George Benson loses his voice at Royal Albert Hall concert

George Benson fans were left disappointed last night when the 10-time Grammy Award winner lost his voice during a concert

George Benson fans were left disappointed last night when the 10-time Grammy Award winner lost his voice during a concert.  

Performing before a packed Royal Albert Hall, the legendary US star, aged 75, had to quit the stage when his voice failed to reach any of the numbers that adoring fans had paid up to £250 to hear. 

Many had travelled across the UK and booked expensive London hotels expecting a night to remember. 

Instead, they heard boos and shouts of ‘give us our money back’ from the normally-reserved rows of spectators. 

Many left their seats and headed for the exits as Benson tried to get through the concert by strumming guitar instrumental hits such as ‘Breezin’. 

After the third track, Benson spoke into the microphone, his hoarse voice explaining that he would need time before he was ready to sing. 

He broke off three times for glasses of water and a throat spray, relying heavily on his six-piece band for support. 

As the concert continued, there were angry clashes among the audience. A loud shout of ‘Boring!’ greeted the start of another instrumental, immediately drowned out by applause from ardent fans; some even started dancing to try to show they were having a good time. 

Clearly prompted by complaints from early leavers demanding refunds, a female official of the Royal Albert Hall appeared on the stage and gestured to George Benson to start singing. 

He tried ‘On Broadway’, but gave up after the first few lines. He then quit the stage, having been on for about 30 minutes, leaving his drummer to perform a lengthy solo. 

Performing before a packed Royal Albert Hall, the legendary US star, 75, had to quit the stage when his voice failed to reach the numbers that adoring fans had paid up to £250 to hear

Performing before a packed Royal Albert Hall, the legendary US star, 75, had to quit the stage when his voice failed to reach the numbers that adoring fans had paid up to £250 to hear

An official then appeared saying; ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, George is desperately sorry that he’s unable to sing this evening. You’ve probably heard him try. Why would he ever let you down? He’s never, ever let you down. 

‘So please, ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your tickets and you will be contacted in due course as to how we are going to go forward. This was most unexpected and he’s so sorry.’ 

But the show did go on as percussionist Lilliana de los Reyes stepped forward to perform a spectacular version of ‘Get Here’ – made famous by Oleta Adams – receiving a standing ovation from the fans who stayed. 

Twitter reaction was swift. Denis Whipp tweeted: ⁩ ‘Thoroughly disappointed with tonight’s non-concert. Should have been cancelled.’ 

George @TheHaff92: ‘Disappointing night ⁦‪@RoyalAlbertHall‬⁩ for ⁦‪@GBguitar‬⁩ #GeorgeBenson, who has lost his voice. Should have been cancelled, but doubt we’ll get refunds.’ 

Colin Wood: ’35mins into George Benson and he’s hardly sung a note. He’s obviously not up to singing. If it was billed as an acoustic set, fair enough, but I paid £150 to see him sing. Never left a gig early but…….’ 

Nick Corbin @NickCorbinMusic tweeted: ‘Absolutely disgusted by some of the behaviour I witnessed at @royalalberthall tonight. #georgebenson had clearly lost his voice so stuck mostly to instrumentals, only to be booed.’



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