Good evening all!

Within the very intimate setting of Lauderdale House in London, I find my eyes transfixed upon 2 performers. Hadley Fraser – in a casual blue shirt and grey skinny jeans – seats himself onto a high, metallic stool beside a beautiful piano and picks up his deep red guitar. He introduces his fellow band member, Ramin Karimloo – to whom the audience give a ‘whoop’ and a cheer – and then the magic begins…

Well that was later into the show, to be truthfully honest, I must start at the very beginning.

The Show Itself

Ashleigh Jones was a very strong supporting act. She came out with a bubbly personality, didn’t take herself too seriously and had lots of laughs with the audience. It created a great atmosphere for the rest of the gig and, with her providing the aptly named ‘cheese’ that was ‘Last Night of the World’, the serious stuff came later.

As Hadley and the band members of the Sheytoons and Knights of Hyperbole set up for the main event, a silence descended on the room. Only to be met by Hadley covering his eyes, saying “It’s so bright, I can’t hardly see you…” Several phenomenal musical theatre songs later, especially the song from ‘The Last Session’, Ramin moved from the window and came to sit beside him. On a rather shorter chair…some witty banter ensued…then all was silent…

To listen to ‘the story of how Ramin can’t write songs’, you’d laugh. But to hear the lyrics that were woven into the Sheytoons‘ powerfully emotional acoustic sound, you’d find yourself seeing that he is far too modest about his abilities as a songwriter. I would consider that, when people write songs, it’s a reflection of their soul…the souls of the Sheytoons are truly blessed with beauty. The performance of ‘Broken’ was preluded by a story of ironic injury but the song itself was…words cannot begin to express it. All I can say is that – should the Sheytoons release an album – they will be BIG!

A music sheet mishap later and a wise piece of knowledge from Ramin – ‘never stop in the middle of a hoe down’ – the evening seemed to be winding down. Just one Sting song left and then it would all be over…The words ‘stand up’ have never made me laugh so hard in my life! Seeing Ramin’s passive and rather vague posture go from bored to alert in the span of about a second caught everyone’s attention…from then on, that song became a classic! A truly inspiring evening! 10/10

After The Show

With the promise of a short pub visit (which didn’t happen, eventually), the whiff of a meeting was in the air. A meet that had been building up these past 2 years, ever since I saw Phantom of the Opera in the West End’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. Finally meeting Ramin was a dream come true. He was so down to earth, kind and the most genuine and easy to talk to person I have met (from the musical theatre world anyway!) and, as I – rather sheepishly – asked if I could have a photograph with him, he put down his guitar case, put on a smile and said “yes ma’am.”

And they said chivalry was dead!

So, after the photographs, we chatted for a while about how the Sheytoons should release an album, how his lyrics almost had me in tears and how I should go and say ‘hi’ at the Love Never Dies stage door sometime…

He was a wonderfully patient man, so sweet and kind-hearted. He shows a great amount of sincerity and has limitless admiration for his fellow performers. A really nice way to end the perfect Sunday! Thanks guys!

Katie x