At 71 years old, Barbara Mason seems to be defying the ageing process. Dressed impeccably in devil red, with glitter-encrusted shoes to match, she looked every inch the performer of her big 1965 hit “Yes I’m Ready”.
The audience were largely nostalgia hunters who remembered the old hits first time round. They came in gleeful expectation of hearing her perform her hits and were in high spirits, joyfully singing along to the DJs soul selection as we awaited her arrival on stage, creating a relaxed atmosphere, not unlike a friendly 80s house party.
This is only Mason’s fourth time in London, so a rare opportunity for UK fans to see her live. And fortunately, when it came to delivering the audience favourites, she didn’t disappoint. “Give Me Your Love”, “You Better Stop It”, “Playing With My Feelings” and “World In Crisis” all followed in quick succession.
One of the most exciting musicians on stage was the percussionist, whose dreadlocks were flailing around almost as frantically as his hands as he battered a staggering array of beat instruments into submission, giving each song a slightly different colour and feel.
Mason herself still has a remarkably strong singing voice, though you can hear its age. She oscillates artfully between feline seduction and a bruising foghorn, always telling stories rather than simply aiming to make a pretty sound.
There was a delightfully spontaneous feel about the evening, with Mason animated (though not always successful) in her direction of the band. She even threw in some ad libs and scat singing, at times even cajoling the audience to join in. “Don’t I Ever Cross Your Mind” encouraged a chorus of ‘Don’t I’s which became almost chant like.
If some of the idioms, like the sweetly sentimental “Oh Me Oh My” and the punchy “On and Off”, seemed old fashioned, many of the lyrics told another story entirely. Sharp rhymes like ‘crime increasing, trigger happy policing’ reminded us poignantly how these songs, some written five decades ago, can be as vital and relevant as ever.
The biggest audience reactions of the night came for “Day Dreaming”, when everyone got their phones out to record; “She’s Got Papers”, where Mason daringly and comically took on the character of the mistress stealing a wife’s husband (her audience banter provoked much nervous laughter); and finally the inevitable climax of the night, her biggest hit, “Are You Ready”. The crowd certainly were!
Mason joked, after singing “Jumping Jack Flash”, that Mick Jagger is about her age but she doesn’t know how he still performs with such vitality. On the strength of her energy tonight, she knows a lot more than she professes.
By Alexander Williams