in 35 degree summer heat in order to get it finished in time for Christmas. The next song he did was ‘Walking In The Air’, which is from his Christmas album but not an original song of his, of course. I was wishing for ‘Midnight Mass’ or ‘Under a Million Lights’, which are originals but I understand he didn’t want to alienate anyone who wasn’t familiar with those and ‘WITA’ was probably easier for the band to learn, as it is universally known. In the end, he admitted he’d missed a chunk out of the song and praised the band for going along with it and covering up his mistake. I’ve watched the performance a few times and have still been unable to pinpoint when that happened. He talked about how ‘SOWK’ means different things to different people and now it’s seen as a Christmas song thanks to the John Lewis advert. He introduced ‘Overshoot’ as he normally does – how it’s about his relationship with his wife and how they have been together a long time. It closely resembled the newer radio edit version, instead of transitioning into the radio edit version late in the song like the band did during the ‘Midpoint’ tour.

Paloma Faith returned after a brief re-introduction and went straight into her original song ‘Christmas Prayer’, which she wrote with Gregory Porter. This song slipped under my radar but it is catchy and has definite festive vibes. It might have been a big hit the Christmas it came out and I’d just missed it, somehow. I’m not always the best at keeping up with recent releases. I have an unorthodox way of listening to music and prefer to rummage around in charity shops for CDs instead of going on Spotify/iTunes etc. It’s always so satisfying to find gems in these shops and it totally makes my day/week when I stumble across something I can’t wait to run home and listen to. I need to spend more time on Spotify as there are a lot of good songs I just never listen to because I don’t physically own the CD. It feels much more personal when I have a physical copy in front of me but I’m extremely old-fashioned, I guess. I enjoy collecting vinyl too but they’re much pricier, even second-hand. They’re more fun to look at though. PF said she was enjoying our “chair dancing” but encouraged us to stand up to dance and sing along. She wanted us to be heard on the radio with her too. When I listened back, I was surprised how clearly the crowd was recorded and broadcast. I was not one of the people singing along, it’s safe to say! As much as I enjoy singing (in private), I’m painfully insecure and don’t want to subject people to that when they’re trying to enjoy the show. I love ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ and was thrilled to hear it. She has a very distinctive voice and I’d like to see her again if the opportunity ever arises.

Heather Small sang ‘Moving On Up’ and continued to excite the crowd throughout her set. The atmosphere was great and people were clearly delighted by her. Her song ‘Proud’ is very famous but I didn’t recognise her name when I read it in the line-up. It was a pleasure to hear live and it felt very upbeat and monumental. This is a great song with a powerful message behind it and I’m glad I got the chance to hear it live. ‘Silent Night’ is a good choice as it’s not really a Christmas song you would expect someone to select for a show like this but it slowed the night down quite a bit, being a lot more mellow than her previous choices. Emma B said ‘Proud’ is the kind of song which makes people highly emotional and weak in the knees. She asked how it feels to perform ‘Proud’ after all these years and HS said it’s always a dream to perform, especially in front of an enthusiastic audience like this. She complimented the crowd’s participation and said she can feel the love in the room. HS explained she has a new album coming out which she’d recorded with an orchestra to show everyone what she can do now. The orchestra adds a different level of depth to her well-known songs, which she likes. She said she’d decided to do a carol for us this evening, which explains why it stood out so much from the rest of the Christmas songs. She left the stage thanking the wonderful band and wishing us a “Happy Christmas”, even though it’s still a little bit early for Christmas wishes.

Emma B built up the hype for Marisha Wallace’s next song, as it’s the most successful Christmas song of all time (to my knowledge) and incredibly difficult to perform. EB joked if we don’t feel in the festive spirit after this song we should all check our family trees for evidence of Ebenezer Scrooge. I appreciated that joke more than all of the agonising puns. MW did an amazing job and blew us all away. After TC, she was possibly my favourite of the night. I was looking forward to PF more because I was more familiar with her songs but MW has a gorgeous voice and wonderful stage presence and I didn’t know anything about her before seeing her here tonight. The song is obviously magical, as even I felt a little in the Christmas spirit once it was performed.

Before Mark Owen came back, Emma B got us to applaud the music director Tim Maple and the Magic of Christmas band. She promised we had a “couple of belters” left to close the show and instructed us to “go completely bonkers” for MO. He said we all looked like we were having a good time before singing ‘You Only Want Me’. I didn’t know this one either but it’s been stuck in my head since I listened back to all of the songs before writing this. A definite ear-worm. I thoroughly enjoyed his performances and found him very likeable. He was cheeky/chatty and had a slightly awkward stage presence, which was endearing. He didn’t seem to take himself too seriously, which I also liked. Before his final song he told us he had been promised “snow”, which turned out to be a blanket of white confetti which poured down at the climax of ‘Shine’. I listened to that one a lot and it’s a staple song of my teenage years. It was a lot of fun to hear live. I didn’t actually realise he was the lead vocalist on that song, as I’d honestly not put that much thought into it. I enjoyed the huge Christmas tree on stage, too. I saw photos from other people on social media after the event and the stage setup looked completely different from each angle of the Palladium, which was interesting. You would expect that but the changes of perspective were pretty drastic. Emma B was completely smitten and asked us if we wanted to take MO “home in a little box for a rainy day”. She thanked the crowd for making her happy and for being incredible and engaging before wishing us a safe journey home.

The whole thing was enormously over the top and a bit too jolly/corny for me but you wouldn’t expect much else from a Christmas show and I’m happy I made the decision to go and see all of these talented artists, even if TC was only on the stage for under fifteen minutes. My pessimism may have stemmed from going solo and not drinking alcohol. I’m not sure I would go to a Magic of Christmas event again (it depends how many of my favourite artists are in the line-up) but I would recommend it to music lovers as a one-off experience like mine. Many people on Facebook were saying they weren’t interested in travelling all the way into London just for two or three songs from their favourite artists but the whole thing definitely put me in a more Christmassy mood.

GALLERY: