Audience sings, dances and reminisces with Boney M, Chris Norman

The concert of two famous artists from the 1970s and 1980s evoked a time long gone, with songs that many generations may "not know the names of, but remember when they hear them".

On the evening of October 1, a large number of audiences in the capital flocked to the National Convention Center to reminisce about Boney M and Chris Norman - former leader of the band Smokie.

The concert attracted many generations, with the largest number of U40 and U50 audiences - those who spent their youth in the golden age of Boney M and Smokie. The 8x generation also sought out childhood memories in the songs they listened to on the old cassette player. A small number of children were brought along by their parents and grandparents, even though they did not know who the singers were. Each generation had their own mindset when coming to enjoy the concert.

Chris Norman, 65, is still performing with the band.

The show was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., but due to technical problems, it was 45 minutes late. During the waiting time, many impatient audiences kept calling out the names of the two artists to come on stage. When Chris Norman appeared, he had to apologize to the audience for the incident. Instead of turning the first half of the night into a "fire pan" with Rock and electronic sounds as he had originally wanted, the former leader of the Smokie group decided to switch to an Acoustic style. However, this change created an unexpected highlight and brought about rustic and emotional performances.

With a guitar in hand and a familiar backing band, Chris Norman leads listeners into his world with a simple, honest and unadorned sound. At the age of 65, the former Smokie frontman's face bears the traces of time, but when he sings, his deep, slightly hoarse voice still has great inspiration. In turn, Chris Norman performs Lay Back in the Arms of Someone, Gypsy Queen, I'll Meet You at Midnight with a guitar in the Rock Acoustic style, with a bit of Country sound.

“When I saw Chris Norman apologize for the sound problem, I was quite confused because I didn’t know how the band would perform. But the transition from electronic sounds to acoustic performance like this was so surprising and wonderful. I have never seen Chris Norman so rustic and close. Only by listening like this can I feel his voice most clearly. It is hard to believe that an artist in his 70s can still maintain such a good singing voice,” said Thang Vu, a 30-year-old audience member who spent his childhood listening to Smokie’s music.

Stumblin' In - a familiar song once sung with female rocker Suzi Quatro - is now performed by Chris Norman with a German singer in his own band. When the first lines: "Our love is alive, and so we begin. Foolishly laying our hearts on the table, stumblin' in..." began, the whole audience exploded. Maybe Smokie or Chris Norman do not have many popular songs in Vietnam like Boney M, but Stumblin' In is a song that many generations may forget the name but have heard at least once somewhere, similar to the song that follows, Living Next Door to Alice.

For an hour, Chris Norman not only made many audiences admire his live singing performance but also brought unexpected nostalgia.

Ms. Vu Ngoc Diep, 42 years old, clearly expressed her excitement after listening to Stumblin' In: “I came to this concert mainly because of Boney M, I didn't listen to Smokie much in the past. But when Stumblin' In played, I knew this was a song I listened to a lot when I was young. The feeling of suddenly hearing a song I loved but couldn't remember the name of was really happy. There are melodies that may not be named but they are forever in my memory, so when I listen to them I remember them.”

In the second part of the show, the band Boney M - with legendary singer Liz Mitchell - turned the auditorium into a 1970s disco dance floor.

Liz Mitchell – the “soul” of the band Boney M.

For many generations of Vietnamese people from the 1970s to the present, Boney M's music has had a huge influence, spanning from the era of cassette tapes, VHS tapes, CDs to modern digital music. To this day, at events such as weddings, product launches or year-end parties, Daddy Cool, Rivers of Babylon or Ma Baker still play an important role in stirring up the atmosphere, bringing joy and excitement.

Liz Mitchell – the “soul” of the band Boney M. – is now 64 years old and continues to dedicate herself to music, alongside three new members. This time in Vietnam, Liz brought her long-time team, including flute, drum and saxophone players with silver hair, to perform with her. Stepping onto the stage in a graceful black dress and high heels, Liz did not forget to give her husband of nearly 40 years, who is also the manager of the band Boney M, a romantic kiss right in front of the audience. This woman exudes a special vitality – burning, full of energy like a Jamaican summer and a charm that captivates the audience.

When Boney M performed, the entire audience could not sit still on their chairs but had to stand up, sway, dance and sing along to the melodies of "a bygone era". Sunny, Daddy Cool, Brown Girl in the Ring, Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday or Rasputin were performed one after another, bringing a nostalgic but vibrant atmosphere. Age makes it difficult for Liz Mitchell to move quickly or perform strong dance moves like when she was young, but just her demeanor and gentle swaying were enough to inspire the audience present at the concert.

Many families brought their children to enjoy Boney M and it seemed like this was a rare occasion for the children to witness such a passionate moment between their parents.

Minh Anh, 39 years old, shared: "I have gone to some music shows for young people with my child, now I want to help him understand more about the music that his parents used to love." While Minh Anh and his wife danced and cheered to the familiar tunes of Boney M, their eight-year-old daughter used her phone to record her parents' images with excitement.

In addition to the vibrant Disco songs, Liz Mitchell performed some gentle Ballads such as Somewhere in the World or covered the classic song Let it Be by The Beatles. Being of Jamaican descent, born in England and starting her career in Germany, Liz was influenced by many cultures and blended them together to create the musical style of Boney M. Towards the end, the 64-year-old singer and her band performed even more enthusiastically. Rivers of Babylon was supposed to be the "closing" song, but because of the audience's enthusiasm until the last minute, Boney M performed Bahama Mama at the request of many people. It was almost midnight when the group closed the night with the song Gotta Go Home, as a farewell after an evening filled with old melodies and memories of the 1970s - 1980s.

After 11pm, the audience was still dancing enthusiastically with the artists.

Viewers left with different emotions and nostalgia. Children must have been very… sleepy because it was time to go to bed, while adults were still engrossed in old stories. Somewhere on the way home was the laughter of a three-generation family as a young father held his sleeping son and turned to chat with his grandfather: “I still remember the old cassette player you brought back from the Soviet Union. It’s been 20 years.”

Decades have passed, the music scene has changed a lot. The kids have grown up, the artists have aged, but the tunes remain. Boney M and Chris Norman are both figures of the past, but what has become memories, imprints will be remembered forever.

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  Boney M and former Smokie leader come to Vietnam to perform12:04 | August 8, 2016

According to VNE