‘You lot are either very stupid, or amazing,‘ said Wayne Hernandez to his audience at Pizza Express Holborn (13/03). Temporarily banishing the spectre of COVID19, Hernandez and his band played one of soul music’s most iconic songbooks with plenty of energy. In these slightly hysterical times, the audience, pleasingly, was up for some Friday night soul.
Alumnus of both the London Community Gospel Choir and the Kingdom Choir (of Harry/Meghan fame), Wayne Hernandez has supported the likes of Kool & the Gang, Regina Belle, and Billy Ocean on tour. His Marvin Gaye tribute has played out around the country and he is a regular fixture at the likes of the 606, the Hideaway, and the Boisdale.
Condensing an artist’s entire career into a 90 minute set is inevitably somewhat reductionist. But Hernandez did well to hit a lot of the main touchpoints in Gaye’s repertoire – from his early Motown releases, romantic duets with Tammi Terrell, the psychedelic, politically-charged soul of the What’s Going On era, and the more abstract funk of I Want You.
It was quite light on the conversation though. It’s totally reasonable to want to keep an audience consistently engaged in the material. However – especially for a tribute designed to honour a legend like Marvin Gaye – some framing and context can do a lot to lift a show. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I was particularly interested in how Hernandez came to decide upon his setlist, the personal significance of the material, and any other insights or trivia he had to offer.
That disappointment aside, the man can sing. He brings a strong, heavy baritone, closing songs with pointed gospel riffs and jumping into his falsetto notes with a squall. The band, all dressed up to the nines, brought funk aplenty. While perhaps not offering any inventive or unusual interpretations, the act does not rest on its laurels and the high-octane energy never gives up.
There was great work from backing singers Tess Burrstone and LaDonna Young (of LaSharVu). Burrstone joined Hernandez for ‘You’re All I Need To Get By’, arguably one of the greatest soul songs of all time, and sang with impressive fluidity. Young joined Hernandez for ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’ and ‘California Soul’, flexing her smooth, soulful tones and letting loose at the climax of the latter.
The highlight of the set was a powerful rendition of ‘Abraham, Martin, and John’ – a folk tune by Dion (later covered by Gaye) commemorating the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. In a moving gesture, Hernandez replaced the titular names with late music icons Whitney Houston, George Michael, and, of course, Marvin Gaye himself.
