A Tribute to Burt Bacharach & Hal David

hmm okay uh oh ah two me hey man thank you good evening and a very warm welcome to a very special night at the royal albert hall in london tonight is for the enjoyment and celebration of wonderful music and to pay tribute and to say thank you to hal david and burke bacharach one of the greatest songwriting partnerships in musical history and you'll be meeting them later on this evening since 1957 they produced a body of work that has literally touched the lives of millions all over the world when the melodies of bert bacharach meet up with the lyrics of hal david something magical happens and a song is born that both touches the heart and soul and can stay in one's memory for always to interpret these songs tonight a lineup of artists that range from international superstars to new young singers one of whom is making a debut public performance tonight they've all donated their services so that her future can be guaranteed for the nordoff robbins music therapy center which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary of helping children and adults with disabilities communicate and express themselves through the power of music to start things off a great singer comedian entertainer and actor he's written a hit or two himself and legend has it that he was actually with bert bacharach in london when this song was written but the 1963 jack jones hit wives and lovers please give a warm welcome to kenny lynch obey don't think because should always be lovers to run to his arms the moment he comes home to you i'm warning you day after day there are girls at the office and men will always be men don't send him off with your hair still in curlers you may not see him again i should always i'll be lovers too i run to his arms the moment he comes home to you i'm warning you i hate little girls you better wear something pretty something you would wear to go out in the city and then all the lights pour the wine start the music time to get ready for love is hot time to get ready for love decide to get ready for love enjoy yourself thank you people often ask of songwriters where'd you get the ideas from where does the new song come from hal david has said that the source of inspiration is always difficult to pin down sometimes though it's very clear what prompted a song as in the case of this next one hal and bird were invited to a dinner party in london and the hostess said to them when you arrive just come straight in it'll make one less bell for me to answer and another bacharach david classic was born here to sing one less bell to answer one of the newer talents on tonight's show she was chosen by both macy gray and m people to open their shows please welcome lucy silvas to pick up after i should be happy but all my oh i should be happy i only know that since he left my life so empty though i try to forget it it just can't be done each time cause right oh no more he went away oh told me thank you this next song was born out of a misunderstanding when dion moy was signed to scepter records she wanted a debut single to be make it easy on yourself what she didn't know was that that song had already been recorded by somebody else the story goes that when burt and hal told her this she felt betrayed through one of those little temperamental spats and apparently shouted at them don't make me over man so they took a complaint and within days they'd written a brand new song for her which became her first top 30 hit here to sing don't make me ever someone who won several best newcomer awards a couple of years ago and is now firmly following in the footsteps of his heroes al green and marvin gaye welcome please lyndon david hall don't make me over now that i do anything for you don't make me now don't pick on the things i say the things i do just love me with all my falls the way i love you i'm begging you don't make me over now that i can't take it without you don't make me over i wouldn't change one thing about you just hold me inside your arms and hold me tight always be by my side if i am don't wrong me accept me for what i am now that i didn't take it without you just take me in your arms and hold me don't make me make me open now that you got me accept me for what i am that i do thank you of course one of the remarkable things about backrack and david is the way their songs have been covered by so many different artists it's a true test of a song's quality what the world needs now for example had well over 150 different versions recorded over the years and our next song is an example of that it was a big hit for dial walk in 1964 but it had already been a success for lou johnson in the year before it's also a great example of how much emotion can be packed into three minutes of music the song is called reach out for me and here to sing it an irish artist presently enjoying great success on broadway in the new york production of riverdance he's flown in on concord especially to be here tonight please welcome brian kennedy when you go through a day and the things that people say they make you feel so small they make you feel that your heart will just never stop thinking and when you just can't accept the abuse you are taking what i'll be there i'll comfort you oh yes i will comfort you and love you when good they make you feel so bad they make you feel just don't you worry i'll see you through you just have to reach out for me i'll be there reach out reach out reach out reach out reach out reach out i've often wondered if fal dave and bird bachrach had been born in britain whether they're songs that have quite the same