Review: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, Cadogan Hall

There's a temptation to blow these things up a little too much (Cirque du Soleil's Love show, still playing at The Mirage Las Vegas, certainly does that). The venue, with its stained glass and classical music vibe, the orchestra in dinner jackets and gowns, the big screen with its digital images - it could drown out the tunes.

But then the violins start, the brass joins in and Martin Herman's baton picks out the rhythm and we're getting the overture I suspected we would - it's "In My Life". And it all works...

Soon the lovable moptops are front and centre, adopting (appropriately) a "With The Beatles" look at first (we get maybe half a dozen costume changes over the course of the evening) and the hits (and some lesser known stuff) keep coming.

I've seen three previous Beatles shows (Let It Be in 2015 shared this show's Paul and George) but this was much the best of them. The National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra lends a depth to the sound, offering a new perspective on familiar songs - ones that (as our garrulous John points out) were never performed live, as The Beatles packed that in after 1966.

Everyone will have their own favourites, but I was delighted to hear an Indian-tinged "Across The Universe" and an "A Day In The Life" received in rapt silence by an audience who were moments later "Yella Submarineing" in full voice.

Emanuele Angeletti is an uncannily accurate Macca on vocals, John Brosnan a quiet "quiet one" George and Luke Roberts a better singer than Ringo (and, maybe, a... no, let's not go there). Paul Canning doesn't quite have the unique catch in the voice that Lennon had (who, except possibly Liam Gallagher, does?) but he gives us plenty of John's humour, the jibes that emerged from his insecurity, the wit always barbed - and that's no easy feat to pull off as convincingly as he does.

If the images seem a little superfluous and the costumes don't always match the period from which the songs are drawn, well, so what really. Beatles fans - and they come in all ages from all parts of the world - will hear the songs complemented by an orchestra that never intrudes, sung and played very competently indeed.

Imagine that.

All You Need Is Love is on tour.

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