Luther Vandross Australian Premiere

After receiving a standing ovation at its World Premiere at Sundance this year, Sydney audiences can now get intimate with one of the finest soul/r’n’b singers to ever take up a microphone.

Luther: Never Too Much chronicles the story of an easy-on-the ear-and-eye vocal virtuoso whose career began at the epicentre of Black culture – Harlem’s Apollo Theatre – and included everything from singing on and arranging David Bowie’s iconic Young Americans album, to amassing 8 Grammy Awards and topping the charts with his still-ubiquitous crossover hit Never Too Much.

Using a wealth of rarely seen archives and Luther’s music, director Dawn Porter‘s lovingly made documentary allows Luther Vandross to tell his own story with assistance from folks like actor/singer Jamie Foxx (also one of the film’s producers) as well as some of Vandross’s closest friends and musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Fonzi Thornton, Nile Rodgers, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack. With a score by Robert Glasper, the film relives the many stunning moments of Luther’s musical career, while exploring his unrequited love life and sexual persuasion, health struggles and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved.

Having written many classic tunes and appeared on albums by top-shelf artists like Donny Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Donna Summer, Vandross’s velvet-voice was not only in demand but an international treasure.