Live Review: Cutting Crew, Paul Young, Go West, Nik Kershaw

Like insatiable moths chasing the fiery tails of a DeLorean, '80s tragics came in their hundreds for an evening of unabashed nostalgia under the banner '80s Mania. And how delightful when the biggest surprise came early. Cutting Crew (represented by sole original member Nick Van Eede) exuded quite the comfortable Aussie pub rock vibe, even touting a brand new album (Add To Favourites). Yes, mega-ballad (I Just) Died In Your Arms has aged marvellously (with a very Dave Gilmour-y intro) and the 'shit — was that them?!' moment came via I've Been In Love Before but few would have bet on a one hit wonder being so solid.

The opposite must be said of soul man Paul Young, whose career enjoyed a respectable seven-year peak in the decade fashion vomited on. Whether it was a long flight, merriment or simply the fact that his larynx has rusted, when Young could actually be heard, he was consistently off key and struggling to do justice to his otherwise fine canon. The likes of Come Back And Stay and Wherever I Lay My Hat deserved much better.

Arguably, the biggest hitmakers of the evening co-shared the headline spot with Go West and Nik Kershaw (returning to the Astor a mere two years after his last visit) launching their joint set with… a Tears For Fears song?! It would be the first of five covers that seemed like a quintet of wasted opportunities as both have sizable catalogues to draw from. Tag teaming "like wrestlers" according to Kershaw, each act would front up one or two songs punctuated with covers of songs by Birdy, Eurythmics and Sam Sparro (a punchy Black & Gold). Peter Cox remains robust of voice, still capable of belting out peppy poptisms like Call Me, We Close Our Eyes and Pretty Woman canticle King Of Wishful Thinking. Kershaw's selections drew exclusively from his first two (of nine) albums. Wide Boy's woeful tale of fickle fame, Dancing Girls' electro-pulse and I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me all still feel as fizzy and fruity as a can of ('80s soft drink) Quatro. To finish on a cover of the very un-'80s Sex On Fire was another confusing choice, but the packed Astor Theatre left reminded of some fabulous '80s hits. And Paul Young.