Nostalgie 80 in Quebec City Review

Rick Astley, Debbie Gibson, Samantha Fox & Tiffany at Colisée Pepsi

© James W. Coates
Apr 15, 2009
On April 10, Quebec City went back to the 80’s with Rick Astley, Debbie Gibson, Samantha Fox and Tiffany on stage together for the first time.

Montreal drag queen and DJ Mado opened the show with a mix of 80’s hits to prep the crowd, many of whom wore leggings and loud florescent clothes topped off with crimped hair and skyscraper bangs, for the flashback to the decade of decadence.

Rick Astley, dressed in a dapper dark suit, took to the stage first. With the first beats of his track “Together Forever” the thousands of fans blocking the Colisée Pepsi exploded into frenzy. Samantha Fox, still strutting her stuff after 20 years of near invisibility, followed with her lesser known tune “Nothings Gonna Stop Me Now”.

Debbie Gibson Owns the Night of 80’s Nostalgia

Despite Astley and Fox’s popular appeal, when Deborah ‘Debbie’ Gibson took the stage, the evening truly took off. Quickly diving into her 80’s songbook, Gibson, who had held the number one spot on the album chart 20 years ago with her second release Electric Youth, looked lean and ready to re-conquer the hearts of fans that grew up with her.

Gibson dedicated her performance to all the “Children of the 80’s” before beginning a four song set that included the hits “Only in my Dreams”, “Out of the Blue” and “Shake Your Love”.

Her sets, which included various costume changes, featured the singer-songwriter playing piano for her ballads “Lost in Your Eyes” and “Foolish Beat”. The latter song topped the Billboard Charts in 1988 and she still holds the record for being the youngest performer to have written, produced and performed a number one song.

Samantha Fox and Tiffany at Nostalgie 80

The concert, like the 80’s, alternated between Samantha Fox, Rick Astley and Debbie Gibson without rhyme or reason. The show seemed to be on ‘shuffle’ mode with one song from an artist then a couple from another for most of the night.

Over halfway through Tiffany appeared out of the blue to sing her trio of tracks “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “I Saw Him Standing There” and “Could’ve Been” before quickly disappearing once more.

Samantha Fox may be twenty years older than when she first brought her femme fatale persona to these shores but backed by a troupe of dancers she revived hits such as “I Only Wanna Be With You”, “Naughty Girls”, “I Surrender (To The Spirit of the Night)” and “Do Ya, Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)”, even if half way through she forgot the words.

Like a trouper, Fox continued, closing her set with her biggest hit “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)” to thousands of adoring fans.

Rick Astley in Quebec City

While he wasn’t a performer that commanded the stage, Rick Astley sounded faithful to his records. His performances of “She Wants to Dance With Me”, “Whenever You Need Somebody”, “Cry For Help” and his signature song “Never Gonna Give You Up” showcased his strong vocals and the reason why after so many years he can still manage to fill a stadium.

Though Samantha Fox did her best to speak French and Rick Astley enjoyed a sip of beer from one concertgoer’s cup, the artists had very little interaction with each other or the audience until the very end of the near three hour long show.

Rick Astley re-appeared on stage to the tune of “Together Forever” with Debbie, Samantha and Tiffany on back-up in the magical closing number.

As the four stood centre stage and thanked the crowd, history was made. For one night in Quebec City, it was 1989 all over again. Anyone who grew up in that era felt blessed to have seen their idols on stage, even if it took 20 years to happen.

The copyright of the article Nostalgie 80 in Quebec City Review in Dance/Techno Music is owned by James W. Coates. Permission to republish Nostalgie 80 in Quebec City Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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