resonance we just don't have those place names would they have had such success with 24 hours from scunthorpe or do you know the way to milton keynes didn't quite have the same ring somehow well here's a british singer to perform an american song with do you know the way to san jose please welcome a singer who burst on the scene with uh had hits with doctoring the house and the only way is up she's got 10 hit singles to her name and it's great to welcome her back here is i've been and all those stars that never were are cars and pumping gas you can't really breathe in san jose they got a lot of space it can't really draw you away from home you pack your car and drive away i got lots of friends in san jose oh hey this in a week i got lots of friends hey foreign many of bacharach and david songs are unashamedly romantic romantic classics in fact but if you look a little deeper into some of them there are often other elements at play things that stay with you long after the song ends over the years several people have commented on the spiritual side of many of their songs hal david has acknowledged this saying that he was never quite sure how it happened that when he did he just went along with it and the next song is an example of that it's been recorded in the past by both jl warwick and the stylistics the song is called you'll never get to heaven if you break my heart and it's performed tonight by someone whose rise to stardom has been literally meteoric a songwriter in our own right with two albums to her credit ladies and gentlemen mother so remember if you're untrue angels up in heaven i'm looking at you you'll never get to heaven if you break my so be heart careful not to make a smile you won't get to heaven if you break my heart though i don't believe what i hear still it gets me down if you ever should say goodbye it would be so awful the angels will you'll cry get to heaven if you break my heart so be very careful not to make a spot you won't get to heaven if you break my heart you will promise to cherish me so be very careful not if you break my heart don't you break my heart thank you now bacharach and david haven't just of course written individual songs they've written a lot of music for the movies starting with what's new pussycat back in 1965. they went on to write the music and songs for several other films many of which were going to feature here tonight one of the most successful of these was the song written for butch cassidy and the sundance kid it was a huge hit stayed at number one for four weeks in the us charts that year and it won an oscar who can forget paul newman and catherine ross on that bicycle here to sing raindrops keep falling on my head a great international star who's had his own chart topping hit with a song in 1970. he's a multilingual singer guitarist songwriter actor and television star who's always hugely welcome here in britain it's the one and only sasha distal nothing seems to fit those raindrops are falling on my head they keep falling so i just didn't miss to talk into the sun and i said i didn't like the way he got things done swimming on the trap the blues they seem to meet me want raindrops falling on the head but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turned red crying's not for me cause i'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining because i'm free go the the raindrops keep falling on my head but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turned in red cries i'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining i'm never gonna stop the rain yes i am nothing's worrying me foreign there's someone who's discovered the secret of eternal youth i wish you'd pass it on bacharach and david songs have always been strong on moves not any particular move but always something which identifies the song in its own unique way there's the raunchy pulse of what's new pussycat the passion of anyone who had a heart and the gentle warmth of i say a little prayer all very individual and instantly recognizable the reason is the personal input of bert bacharach himself who assiduously controls the production process of each record according to herb alpert who first performed this next song it was bachrach himself who imbued the record with its unconstrained romanticism he said as soon as bert started conducting the orchestra the whole studio came alive he was talking about this guy's in love with you and here to perform it one of britain's great voices a singer who's now forged his own solo career after giving many hits to groups like ace squeeze and mike in the mechanics he's a pretty mean songwriter himself in addition to his keyboard and vocal talents we're talking about paul carrick you say this guy this guy's in love with you yes i'm the sky who looks at you the way i do when you smile i can't tell we know each other very well how can i show you i'm glad i got to know you cause i've heard some talk they say you think i'm fine yes i'm in love and what i do to make you mine tell me now is it so don't let me be the last to know my hands are shaking don't let my heart keep if not i'll just die tell me shaking don't let my heart keep with this guy if not i'll just die fall in love with you now all songwriters in their prayers at night ask that perhaps just one world-class singer would record one of their songs hall and bird have either got very sore knees a direct line to head office or help had already been given in the song's creation whatever the reason the dozens of huge names that have recorded and performed bacharach and david's songs include dusty springfield sandy shore jack