MATT GOSS: From Backstage To Centre Stage!

by A_F_R_O_W

Question.

Can internet shopping reduce one to tears?

Answer.

Yes…well…very nearly!

It started at 10 a.m…

The quest of initiating the greatest baptism-of-fire, known to this human…

… Attempting to purchase tickets for soundcheck-to-performance coverage of “Matt Goss at The London Palladium”!

It continued with logging on…

… and furiously pressing buttons to try to search options, select options, select one ticket, rather than two… to refreshing the page and losing the better seat… to trying to figure out the best time to go…. to verification, to the elation of being told, in the blink of an eye (or was I, actually, blinking back the, aforementioned, tears?!) ‘You’re In!’….

Could this be what buying a house, instead of renting, in this day and age, was like? Would this be akin to saying ‘Yes‘ to a, long-awaited, wedding proposal? The sharp intake of breath before making the commitment? I looked forward to finding out… But for this morning, it certainly seemed that way!

Yet, I knew that I could not be nonchalant with this system of buying goods, nor with the fact that I was sprinting to the finish line, arm-in-arm, alongside, potentially, thousands of other ticket-hungry customers… who, in this case, were sure to be the mighty and dedicated “Matt Goss Army”, a.k.a ‘MGA’! They have their own hashtag. They are a force of the most empassioned followers, supporters and family of a public figure, whom I have ever encountered.

They have my respect!!

Sat upon the cloud of my thoughts, the sunshine reality dawned… that the deed had, indeed, been done!

The show in which Matt, himself, said he’d ‘let loose’ would have yours truly, in attendance… but for now, in anticipatory wait, like a Tour De France lead-out, until the day-of!!

The fact of the matter was that I needed to be there….

…To experience who Matt Goss was and what it is about him that reduces people to the most exuberantly, knee-quivering wrecks of their, usually put-together, selves! Furthermore, how had his artistry changed…. because the scale and reach of his creativity certainly had.

This year seemed to be the peak of his first Everest.

A build-up, which has seen him increasingly invested in an interdisciplinary mode… showcasing the expansive nature of his talent and the unlimited mindset upon which it is founded.

From ever sought-after, often sell-out, concerts, which unfurled the newly-crowned “King of Vegas”, to hugely popular radio broadcasts for the BBC, Matt Goss and his undeniably suave onstage persona, has been thriving… Hard work keeps paying off… and the investment has segued into festivals, films and musicals… All in celebration of his comprehensive reinvention and determination to never surrender the Dream… to do more, be more, share more… which makes utter sense, for a man who describes ‘prolific’ as his current music-making status… Having, now, seen the evidence, in up-close-and-personal manner, I am, even more, in agreement.

You see, in my life, I have always been an observer… and yet, a doer, in order to articulate a core message, especially when it is Creatively called-for.. Whether Writing, Acting, Painting, Modelling, Movement… once it serves the deepest notion of the piece, I’ll go there. True-to-form, I watch closely, backstage, as Goss meets and greets his adoring MGA, with gentlemanly grace and a large dose of South-East London banter! Even in soundcheck, he is, not only, scintillating, but also engages with each song, in the authentic passion of the moment. No dilution. No dialling-it-in. His energy is focused and his aim is true – to reach out and touch the hearts of those around him… Audience, band members or backstage crew.

It is refreshing, as it is inspiring.

He is old-school… and that isn’t a generic throwaway, due to his often Rat-Pack compared, Vegas incarnation. You feel he has been raised-up around a sensibility of another age and, though he is older, he has never departed from it… The swagger, swing and sway are him… He is that immaculate. His tuxedoed vogue, reflects it… With that being said, he’s more than a little bit new school, too, and is just as at home, in looks of a more casual air, hence the black, unbuttoned shirt and sequinned-trouser combo, worn with effortless modernity and tatooed edge, for the show..

… which was an absolute show-stopper from start to finish!!!

Supported by the superb NHS Choir (in veritable homage to his literal roots, having been born in Lewisham Hospital), the undertone was specified, that, no matter how raucous the night, at the foundation and throughout the ensuing hours, would flow a deeper, conjoining spirituality.

I’d never been a part of anything like it!!!

For all of the 30 years celebrated within the Recording Arts industry, what I witnessed was a man, unbound and unbridled, onstage… For Matt Goss doesn’t simply display his craft, he communicates an undeniable freedom, indicative of an artist who is thriving upon expressing the greater awareness of all he has come to do upon this planet. You sense that he isn’t trying to justify his ability, but revelling in this new phase of creative prowess… and how we all benefitted from this unleashed emotion.

It’s not that he doesn’t care… because he, undoubtedly, does, with every fibre of his being… It is that he is free of care!!

Throughout the set, which moved relentlessly through Vegas stylings of “Luck Be A Lady” and “Hotel California”, pinballing from decade-spanning hit after hit, including “I Owe You Nothing” and “Firefly”, and raising the roof with the on-trend, 2018 summer smash “Red Flares”, he brought the house down with the tear-jerking “Are You Mine” and sing-along-inducing “Just For A Change”, in which the community of Matt’s family-of-fans truly shone. Led by the maestro to follow his lead, the MGA chorus filled the Palladium with stirring pride and searing passion… reflecting back all that he and his incredible band had given. For me, it was just the most beautifully moving, “you-had-to-be-there“, moment…

In fact, the entire night was a fantastic and unforgettable voyage…

I came, bearing gifts, but got so much more, in return…

On one level, was a distillation of profound acknowledgment, that there need be no limit to ambition… Yes, Matt loves what he does and who he is… as do so many others… and, to my mind, he has every right to do so. In diversifying upon his path, the articulation of each strand to his creative bow seems to bring deeper satisfaction and his generosity, humility-of-spirit, vulnerability and strength, in the giving of them, facilitates the same in others.

Yet, this experience took me to another level, because I was blessed to be amongst the constellation of fans, in his amazing, Gossy sky, and the jet-lag I felt, on returning home, was indicative of the fact that, for one night, I had been transported to another cosmos, of an incredibly rare and unrivalled atmosphere…

…Here’s hoping he comes back soon, because I, for one, look forward, excitedly, to making a return visit…

…and, just for the record, Matt Goss is back…

but he is moving rapidly forward on his Artistic Mission and, to those who have been with him throughout his ups, downs and turning points, (some of whom I had the distinct privelege to also meet and greet), and his newfound appreciators, he never has been, nor is he ever going, away….

 

 

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