Sparks The Hippopotamus Tour at O2 Shepherd's Bush (27 Sept)

Sparks concerts in London are mandatory so I was very pleased when Sparks announced that they would be playing the O2 Shepherd's Bush (formerly the Shepherd's Bush Empire) as part of The Hippopotamus Tour to promote their new album.

Various friends were keen too and I volunteered to do the booking. There were some old ladies in the group (both younger than me!) so the decision was made to go for seats in Level 1. A bargain at £30.

The four of us were travelling from different places and we all met up in the pub next door, now called The Sindercombe Social. They did a decent veggie burger and beer which did the job nicely. It was there that two days of unexpected meetings started so I'll take a alight detour and talk about those first.

Three of the four of us went and joined the queue while I finished my food. A couple soon asked if they could share the now largely empty table and I agreed. She was wearing a black and white hooped top so I made the comment that she must have got the email about the dress code. Her reply came in a smooth Scottish accent so I quickly confessed that my top was really an Alex Harvey one, to which she replied that she knew one of the band (Max)! A quick selfie was taken, posted to Facebook and Max was tagged in the conversation.

In the auditorium Pete found himself two seats away from somebody he knew from going to other gigs, Julie was sitting next to somebody who she would be sitting close to at a Midge Ure concert and sitting in the same row as me was somebody that I knew through my Knowledge Management activities. I texted her while waiting for the convert just to say Hi and then we bumped into each other on the way out.

We shared the bus back from Richmond with Paul who I see little of these days after he moved away and our meeting place, The Hand and Flower, had stopped being a place to meet.

Back to the concert.

This was a rocky Sparks with Ron and Russell backed by three guitars, another keyboards and drums. The band wore black with white hoops, Russell wore white with black hoops and Ron wore a lovely jacket that was an equal mix. Many people had picked up on the style from videos of earlier concerts and, like me, wore hoops of some kind.

The set list, as expected, relied heavily with the new album, The Hippopotamus, with a decent smattering of hits from the last 40 plus years. It was particularly good to hear When Do I Get to Sing "My Way", as it always is.

The set mixed moods nicely and there was space for quieter numbers like Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth, another favourite of mine. The changing moods was done best at the end of the main set where two blistering performances of The Number One Song in Heaven and This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us (probably their two biggest fan favourites) were followed by the gentle Life with the Macbeths from the new album.

The Number One Song in Heaven also featured the Ron Dance that was eagerly anticipated and enthusiastically cheered.

They had to come back and it was a pleasant surprise to hear Johnny Delusional from their FFS days collaborating with Franz Ferdinand before they closed with a rousing Amateur Hour, another popular track from the legendary Kimono My House.

Sparks made the evening complete by taking this selfie with the audience. I can just about find myself on the first level just to the right of the central aisle and a few rows from the front.

It was an astonishingly good evening for so many reasons. The music was obviously the main factor but the sheer good heartedness and joy of it all was very important too. It was like having afternoon tea with a favourite aunt where you enjoy her company and also that special cake she baked for you.