Stevie Wonder- a child prodigy and complete genius.

 Stevie Wonder- a child prodigy and complete genius. 

Every so often the BBC get it exactly right with their scheduling. It was Saturday evening, Storm Eunice was still howling and whistling outside, the wintry rains and winds were still at their peak and all you wanted was a comfortable spot on your sofa and the musical magician who is Stevie Wonder. BBC Two and BBC Four are very much the easy going and accessible channels to feast your eyes on when a nostalgic helping is required and all you want to do is remember the greatest singer and musician ever to walk our lovely planet.

Last night BBC2 excelled itself with an effusively glowing homage to Stevie Wonder, the legendary song writer, singer and multi instrumentalist who can probably make a comb and a piece of paper sound sexy and seductive. Of course we've heard of Stevie Wonder. We once became aware of his extraordinary talent as a youngster on a family holiday in Spain during the 1970s when you discovered a very slim biography of the  man's astonishing achievements.

You were told that when little Stevie was given a harmonica for one of his childhood birthdays he'd more or less mastered it almost immediately. He blew the said mouth organ and the music that emerged from so young and tender an age would be the foundation stone for a career that blossomed into superstardom from his late teens. The lyrics would come much later of course but the voice was sufficiently powerful, the phrasing of his songs would become the finished article and the delivery on stage became flawless. 

It is hard to understand the profound impact that his songs had on us, the  range, the sheer lyrical content of his songs because none of us were aware of the sheer magnitude of his vast back catalogue of love songs, reggae, cool soul, the funky electronic synth beat and tempo and the amazing stature of the man. From the earliest days of Ma Cherie Amour, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Uptight, followed by the record breaking Innervisions album which was released during the early 1970s, Wonder seemed to accomplish so much within such a short space of time and Motown records could not have been happier. 

The BBC of course did their utmost to make the most flattering of presentations in recognition of who Stevie was, is and always will be. Stevie Wonder at the BBC showed Wonder at his most relaxed, laid back and nonchalant, a chatty, tongue in cheek, friendly, enormously engaging personality who would tinkle the ivories of his piano in a very modest, self effacing fashion. 

The hits flowed from his studios like placid water on a lake, a meandering river that just keeps going on and on. Superstition and Higher Ground were definitive masterpieces, full of energy, confidence, charisma, polished funk and the most magical aura about them. Stevie at a piano was rather like a landscape artist at his easel, tweaking sounds, experimenting with radical variations on a theme and then just throwing himself  wholeheartedly into the movement and direction of the song without ever seemingly trying.

The kaleidscopic impact of his dreadlocks and kaftans became his personal fashion statement. Master Blaster, Stevie's heartfelt homage to the great Bob Marley, sounded as if  he'd just immersed himself in the whole era of Marley's finest years. He was jamming with all the consummate flair of those who find themselves on a Caribbean beach with several glasses of rum, tequilla and jerk chicken just to add spice to the occasion. 

But there was the breadth and mind blowing originality of Stevie's compositions that made the hairs at the back of your head stand up in admiration. Songs in the Key of Life is undoubtedly your personal favourite album and it remains an incomparable work of art. I Wish, Sir Duke, As, Higher Ground, Isn't She Lovely and a whole host of others just washed over you like a cooling breeze from a Mediterranean beach. They were the products of an artistic mind that simply kept delivering gems and diamonds that would always be remembered in much the way that Charles Dickens can still be recalled over 150 years after his death. 

Then the equally as celebrated album In Square Circle was given a deserved mention. Overjoyed is just the most beautiful love song, a moving and tender love letter, a declaration of love for ever and ever and quite the most adorable piece of music in Stevie's long and wondrous career. Then there were the traditional party songs such as I Just Called to Say I Love You, Happy Birthday, Wonder's lingering nod to Nelson Mandela and the wonderful You Are the Sunshine of My Life, just the most perfectly crafted song.

And so we were left breathless at the end of an evening of concerts, interviews, snapshot images of the great man himself and the music. We saw Stevie accompanied by his loyal and faithful guitarists and drummers, yet more funky beats, the warmth of Wonder's smile and so much more that was good about him.

 You count yourself enormously privileged to have seen Stevie Wonder, the man in concert, twice but realise that his devoted fans can never get enough of his prodigious output. He is now 70 and, quite possibly semi retired but you will never forget where you were when you first heard his name and his music. It was just the most incredible day of your adolescence and that was all that mattered.