jones tony bennett aretha franklin herb albert barbara streisand andy williams cher tom jones and gene pitney and right up there with them closing the first half of tonight's show a great singer stage and movie star somebody who's been right at the top of her profession for decades ladies and gentlemen the legendary for tula club here a chair is still a chair even when there's no one sitting there but a chair is you can a room is still a room even when there's nothing there but but a room is not a house the house and one is us and suddenly your face appears but it's just a crazy game don't let one mistake keep us apart turn this house into oh time and suddenly your face appears but it's just a crazy game when it ends don't let one so if you're is and dreaming and his kissing is i love him wow his kisses you will be here where do birds suddenly appear anytime you want in just like me they want to be close to you why do scars fall down from the skies anytime you walk by just like me they long to be close to you on the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true so they sprinkle moon dust in your hair of golden star light in your eyes a blue that is why all the girls in town follow you all around on the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true that is why all the girls just like me they long to be close to you just like me they long to be close to you close to you come on close to you close to close to a star who's had 20 worldwide top 10 hits during a career spanning 27 years with the song which sandy shore took to number one welcome leo sayer i walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me and every step because how much it used to be forget you when there is always something there to remind me me when shadows fall i pass a small cabinet where we would dance at night i can't help but recalling how it felt to kiss and hold you tight but how can i forget you when there is always something there to remind me yeah always something there to remind me i was born to love you and i will never be free if you should miss the sweet and tender love peace we used to share just come back to the places where we used to go and i'll be there or how can i forget you but there is always something there to remind me always but i will never be free always something to remind me always something there to remind me and now we've got some more music from the movies the film and the song which backrack and david wrote for it came to define much of what the sixes was about here in the uk the film made michael kane into a star and the song was a huge hit for cilla black in 1966. as with most of bacharach and david's songs it was nominated for an oscar the song is of course alfie and to perform it tonight a young singer who made a big impact across the world right on the turn of the new millennium when she sang a new beginning at the opening of the dome in greenwich during the day she's a medical student at night time well at least this night she's a star at the royal albert hall please give a special welcome to sumadu jaiti lakka is it just for the moment when we live what's it all about when you sorted out then i guess it what is you land on an old golden heaven rule there's something much more i'm let your heart lead the way and you'll find love any day llc on november the 23rd 1968 the musical promises promises owned at the shubert theater in new york is written by bachrach and david and based on neil simon's play the apartment and the show was a huge success it ran for several years in new york before transferring to london it won a tony awards scored several hits the next switch was apparently added at the last moment when the show was on its pre-broadway run in boston the song is i'll never fall in love again it's a great pleasure to welcome back brian kennedy what do you get when you fall in a love with a pen to burst your bubble that's what you get for all your trouble i never fall in love again what do you you get enough germs to catch pneumonia after you do she'll never forget never fall in love again tell me what it's all about out of those chains those chains that bind you that is why i'm here to remind you what do you get when you fall until tomorrow i'll never fall in love i'll never fall in love thank you very much okay it's back to the movies now back to uh bacharach and david's very first film in 1965 woody allen made what's new pussycat it was a quintessential 60s film starring peter sellers peter atoll osha andrus and woody allen himself bacharach and david were asked if they're interested in writing the music and this they did at the dorchester hotel here in london the title song was recorded by tom jones and became one of his trademark numbers it was a big hit and yet again another oscar nomination resulted to give it no doubt a very personal interpretation along with the 1963 gene pitney hit 24 hours from tulsa here's one of britain's most popular all-round entertainers singer comedian actor tv and stage star it's brian connolly oh lots of hours to spend with yes my wishes will all come true i soon be kissing your sweet little pussycat lips she yes dearest darling while i was driving home and i'm not the only one day away from your show only one day away from your arms she took me to a cafe i asked her if she would sleep she said okay so i was only 24 hours i hate to do this to you but i love somebody what can i do never never go home again thank you from brilliant tom jones and gene fitney all wrapped up together in the space of three and a half minutes well done brian now we've seen performers right from across the