Musical chameleon Angela Seeger has taken on the personas of Adele, Barbra Streisand, Janis Joplin, Pink, ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog and various other female singers. But none have come as naturally for the Niagara Falls-based performer as Annie Lennox.
Having only previously performed as the former lead singer of The Eurythmics for a three-song medley at a show in Mexico, the one-time Niagara-on-the-Lake resident debuts a full tribute to Lennox, called The Ultimate Diva, at Ravine Vineyards Event Centre on Friday, Oct. 25.
“Of all my personalities, Annie is the one that has always been there since I was a kid,” Seeger recently told The Local. “I was a huge fan of hers growing up. I sing to her seriously even when I’m not practising for a show. She is the closest to my natural voice of all the singers I do.”
With focused, steely eyes, Seeger explained that it’s challenging for her to maintain a Cockney accent while doing Adele, and the stern, raspy nature of Joplin’s voice takes a toll on her throat. In contrast, although Lennox was born and raised in Scotland, her accent is mild and fits easily into her range.
“She’s like my musical spirit animal,” Seeger adds, her close-cropped bleached hair hiding under a ball cap. The length and colour are perfect for the Lennox persona, though she insisted it was done for a recent performance as pop-rock singer-songwriter Pink.
Seeger is heading later that same day to Markham for a performance as Pink, one of many she has been doing in tandem with Welland’s Jessica Wilson, who takes on Taylor Swift for their shows billed as “So What - Shake it Off.” The double bill is the brainchild of Seeger’s business partner and manager, her one-time elementary school teacher Ken Lamb of St. Davids.
“I’ve been in this business for many years,” Seeger said. “I’ve been let down by people consistently, I’ve been lied to and cheated out of money. Ken is the first person who has actually had my best interests in mind. He’s an honest man who works his butt off for me.”
The Lennox debut at Ravine is the third collaboration between Seeger and Lamb through the organization they have started called Standing Ovation Tributes. She previously brought her Adele show and a tribute to the divas who sang theme songs for James Bond movies to the St. Davids winery. Both events sold out the 300-seat event centre.
What she does is more than music. The performer who has also appeared on stage in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Europe, Asia and Africa and headlined the showrooms on numerous cruise ships, says it can be more accurately described as musical theatre.
In conversation with The Local she slipped in and out of various accents and characters, sometimes breaking into a few lines from a song. She discussed the contact lenses and the need to drop a few pounds to convincingly play Lennox. And her phone was ready with a streaming playlist of Eurythmics and Lennox solo songs to practice during that day’s drive to Markham.
She’ll do two sets at Ravine, with the first half dedicated to songs that Lennox sang while a member of The Eurythmics, including Sex Crime (from the movie 1984), Don’t Ask Me Why and When Tomorrow Comes.
The second set will focus largely on Lennox’s first two solo albums - 1992’s Diva and Medusa, released three years later.
“The majority of the songs on Medusa were cover tunes,” Seeger said. “So I am going to do (Procul Harum’s) A Whiter Shade of Pale, Take Me to the River (made famous by The Talking Heads) and Neil Young’s Don’t Let it Bring You Down.”
She also promises soundtrack songs such as Into the West (from The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Love Song for a Vampire (from Bram Stoker’s Dracula), as well as Lennox’s Canadian number one hit No More I Love You’s.
Like the previous Ravine shows by Seeger there is a charitable element to the Oct. 25 event. A portion of proceeds will go toward local charities Red Roof Retreat and Newark Neighbours.
Tickets are $40 and available online. Doors open at 6:30 pm, with the show starting at 7:30.
