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I was really looking forward to this concert for months and have to number myself among the severely disappointed. Not so much with the orchestral playing - I thought the Philharmonia did well given they cannot have been familair with the scores - as for the undignified sub-panto goings-on on stage.
The grinning, leering, bellowing, ill-prepared and ill-informed Blessed was a disaster. It was obvious he hadn't a clue who Barry Gray was and even with his nose stuck in the progamme made endless mistakes. He resorted to roaring meaningless platitudes at an embarrassed Gerry Anderson as though this compensated for his unprofessionalism. Voices8 were technically OK but equally hammy in performance.
The gold standard for this type of event is surely the LSO concerts with John Williams and the late, great Jerry Goldsmith at the Barbican, where musical values occupied centre stage and gimicks were notable by their absence. The music cried out to be arranged in seamless suites from each show and desperately needed uninterrupted 15 minute stretches. Cues of 60" and 90" are ridiculous in a concert hall setting.
Barry Gray is a fine and underrated composer and deserved better than this ham-fisted effort for his Centenary celebration.

- Liam, london, 13/11/2008 14:30
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After looking forward to this concert for the best part of a month, I can only say I was severely disappointed with the event. I'm a huge fan of Barry's music; Thunderbirds being my all time favourite piece of music. What is supposed to be a rousing piece of music, was left sounding flat and hollow for the main part. Not only that, it was played at a slower tempo, and completely out of sync with the video screen. A complete travesty!!

This was the case with nearly all the main themes to the shows unfortunately. The orchestra sounded downright amateurish at times which really surprised me. The orchestra did manage to pull off a lot of the incidental themes, including Zero-X which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end! It was too little for me to enjoy though and I had to leave early and not put myself through the Thunderbirds march at the end.

Not only were the majority of the theme renditions poor, it wasn't helped much by the buffoon Brian Blessed and the goon singers, who were the icing on the turd. I have to say as well, I felt for the guest musicians who travelled there from around the world to take part, only to be barely heard in the mix.

Not a very fitting way to pay tribute to a great composer!

- William Frost, London, 12/11/2008 15:48
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I travelled from Bristol for this gig and it was more than worth the effort (and spending a wet day wandering about the capital). It was thrilling to hear the Thunderbirds music performed live along with all the others - Joe 90, UFO) etc. Brian Blessed was his usual larger-than-life-self and his humour added to the evening.

One minor criticism is that I noticed a few technical hitches. One of the singers looked embarassed as if her microphone had failed and both the Hammond organ (UFO) and electric guitar (Space 1999) seemed to be drowned out by the orchestra. However, since it was recorded, if the organisers have a digital copy taken from the mixing desk, they can fix this in any DVD release.

It was a magnificent concert and a worthy tribute to Barry Gray who has left us with some of the most memorable theme tunes ever written. It was especially rousing at the end, after Brian Blessed was 'caught out' by the sudden end of the gig, he got the orchestra to perform the Thunderbirds march in full as an encore.
Aaaah.!..memories of my childhood came flooding back. It was well worth the 250 mile round trip.

- Mark Naisbitt, Bristol, 12/11/2008 13:46
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The concert event was long overdue and may not be repeated for many years given the problems to organize such a big happening. The Philharmonia Orchestra and a group of soloists and vocalists had to be booked, the Hall secured. Sound, light, publicity – it was all done by a few people, partly as labour of love, and they pulled it off.
My verdict of 9-out-of-10 is based on my Barry Gray admirer’s goose bumps hearing Thunderbirds, Zero-X and Stingray. I suspect original music sheets were used as the music was spot on.
The title theme of Stingray was less impressive – the action-packed drumbeat sounded more like a drum falling down the stairs. Yes, the orchestra goofed up now and again – but with only one rehearsal before the concert it shows their professionalism to be able to play most without problems.
The vocal group replacing the Mike Sammes Singers of the past was Voces8. Apparently with many awards to their credit, but mostly out of place for the songs that Barry wrote. Only as close harmony group in Secret Service they did well.
Most other instrumental themes were orchestrations close to the original, but not “the” original.
During the encore "Thunderbirds March" Barry Gray's portrait was shown. I think it should have been there the entire concert. Such a great composer. Wonderful his music was played again since the Filmharmonic concert in 1978 in the Royal Albert Hall.

- Theo De Klerk, Bussum, the Netherlands, 12/11/2008 13:13
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Hi there,

We was just in time for the Barry Gray Concert. We set off at 4pm from Hinckley, Leicestershire. It took 2 hours by car to get into London, A friend of mine drove us down. I gave him petrol money, The Philharmonic Orchestra can I say what a fantasic job they did on Saturday Night well done guy's & ladies, Including the Special Guests - Gerry Anderson who I got briefly to meet & have my photo took with him & he also signed my Barry Gray Program. Which will not be sold on EBay, I heard quiet a few people outside when the Concert had finish saying: Right these Program's are going on EBay in the morning, So what for them report them to Fanderson.

The whole event was Fantasic even my Parents enjoyed it, I hope there's going to be a DVD & a CD Album of the Concert ? Then it will give fans something to treasure

We got home back to Hinckley, around 1.30am Sunday Morning.

My favourite Barry Gray Tracks: Well too many to menion - All of them are F.A.B

"What a great show"

All the best

Craig Adams

- Craig Adams, Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK, 10/11/2008 23:15
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Being fan of Barry Gray music, I went to this concert on Saturday night & it was amazing.

The choice of music for the evening was very well chosen, representing everything from Four Feather Falls to Space 1999. VOCES8 provided the vocals for all the well known intros, but my favorite was The Secret Service. They did it pretty much spot on. Brian Blessed hosted the evening & entertained everyone by being just himself. Loud, shouty & funny.

My favourite pieces from the evening were Zero-X (from Thunderbirds), the Captain Scarlet suite, Four Feather Falls & UFO. I feel that a special mention should be made to Crispin Merrell. I was looking forward to the International Concerto suite (from Joe 90) & was pleased when it was announced that he would playing the piano on it. I was lucky enough to be sitting right above the stage in a box & just over head of where he was playing. So I had an excellent birds eye view of his performance. He played it flawlessly.

I can't wait to see the concert released on DVD & CD (it was filmed). I hope that lovely film montage of Barrys home movies set to the Thunderbirds theme gets included on the DVD. It was sweet to see him laughing & playing to the camera. The footage of him at home playing the keyboards & editing tape reels...wow!

Thank you Barry, for giving us the music.

- James Fielding, Slough, UK., 10/11/2008 15:28
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