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[4 Pics by Def Leppard UK.com (Gallery)] Fan Review 1 :: by Liz 400 miles round trip, 6 Hours driving, 2 large bottles of Dr Pepper and a whole car full of CD’s as well as the essential stash of Chocolate. So started my journey up to Sheffield to see (my friend) Bonnie and to see the show. I set off in the morning just after 9am to snow on the ground and very cold temperatures the further north I got the more the snow disappeared for once I was grateful as I hate driving in snow and ice. As I left the M1 and drove into Sheffield I remembered something from a previous trip there, I hate driving round Sheffield as I always get lost today was no exception. So after a few U turns and a lot of muttering with the map on top of the wheel I found the car park behind the Travel Inn. After meeting Bonnie we set off to have a look round some sites. First stop was to go and see Steve’s grave which I was thrilled to see so many flowers and gifts left there for him. The cemetery is beautiful and the view of the hills was absolutely stunning. It seemed right and proper that this was the first thing I saw. It still hurt to go there but I left with a wonderful sense of peace. Next stop was to go to Crookes and see Joe and Sav’s old houses all I can say is that hill was a killer and wondered why on earth I decided to leave the car at the bottom of the hill and not the top. We drove back to the town centre and parked after a look round the venue and the shops and dinner at Pizza Hut we went back to the hotel to get ready. We made it back to the hall just before 7pm and after we were let in we found our seats 4th row from the front on the left hand side. John Reilly was first up with the Acoustic Angels backing band and a local groups called Boy on a Dolphin who were absolutely phenomenal. They were then joined by Roy de Wired who had an excellent voice. Paul Carrack was on next and he played Mike and The Mechanics, The Living years and Over my Shoulder which he got everyone joining in with. Lindsay Dracass was on next a Eurovision entrant 3 years ago I was blown away by her voice and she was very funny and down to earth. Sav and Joe were on next and the first thing that struck me was all the comments they bantered with each other, Joe remarked at one point that he felt very nervous at not having the other 3 on with him, to which Sav replied a sarcastic “Oh thanks” Joe then explained that if anyone was going to make a mistake it was going to him. They played Two Steps Behind, From the Inside, Winter Song and When Love & Hate Collide. Sav did the solo parts and his backing vocals brought a lump to my throat I hadn’t realised just what a fantastic voice he has it was awesome to hear him. John Reilly came on for another song before a 10 minute drink, cigarette, dash to the ladies/men’s room break. John Reilly came out again with the backing band and got everyone on their feet this half was much funkier and lively and he dedicated one of the songs to the awful bombing in Madrid. John Parr was on next with his Stars and Stripes Guitar and amongst his set he did St Elmo’s fire and a song written for the charity which was accompanied by some African dancers with spears and drums, very different but entertaining none the less. Kelly Llorenna was on next and she did cover versions of, This Time I Know It’s For Real, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and Tell It To My Heart. On a personal level I don’t like her music and she works very hard getting people to join in with her without the success of the others. She is well liked though I just am not in disco music. Joe and Sav came up next with the backing band and they did Come up and see me (make me smile), a blinding version of David Bowie’s Suffragette City and 20th Century Boy. Joe had a Union Jack T shirt and Sav looked awesome in a black suit and white shirt. The rest of the vocalists came on and they sang Money (That’s What I Want) then it was a mass rendition of American Pie, Sav didn’t play but sang at the back with Bev Lister the charities founder. At the end of the day I went because I wanted to see Joe and Sav perform but the whole evening was just wonderful and the charity that supports parents of sick children was a very worthy one. As a mother who knows what it is like to be in hospital with a sick baby I was glad that I played a part in raising money for the charity. I just hope that they can repeat this show each year as for all round entertainment it cannot be beaten. [After The Show] Once the show was over we made our way back to the stage door in the hope of maybe seeing Joe or Sav and getting an autograph. And after waiting an hour in the freezing cold (yeah, yeah I know I’m old enough to know better) one of the charities organisers, after finding out that Bonnie had come over from America, invited us to say Hi to Joe. Sav had gone home with his family but Joe found a quiet corner and spent 5 minutes chatting with us and after giving us his autograph I commented that I was taller than him, he laughed and said yeah I was taller than everyone there. Any preconceived ideas I had about him were completely gone by the end he is such a nice man and very chilled out, he posed for a photo with Bonnie and said how happy he was to be back home and to see all his friends and family. After that we thanked him and made our way back to the hotel it was still absolutely freezing but did I feel it (nope not at all). So there you have it loads of driving from London and back again but considering it was the day after my birthday I couldn’t imagine a better way of spending it. So anyone coming to next years show (Yep I’ll be there if they are).

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