My first memory of Bryan Adams goes back to 1992. I watched Adams for the very first time live on television performing (Everything I Do) I Do It For You at the Academy Awards where the song was nominated in the ‘Best Original Song’ category for the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Yes, it was the first time that I heard the man and that song, and like any great song, it stayed with me. That was it. Here was an incredible voice, a ‘mellow Springsteen’, effortlessly singing to a pristine piano and some overdriven guitars that would eventually define the music of the 1990s for an entire generation. I distinctly remember walking all the way to Rhythm, our go-to music shop in Treasure Island and asking for an album by Bryan Adams. I returned home with Waking Up The Neighbours, Adams’ sixth studio album featuring (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.

Yet, the evening at Aquatica seemed as though no time had passed. Even though much has changed, the voice remained the same. Adams, 65, was pitch-perfect as he belted out hit after hit. The familiar guitar riffs and the soaring voice started an electrifying momentum as soon as Adams stepped onto the stage playing the bass with Can’t Stop This Thing We Started.

The four-piece electric band moved onto their chart-topper Somebody and kept the drive intact with 18 Till I Die. Then came one of the purest musical moments of the night as Adams took a walk around the stage, came close to his mic and sang Please Forgive Me, which remains one of the most memorable slow rock ballads of all time. This live version strengthened my belief in the brilliance of his voice. It was one of the many moments of the evening that will stay with many of us for a long time.

Shine A Light and Take Me Back preceded a new version of Heaven. The four-piece band featured the great Keith Scott on the lead guitars, Gary Breit on the piano, and Pat Steward on the drums while Adams kept shifting from the bass to the electric guitar to the acoustic guitar. In fact there was no bass in most of the songs when both Adams and Scott played guitars. One is reminded of The Doors. The sound was bang on. Nothing else mattered.

Adams unassumingly playing the blues harp on a holder with his acoustic guitar on Go Down Rockin’, a simple straight-up rock ’n’ roll song was a distinct change in the sound. Here was another side of Bryan Adams which I hadn’t heard. It was right at that moment when he turned around and asked the audience: “Is every concert in this town like this?” I don’t think this city has ever had such a huge superstar with so many hits performed live.

Over the years, the city has had the pleasure of witnessing a few international acts but none of them have over 100 million records sold worldwide. Here was a superstar with 16 Grammy nominations, playing his greatest hits spanning over four decades right in front of our eyes. Here was Bryan Adams talking about the legendary Tina Turner and singing It’s Only Love, which he recorded with Turner in 1985. Here, Keith Scott took the spotlight to play an incredible guitar solo. Keith has been playing lead guitars with Adams since 1976. The camaraderie between the two seemed magnetic when Scott took to the front stage to do an impromptu jig during a ‘Rockabilly’ which also featured a delectable cover of Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes.

This was followed by a magical transition into Cloud Number Nine, an Adams classic. The muted guitars on this particular version sounded ethereal when I turned around to see a half moon up in the sky and thousands below singing: “Tonight you will be mine, up on cloud number nine.” Adams took to his bass once again on The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me, another chart-topper. Scott’s restrained use of the phaser gave the song an edge that was astutely complemented by a controlled drum solo by Pat Steward.

Here I Am, one of his more popular songs in India according to Adams himself was performed as a duet. With Gary Breit on the piano and Adams on acoustic guitars, it was a singalong and as usual, my city which never ceases to amaze responded loud and clear. One by one the musicians stepped out quietly, leaving Adams alone on stage. It was time for a solo. Adams and his Martin delivered an austere rendition of When You’re Gone, perhaps one of the most soulful moments of the show. Soon the band was back with a reggae version of Always Have, Always Will.

And then it happened. One of those moments that happens once in a lifetime. I’ve had a few and this one got added to that list. Bryan Adams sang (Everything I Do) I Do It For You right in front of me and I sang along. Everything else faded and it was just me and the song. Nothing to justify, Nothing to prove. It’s simple. Something I grew up with.

Slowly but surely the evening moved on with the classic Run To You, Back To You, and then suddenly an epic electric guitar riff from Adams’ hollow body electric guitar grabbed the audience by their neck. One could actually hear thousands of voices singing Summer of ’69, which is perhaps the single most requested song by any audience at a Bryan Adams concert. It was no different that evening.

A remarkable take home for me was the fact that all the popular guitar riffs of the songs were played by Adams himself. Here was a 65-year-old artiste who churned out global chart-toppers in almost every album of his over the last four decades and almost everything that we remember about the songs came from the man and his sensibilities. Many of my friends and colleagues find Adams a little too simplistic and sentimental. However, that evening reaffirmed my belief in one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of our time.

At 65, Adams is still a busy music maker. There were no pyrotechnics and gimmicks other than a full-sized inflatable flying car, which floated over the arena during the track So Happy It Hurts. The staging was rather minimal with mostly stark black and white visual footage in the backdrop giving just the right amount of contrast to the coloured spotlights on stage. The fireworks, however, were in the voice of a guitar-wielding star who walked up to the stage and said, “Welcome to the show. I’m Bryan. We’ve prepared a long night for you. I’m gonna try and fit in as many songs as I can remember.” It was my wife’s first time at a rock concert featuring an international artiste. And I am so glad that it was Bryan Adams.