Oh God!! Am I having a mid-life crisis?

Those of you who know me well (and my commiserations to you for bearing that onerous burden!) know that the whole Investment Banker thing is a facade. My love is, was and always will be sung music. From being an angelic (Yeah Right!) choirboy, to the chapel choir during my Oxford days, countless church and secular choirs (none of which I have ever enjoyed as much as CTK in Frankfurt - thank you Kathy for that) - my "real" self has been in search of becoming a halfway-decent Tenor.

Despite the eye-rolling of those who hate "my sort of music" - Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons et al., right the way back to Monteverdi or even Palestrina, I never lost my ability to pick out the gems from my era. Among the three-chord wonders there were often some accomplished musicians hiding among the pop. Sometimes you could just feel the sheer musicality of the less-accomplished trying to burst through. I even spent a few dirty nights on dirty floors being a roadie for my then girlfriend. To this day it is the terror of family and friends when I sing along in the car with the top down. I have oft remarked that the only reason  I do not have underwear thrown at me in the manner of Tom Jones is that I am moving too quickly. I am even more often told that I am a sad deluded man going through a mid-life crisis. Ho Hum - perhaps they are right?

Given the widely (or is that wildly) eclectic musical tastes I have developed, I rarely get the "tingle factor" at hearing something new or so well done that it reduces me to tears (Usually Simon Cowell is the only person to do that without fail!),  so when I was invited to a gig  on Saturday I was prepared to enjoy it, but I was totally unprepared for what I saw and heard.

The band was Gabby Young & other animals - http://gabbyyoungandotheranimals.com    I  can honestly say that I do not ever remember being so impressed with a band, a singer or an overall presentation.

Gabby herself is a quirky, eccentrically-dressed woman that seems to be totally original in her style and thinking (as her lyrics testify). Her vocal technique is utterly flawless and reminds me so much of a young Annie Lennox, but her style is very much her own. Saturday's gig was to launch their first album. Just go and buy it - do it!!  It would be wrong to think of her just having a band behind her - the performance was integrated tightly and the seemingly anarchic onstage antics (sometimes reminding me of Madness) belie a tight musicianship and skill. The brass section in particular are essential to so many of the tracks they performed. In gentle Folk Rock mode I loved the way she fitted with Stephen Ellis ( I think I have that name right) - no mean musician himself.

OK - end of middle-aged-man discovers new band mode for now. I promise to go back to the arcana of investing or ranting about politics again ver y soon.

Buy the album though - utterly briliant - or even better catch a live performance.

Dum Spiro Spero