Albert Hammond has written, sung and produced hundreds of songs over the years, and it’s a fair bet that one of those songs forms part of a soundtrack in your life without you even realising it. Many of those songs were performed to great effect at Newport Riverfront on Tuesday evening as part of Albert’s current Songbook Tour. Among the tracks performed were It Never rains In Southern California, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, Little Arrows, When I Need You, One Moment in Time, and I’m A Train.

The upbeat pace set by Albert and his four-piece band flowed from spiritual (Praise The Lord) to blues (Smokey Factory Blues), as Albert peppered each track with an anecdote about song inspirations or collaborations with greats such as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Joe Cocker .

Rounding off the two hours the audience were pleasantly surprised when Albert put down his guitar and stepped off the stage to shake their hands as he performed When You Tell Me That You Love Me, a song written for his wife. A fabulous encore followed including his worldwide smash Free Electric Band and a rendition of The Air That I Breathe.

Versatile and uplifting, Albert Hammond’s Songbook Tour is an unmissable music treat, be sure to catch him the next time he visits the UK!