Track #3 (of 5): Bow Wow Wow @Copa Room, Tuscany Suites & Casino
Annabella Lwin kicks things into high gear. (Image: Sally Steele)
Annabella Lwin of the UK’s Bow Wow Wow is a true post-punk/New Wave survivor and icon. She was only 15 when their cover of “I Want Candy” was released—amid the sexual controversy their manager Malcolm (Sex Pistols) McLaren cooked up. The band broke up in 1983 after their second full album was released, with Annabella carrying on as a solo artist.
In front of an exuberant crowd at the Copa Room inside Tuscany Suites, Annabella played to all her strengths with her still girlish-sounding voice, infectious stage presence, and uplifting spiritual stage banter. She benefited from having an ace American band that unfurled the Burundi-beat, rumbling bass, and surf guitar-style lines of “I Want Candy,” over which her voice effortlessly glided. Annabella also reeled in the audience with another Bow Wow Wow hit, the melodic and strongly rhythmic pop gem “Do You Wanna Hold Me?” and her 1986 solo cover of the Peggy Lee classic “Fever.”
Near the end of the show, Annabella said, "Everything you do from here on out defines you.” These words-to-live-by resonated strongly in these chaotic and polarizing times. It’s always refreshing and meaningful when musicians not only deliver their songs onstage but share an informed social consciousness.
