Queuing up for the event outside Café de Paris I felt somewhat underdressed as I have always been on the fashion police’s most wanted list and now I was surrounded by people with style! After a quick check on the guest list by a beautiful girl we entered the club, my first thoughts were ‘I’m James Bond and I am about to be courted by a super villain…’ but then I realised James probably wouldn’t have adorned a pair of worn trainers, jeans and checked shirt so I re-entered my own personal world and stuck with my main mission which was to watch and make notes on Laura Steel…Steel…Laura Steel – sounds like a Bond girl…maybe I am Bond..!
I arrived at the venue with 2 friends in tow. After getting a beer we walked around the club which was ridiculously classy, you can sense the history of the place when looking around, it is the perfect venue for entertainment, partying and celebrating. We explored the lower room where the stage was and squeezed between people wearing white suits, sun glasses and a manner of things fashionable! There was a good atmosphere and a buzz about the act.
As we had wrist bands for the VIP section we thought it would only be rude to not have a look around so we walked up the stairs and mingled with celebrities, media types and fashionista’s! We got chatting to a group of people who included Laura Steels sister so I took a chance to get a bit of knowledge about the singer! She told me her sister was studying fashion at university when she sang karaoke on a night out with friends and brought the house down, her manager realised her potential and set about creating her sound and look. Laura's sister was nervous for her but explained that she had always been the loud one with a creative talent so she knew she was going to do well!
After what seemed like a long wait a voice boomed from the speakers heralding Laura’s arrival. She made a dramatic entrance with the dancers who accompanied the majority of her set. The songs have a strong dance bass and are upbeat and friendly. She has cheekiness about her and a confidence which shows in her songs, she doesn’t go for the trans-Atlantic sound and remains loyal to Sheffield and the North by using colloquial words in her songs! The gig was amazing, she ran through her songs with a great energy and enthusiasm that we saw with the Spice Girls and rallied the crowd with chants such as “LET’S HAVE IT!” between songs! I could compare her to a number of strong female artists and heard quite a few comparisons on the night of the gig but I really do believe she is quite unique. Her image is slightly ‘Lady Ga Ga’ and ‘Pink’ and her sound can be compared to ‘Gwen Stefani’, ‘Katie Perry’ or ‘Lily Allen’. Laura was brought back on to stage for an encore where she did Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ real justice before another run through of her own song ‘Not for me’ which has single quality! She left the stage amidst rapturous applause and after a few beers and a chat about her we went to leave the venue only to bump into Laura on the way out where we congratulated her, she was really polite and sincere. I personally think there is room for Laura in the charts and with this night her team have already gone a long way in expressing their belief in Miss Steel and the desire to get there!
Dan Hughes
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