MUSIC REVIEW: Asa Heart, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

May 13 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

IT WASN’T the birth of the blues, but a case of a star is born. And it all happened within moments of Asa Heart stepping onto on stage at the Philharmonic Hall.

Heart swung onto the stage, immediately took the audience by the scruff of the neck and left them gibbering for more with his own composition 22 And Counting.

Its driving Latin American beat gave our man from Maghull the chance to out-Ricky Martin with enough gyrations to overturn a dancing competition’s fixed phone-in.

And he never let up. His burning energy drove the Danny Mannix Big Band forward to full-blown Heart attack in a practically full Philharmonic Hall in a coming-of- age concert in his home town.

This near sell-out is an astonishing achievement in itself for an entertainer with a dedicated, but largely local following.

An unassuming presence away from the limelight, in performance the lean Heart suddenly seems charged with electricity, his long limbs kicking out to fill every compass point of the stage.

This is the singer who has had the scary privilege of warming-up footballer’s fiancee Coleen McLoughlin’s girls night-out and is suddenly "big in WAG-land".

The backbone of his act relies on Bobby Darin swing era favourites, such as Up the Lazy River, Beyond the Sea, Goody Goody and a bravura Mack the Knife.

Thanks also to Mannix’s brilliant scoring and the band’s sheer musicianship, these were standards well above standard.

But also a Les Miserables power ballad was effortlessly delivered, as was an intro sung without a mic.

Clearly there are ambitions to develop beyond covers. Asa’s own compositions included an acoustic guitar solo Sweetheart and a Liverpool anthem, Proud and Strong, backed by the Philharmonic Choir which had the audience on their feet.

First-half support came from Charlie Taft, a winsome 18-year-old Liverpool singer-songwriter, and saxophonist Mike Smith, accompanied by an excellent guitarist.

Years of practice have honed Heart into a consummate professional who appeals to young and old. In a smart suit and tie with nicely matching shoes, he explained when he removed his jacket: "See, I even ironed the back."

This is typical of the banter that crucially connects such an entertainer performer with the audience. As he loves reminding us, the whole show is "not bad for a scruff from Kirkdale".

Heart is a consummate professional and apparently there were record company chiefs in the audience checking how he could work a live audience.

Already a great ambassador for Liverpool, this show would convince them to put their bets on a performer who will be Merseyside’s next international singing sensation.

peter.elson@dailypost.co.uk