Friendship in blue and white
Seven leading ladies get together for Muang Thai's traditional complimentary concert
Some of Thailand’s best-loved female singers got together on stage last Sunday for a concert organised by Muang Thai Insurance at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani.
The Friendship Concert, as the show was dubbed, was a joyful event with the seven GMM singers, old pals who call themselves “The Seven”, belting out mega hits for an enthusiastic 8,500-strong audience who had all received complimentary tickets.
Suwimol “Mai” Charoenpura, Marsha Vadhanapanich, Saowaluck “Amp” Leelabut, Myria “Nat” Benedetti, Nicole Theriault,
Pakkaramai “Tong” Potranan and Haruthai “Au” Muangbunsri were joined on stage by the only male guest J Jetrin Wattanasin and Muang Thai Insurance president and chief executive, Nualphan “Pang” Lamsam, who is also the well-liked manager of the Thai football national women's team and a talented singer in her own right.
The event was Muang Thai Insurance’s seventh complimentary concert. The shows are held almost every year, though not on a fixed schedule, with the first featuring veteran diva Nantida Kaewbuasai, another ’80s string combo The Impossible and yet another focusing on the compositions of His Majesty the King.
For this year’s event, the ladies dressed in blue and white outfits, the colour of Muang Thai Insurance and performed on a simply arranged stage so as not to dominate the company’s theme.
They were accompanied by a live band, who was placed so far to the left of the stage that it was almost impossible to see its members or their instruments. Compensation came in the form of an elaborate light show and seven large-sized screens, three of which were displayed on the stage and offered regular close-ups of the artists.
The ladies performed their own hits and those of other GMM stars, regularly walking out on the E-shaped catwalks to greet the audience.
The programme had indicated that J would be the last onstage but that honour was handed to Mai, who well deserved the encores.
The show wrapped three hours of energetic performances with Nualphan joining the entire cast on stage for Thongchai Bird McIntyre’s eponymous hit “Lao Soo Kan Fang”.
