Martha Reeves Celebrates Emotional 69th Birthday Live Onstage

Posted on Jul 19th 2010 9:30AM by Andrew Kerr
Comments

Martha Reeves celebrated her 69th birthday in considerable style last night at Glasgow's Arches venue.

It turned out to be an emotional evening for the Motown legend, especially when the packed crowd launched into a vociferous rendition of 'Happy Birthday to You.' Clearly taken aback by the warmth of the audience's adulation, the singer, dabbing her eyes with her ever-present handkerchief, told the crowd, "You're not meant to mess me up. You're bringing tears to my eyes."

From that moment on there was a real synergy between Reeves and the crowd -- despite woeful sound quality in the venue.

The best you could say about the mix was that at least it was consistent, albeit consistently bad. Much of the time you had to strain to hear Reeves' vocals while the Vandellas – Reeves' sisters Lois and Delphine – were totally inaudible.

Still, Reeves' energy and passion for music -- which feels as vibrant and alive today as it did when it was first aired nearly 50 years ago -- more than made up for the less than flattering sound.

'Nowhere to Run' was the first song to really get the crowd and Reeves herself dancing. After some moves which left her "feeling like James Brown," the singer joked, "I've just been told by my physiotherapist that I need to slow down."

She showed little signs of flagging though when it came time to belt out her tribute to Michael Jackson, 'I Want You Back,' while 'Dancing in the Street' and 'Jimmy Mac' provoked scenes of unbridled joy among the 800 punters.

But it fell to Reeves' first hit '(Love Is Like a) Heatwave' to steal the show. Even with its out-of-place rock drums and difficulty in hearing her eight-piece backing band due to the ongoing sound problems, it proved a glorious four minutes.