Live Review: Stevie Wonder at the Utilita Arena, Birmingham

There are artists who the world loves fleetingly and get remembered for a certain song or a certain moment, then there are artists who become icons with back catalogues that don't just form a soundtrack for one generation, but whose music becomes a soundtrack for moments big and small around the world on repeat. Stevie Wonder falls effortlessly into the latter. With over 100 million record sales to his name, the artist is beyond household name status. In the build up to finally seeing the great man perform live, I discovered how many of his songs my children could effortlessly sing along to having not realised how much impact he would have already had on their young minds. After  debuting in 1962 with the album, The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie, he had already released a Greatest Hits compilation just six years later. Therefore, it is little surprise that some 22 studio albums and numerous accolades later that the Utilita Arena in Birmingham is packed to the brim with an audience made up of all ages and denominations.

With the concert starting promptly at 8pm, Songs In The Key of Life Performances – 50th Anniversary Tour is a real celebration of everything he has achieved to date. With a back catalogue that is bursting to the brim with the classics, it is inevitable that not everyone will leave having heard their favourite of his songs, but Stevie does an amazing job and delivering a little something for everyone and injecting a little bit of humour to fill the arena fuelled by love.

As the show opens with a spoken intro about the power of seeing through hearing, a poignant and powerful rendition of Love's In Need Of Love Today starts a truly memorable night. With Stevie making it clear that the message of the song really resonates with the global situation we are all experiencing currently, he immediately sets hearts racing and engages minds. Although there are a few sound quality issues during the opening half, the power and presence of an opening set that features Sir Duke, Opening Pain and closes with Ebony Eyes is truly compelling and hugely enjoyable.

After a 15 minute interval, a false start on his huge hit Isn't She Lovely is very endearing and the family montage that accompanies it is a lovely touch, particularly given that his band and fellow singers features members of the family. The second half of the set sees Stevie in a more chatty frame of mind, and sees the audience rise rapidly to their feet to join in some of his biggest hits - with the iconic As receiving the warmest response until the irrepressible Superstition closes the night.

While some may have missed hearing I Just Call to Say I Loved You, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life or Signed, Sealed Delivered I'm Yours, there is no denying that Stevie delivered a night that was full of heart and soul that left his audience leaving with their hearts feeling a little more full.