It’s June 26th and New York’s Beacon Theatre is filled to capacity with Seal fans.
Seal, charismatic and elegant, runs on stage grabs the mic and breaks into a series of standards for the first set.
Backed by a superb 8 piece orchestra they accompany him on classics including “I Put A Spell on You”, “It Was a Very Good Year”, “That’s Life” and so many more.
“I love you”, someone shouts from the audience. “Every show”, Seal responds, “someone shouts this out just when I’m trying to get in a sad mood for the next song.” (The audience laughs.) “But I love you too.” Then pink rays of light flood the stage and Seal breaks into a rendition of “My Funny Valentine”, with his rich, emotional voice. The seated audience transitions to standing when Seal glides into the second set with songs like “Kiss from A Rose.” By the time he hits “Fly Like an Eagle” and “ Move on Up,” the crowd is dancing and singing along. Seal walks into the aisles with people outstretched arms to receive his touch. The atmosphere is electric and the excitement so contagious that even the photographer can’t help but stand and sway, snap and clap.
Wikipedia:
Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, known professionally as Seal, is an English singer and songwriter. He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and is known for his international hits, including "Kiss from a Rose", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1995 film Batman Forever. He was a coach on The Voice Australia in 2012 and 2013, and returned to Australia to work as a coach in 2017.
Seal has won multiple awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards; he won Best British Male in 1992, as well as four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. As a songwriter, he received two Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors for "Killer" (1990) and "Crazy" (1991).
Born on February 19, 1963 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, to a Nigerian mother, Adebisi Ogundeji, and a Brazilian father, Francis Samuel. He was raised by a foster family in Westminster, London. He received a two-year diploma in architecture and worked various jobs in the London area.
Music career
In the 1980s, Seal spent a short time singing in local clubs and bars. In 1987 he joined Push, a British funk band, and toured with them in Japan. In Thailand he joined a blues band for a while before separating from the group and journeying throughout India on his own. He returned to England, sleeping on the couch of friend Julian Bunster, then a model. He sometimes asked him "do I sing well?" to which he often received the response that he sang better than most current artists. He then met the producer Adamski and was given the lyrics of the song "Killer", which was a huge hit in 1990 and catapulted his career.
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Seal's Website: Seal.com
Article Resource: Jazz Quarterly and Wikipedia
