Dionne Warwick: One Last Time | Riverside Theatre | Saturday 11th January 2025
Last year singer Dionne Warwick was indicted into the Rock & Roll of Fame, the honour being bestowed more than sixty years after the release of her debut album in 1962.
Discovered by songwriters Hal David and Burt Bacharach her career began with the iconic Don’t Make Me Over, and she’d go on to become the premier channel for their memorable songs including many tunes now considered classics like Walk On By, Anyone Who Had a Heart, and Do You Know the Way to San Jose. The latter winning the singer her first Grammy Award in 1968.
Warwick is touring Australia with what she describes as a farewell outing, and for the first of her Australian dates in Perth the fans were out in force.
The evening began with a set from local jazz talents Melody Itzstein and Harry Mitchell who delivered an entertaining mix of standards, pop favouites and a few original works too.
When Dionne Warwick took to the stage, she was back by a talented four piece band that included a drummer, percussionist, bass guitarist and a pianist. All dressed in bowties and tuxedos. Walking out in front of the crowd in a gold sequined outfit, the much-loved singer had quite a presence with her white hair and equally bright smile.
Thanking the audience for their attendance the singer invited people to join in, open their mouths, and if the words to the songs fell out, that was okay.
Ensconcing herself on top of a tall stool by the grand piano, Warwick settled in and began to sing a stream of hits from her impressive career.
It was a set that largely paid tribute to her work with the songwriting duo she is eternally connected to. Opening up with Walk on By, we wasted no time getting into Anyone Who Had a Heart, You’ll Never Get to Heavan (If You Break My Heart), I’ll Never Fall in Love Again and Message to Michael.
A few of the numbers were truncated, quickly moving on to more of the singer’s big hits. There were rounds of applause for This Girl’s in Love With You, and mad appreciation for Alfie and Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
Chatting to the audience Warwick shared short anecdotes from her career, often reflecting on her time on stage more than her time in the studio. At the start of the journey Warwick said there would be songs that people were very familiar with, alongside a few that maybe they’d now become familiar with.
If I Want To, is a song probably less familiar to most audience members. Warwick shared that she’d fallen in love with this lesser-known Baccarat and David tune and was surprised when a fan let her know she’d actually recorded it years ago.
The pace picked up with 99 Miles from L.A. a song written by Hal David with Albert Hammond, that became Hammond’s only Billboard Hot 100 number one in 1975.
For the home stretch we got into the huge hits with I Say a Little Prayer, a giant sing-along with What the World Needs Now is Love and the iconic That’s What Friends Are For.
At 84 years of age Warwick is far from the vocal powerhouse captured on those timeless recordings. In the early part of the show her voice was meek and a little lost amongst the power of the band. As the show progressed, she began to deliver the tunes with a little more oomph.
Singers in their twilight years can often be astounding. Nana Mouskouri delivered an exceptional show in Perth in 2015 when she was in her 80s. In 2017 when Petula Clark performed in Perth aged 84, there were many captivating moments. In 2019 Mavis Staples blew the house down with her Perth Festival show, delivered when she was 80 years old.
While Warwick’s career is predominantly known for her work with Baccarat and David in the 1960s and 70s, it would have been nice to hear some of the amazing music Warwick has made with other producers and writers, all but one of the songs presented featured both or one of the famous writing team.
Warwick scored a huge hit in the 1980s with Heartbreaker written and produced by The Bee Gees, and she worked with Barry Manilow and Luther Vandross, alas none of this was included. Regardless, it was delightful to spend the evening with an undeniable legend of the music business, and the standing ovation from fans at the end of the night was well deserved for an astounding career.
A new generation of music lovers may only know Warwick from Doja Cat sampling Walk on By on her song Paint the Town Red, which took out the top spot in the Triple J Hottest 100. Slightly older readers might best know her hits from their inclusion in the romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding. The works of Dionne Warwick are worth diving into – hit her up on Spotify or call out for Siri to play some Dionne Warwick tunes – they’re sensational.
