Cadogan Hall, London. 23rd Sept 2006

[Stuart]

Right, Here we go - some pictures from Cadogan from me.

Charlotte

Daisy

Laura & Melanie

Laura

[Stuart]

Posing for HWI outside the hall. Thanks Steve Abbott for bringing them out!

Melanie

Charlotte

Daisy

[Stuart]

And some shots of the performance....

Laura

[

Charlotte

Daisy

Melanie

Daisy, Charlotte, Melanie, Laura

[Mark]

Hi all

Some great pictures as usual. I was lucky enough to meet the girls briefly and to say hello, as well as seeing them perform. What an unexpected treat ! It was lovely to meet you girls and I look forward to following your progress and success over the coming years.

Best wishes
Mark.

[Joe]

Hi all,

Thanks for the gorgeous photos from Cadogan Hall. Congrats to Stuart and Steve as official AAI photographers.

Joe

[Dave]

Hi guys,

Well I have to say that it was a lovely surprise to find out that All Angels would be appearing in the second half of the Cadogan Hall Gala Concert for Japanese TV! This more than made up for Aled Jones's absence (unfortunate though that was) and it was really nice when "the girls" came out before the concert started for photos... HWI being there in full force!

I was lucky enough to be able to join them in one of their photo shots... the only problem was that Roger was in the lineup too, LOL! Me and him make a pretty ropey addition so that photo doesn't get posted here unless the alternative is eternal damnation! ;D

When the "Angels" strode onto the stage at the start of part two of this gala concert, my first thought was, "wow they look stunning!" in their all-white (but different) dresses but swiftly, my second thought was "I wonder if "live" they can get anywhere near the quality of their CD samples I've heard".

Well they started off unaccompanied (they had a mere 24 hours notice of this concert and no rehearsal time to speak of!) with the gospel song "Steal Away" and immediately, I realised that I need not have had any concerns at all about their live singing! They were impeccable... like seasoned performers... nobody could have guessed that they were four schoolgirls all under 18 years of age and with no previous public live concerts together to their name. It was thoroughly enjoyable!

Then, they sang... Songbird. This time, they were accompanied... by a piano (Ian Tilley) and nothing else. Their performance sounded just like their recording of it - it was immensely enjoyable and when they finished, they received a loud and enthusiastic applause from an audience 99% of whom didn't even know they existed! It was simply wonderful... probably the best version of this song I've ever heard.... and I say that as someone who loves the Eva Cassidy version. Well done girls, you'll go far!

Soon, a couple of photos will follow...

Cheers, Dave

[Dave]

Here are a couple of photos I took from row 7 at the concert with an inexpensive point and shoot 3 megapixel compact digital camera, with 3x zoom (Pentax Optio). They are not upto the quality or size of Steve and Stuart's portraits (great photos guys, wow!) but for a 'compact' camera from where I was sitting, they'll have to do!

The Angels singing "Steal Away"
(L to R): Daisy, Charlotte, Melanie, Laura

The Angels singing "Songbird"
(L to R): Charlotte, Daisy, Laura, Melanie

Cheers, Dave

[Belinda.]

Oh
Pretty Please
Come on Dave,be Brave and show us the photo of The Angels and the t ___ Two,i mean two handsome gentlemen ;D

Belinda NZ

[richnorri]

Great photographs everybody, and well done for getting their names correct throughout!

I thought it was a fantastic debut performance by the girls, and I'm sure we've helped to give them a good solid start to their career. ;D

Best Wishes,

Richard

[meagan]

Thank you for the great photos! The girls looked beautiful, and I wish them the very best in the rest of their career!

[Raymond]

Excellent photos!

Raymond

[Dave]

belinda said:

Oh
Pretty Please
Come on Dave,be Brave and show us the photo of The Angels and the t ___ Two,i mean two handsome gentlemen ;D

Belinda NZ

Oh well Belinda, as you corrected your post ;D - flattery will get you everywhere!

I have only one slightly 'iffy' photo of the girls, "me" and "him" LOL - although it was taken expertly by Richard for us, given the "tools" and his unfamiliarity with them - my hastily grabbed compact camera; thanks Richard!

Luckily I forgot to look at the camera - if I had done, the lens may have cracked! ;D

Dave, Melanie, Laura, Charlotte, Daisy, Roger

Cheers, Dave

[Stuart]

Hi Belinda, dave

I can supply a less "iffy" photo" but the two blokes in it look just as "iffy"!!!!




Stuart

[admin]

There you are, girls. Your first public concert and you get a pair of bookends!

Thanks to Dave and Stuart for posting.

Iffy Roger!

[postscript]

All Angels at Cadogan Hall 23rd September 2006

An extraordinary ‘side whisper’ from 'an informed source' told us the re-jigged second half of the programme to cover Aled Jones’ absence, ‘but don’t say a word to anyone else, it’s a formal announcement to the audience and they’re not to know ahead of time’. Meanwhile we had the opportunity to meet with the girls in two sets of pairs as that is the manner of their arrival.

The first half of the concert proceeded as planned. We returned from the interval to be formally told of the programme changes. Suddenly, into the public realm, although already introduced in a small way as the HWI site has been debating them for some time ‘All Angels’ came on to an empty stage bar Ian Tilley at the piano for them.

It will be interesting to see how they present themselves at subsequent concerts. Dressed as they have been seen before, in their white dresses they have a unique ‘uniform’—white dresses of similar length and appearance but relying upon subtlety of design to show extraordinary variations on their theme of white with black trimming. An interesting way of providing the uniformity you expect of a group, while allowing individuality, breaking the expected tradition of presenting such groups. For awhile though, this is likely to be how they will dress in order to establish a coherent identity.

For me, as appears to be the case for many HWI Forum members, my listening to the small snatches of their harmonies hit me almost, ALMOST, as much as hearing Hayley’s voice for the first time. It is an interesting sound: a sound uniquely their own. Like many, I believe this group has a wide, open road ahead of them, on which they can place their markers where they will. As soloists interacting with their fellows they are able to run the variations on a theme that is necessary to both excite and to hold interest.

For now, 'All Angels' evokes an excitement for something new on the musical scene, a unique sound as a group. For me, excitement for their first CD, out soon, is not for the songs they choose. It will be for the harmonies in which they present them. Like Hayley, I think they can sing anything they choose. It is the manner of presentation that will make their version stand out.

So, what did 'All Angels' give us? They gave two wonderful renditions of ‘Steal Away’ and ‘The Songbird’ and were warmly received by the audience. They presented us with four beautiful young women, neatly but not primly dressed, who looked as if they were having fun.

Peter S.