In this brave new world, death no longer spells the end of live performance. Thirty years after shuffling off this mortal coil, Roy Orbison is back — in hologram form. This incredible show sees “The Big O” resurrected alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
It began, as all Orbison concerts should, with the five-note riff of Oh, Pretty Woman. Then, when a voice announced “Ladies and gentlemen, Roy Orbison”, up through the floorboards came Roy. The hologram is extraordinarily realistic — even the tassels on his suit flutter – and drew whoops of excitement from a crowd old enough to remember the Sixties singer-songwriter first time around.
Equally extraordinary is his voice, an impassioned, semi-operatic instrument that powers the opening salvo of Only the Lonely and Crying.
Had this show featured the actual Orbison, it might have received five stars. There is something a little eerie about a hologram performance: the feeling that, in the nicest possible way, you’re being tricked. That so much of last night felt so emotive and real speaks volumes about the production — and the brilliant artist it reanimates.
