Hail to Connie, the Queen of Hong Kong
By Cora Francis

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre - May 13, 2006

"Hail to Hong Kong." That was how Connie signed a photo of the Hong Kong skyline for me. Well, "Hail to Connie." What a performance she gave us. The Chinese audience at 5,500 was different from what we are accustomed to and although they clapped politely after every song, it wasn't until Connie had performed her encore that they showed their true appreciation of her performance, giving her a standing ovation.

Connie looked beautiful in a red dress (a lucky color in China), was at her best and it was wonderful to hear her perform songs that she has not included for many years. Her renditions of "Follow the Boys," "Second Hand Love," "High Noon," "Never on Sunday" and "Roman Guitar" were exceptional. She had obviously worked very hard on these and also sang full versions of
her hits, which I prefer.

The day before her performance she had worked with a new backup singer, and together they did a wonderful job. The day after the show, Connie took several fans and friends out for High Tea at a famous hotel in Hong Kong and everyone had a laughter-filled afternoon.

God bless you, Connie, for all the joy you give.

More Praise for Connie:

The concert was fabulous. It was her best concert in years. --Terry Hall

Connie did one fantastic show, was in great voice and what a pleasure to hear her perform so many new songs. I loved the way she did all the hits in their entirety rather than in a medley. My most favorite has to be "Follow The Boys." "Second Hand Love" was stunning, and the backup singer’s (Scotty) harmonies with Connie made it sound as if you were listening to the dual-tracked recorded version. The biggest applause from the Chinese audience was for "When The Boy In Your Arms," which Connie did a great job on. For her encore Connie did "Where The Boys Are," stating she would have liked to have sung it in Chinese. -- Eric Beesley