generations tonight showing that bacharach and david's music is universal in its appeal and appeals as much now as it did when it was first written as if to prove the point we welcome on stage someone who although she began singing almost before she could walk has never performed at a concert such as this for tonight's show she couldn't have done better than select one of backrack and david's personal favorites the song they wrote especially the dial moyk here with i just have to breathe please welcome t-show day there are things that i did long ago that i don't do each day is different than the day before and yet to love you i just have to there are needs we have when we are young and discovered as we mature time can so change the only certain thing is nothing sure and yet to love you i just have to breathe this world we face but i'll face anything i was alone me there was a time everything we do when it's over just true love remains and i'll still love you when all else is gone for me to love you i just have to in this world when nothing stays the same stay with me now we go all the way back to 1962 and what has been described as the very first bacharach and david classic it's all about a broken heart and how generosity of spirit can exist even in the face of rejection by someone you love hal david's lyrics are absolutely perfect and the emotion in the words and music have left none of the songs power diminished in the 38 years since he wrote it here to sing make it easy on yourself a legend of tamla motown whose classic hits include war what are we fighting for and stopper on sight it's the one and only edwin starr breaking up is so very hard to do if you really love him then there's nothing i can do don't try to spare my feelings just tell me that we're through and make it easy on yourself is so very hard to do and if the way i hold you don't compare to his career well run to him before you start crying too and make it easy on yourself breaking up his soul very hard to do oh it's so hard to do baby just make it easy on yourself go on make it easy on yourself cause breaking up is so very hard to do thank you films and the structure of film have always had a big influence on bachrach and david's music but background once explained how he liked to treat the composition of songs especially those with diamond like miniature three and a half minute movies instead of staying on one intensity level all the way through backrack and david always felt that light and shade within the body of a song is what helped give it its power as an example another oscar-nominated song from the movies the look of love from the spoof james bond picture casino royale originally hit for dusty springfield in 1967 it's performed tonight by a british singer who brings her own unique style to everything she does with it's like rock a doodle do i'm in love again and it's in his kiss a very great pleasure to welcome on stage linda lewis the look is disguise and what my heart has how you've got the look that time can't erase let's take our is don't ever go don't ever how long have don't ever go partnerships work when both sides draw on one another's strengths and qualities and find a way to turn those into a single force exactly how it works is often inexplicable but when it does the results have we've seen tonight are extraordinary hal david has tried to explain it in terms of mutual respect he said we'd have our opinions bert would like a line not like a line i would like a melody not like a melody but when the chips were down i always would defer to him musically and he would defer to me lyrically he also said we seem to have a chemistry in life that creates magic sometimes as a combination of personality and talent that just mixed together and turned out very often to be magical and that is certainly true about this next song a true masterpiece full of powerful mood changes and high emotion i just don't know what to do with myself was originally hit for dusty in 1964. to perform it tonight someone who has recently and memorably worked with and become a close friend of birdbackrack please welcome the brilliant elvis costello i'll just say please welcome mr bird bacharach i just don't know what to do with myself don't know just what to do with myself i just don't know what to do is i just don't know what to do don't know just what to do with myself i will baby around just waiting for you i just don't know what to do i just don't know what to do ladies and gentlemen miss dion boy and you don't see the tears just let me breathe each time i see you i break down and cry don't stop walk on my heart the tears and the sadness you gave me when don't stop the moment i wake up together together think of us you forever forever i say that little foreign nobody they love me too i'm in love i was born and raised everybody there is a is you know i can't wait to get to san jose wow you thank you so very much thank you thank you thank you very very much anyone who ever loved me and know that i love you anyone who ever dreamed could look at me and know i dream of you would take me in like you heard me this time it's goodbye you the way i do i take you back without you i died is and hurt me like you hurt me and be so untrue what am i to do huh it is yes me it's the only thing is lord we don't need another mountain till the end time to is is everyone everyone and then 3 but foreign that's what we need oh me so so you

Channel: Rolando Castro

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Id: T-r20ZDo0SY

Length: 107min 52sec (6472 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 11 2013