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Pipe major Peter
Doyle was on hand to herald the arrival of the assembling
throng at The Willows and there were plenty of other busy
helpers on the meet and greet front.
Photographer Peter Owen gave us a
touch of the paparazzi as he mixed and mingled with balloon
modeller Alan Russell, magician
Harry Robson, caricaturist
Kelly Cox and Collars and Cuffs
roaming muscleman
Troy Stevens and
his team of equally toned and stripped male helpers.
In the midst of balloon decor, supplied by
Les and June Ward and a huge chocolate fountain, supplied
by Cocoa Flo,
The John Gordon Jazz Quartet
were on hand in the foyer to ease the many guests, mainly from
the hotel and corporate entertainment market, into the
proceedings proper.
Unit One company director
Steve Sale donned his
best smart suit and assumed the role of the compere by
announcing the cabaret on and off, complete with a flood of
information about anything and everything showcase linked.
Sale informed us that the opening act
Lisa Lawson was “a
very classy lady indeed”. This sparkly gowned brunette singer
certainly looked a good bet for a singer at a wedding or similar
function. The ‘talking down’ of applause often indicates nerves
and/or inexperience. In this case however I thought that it was
more likely to indicate a lounge or function band singer, who
simply isn’t all that used to performing solo. A very sweet
voice though and a well sung version of Secret Love.
Six-piece party band
Pop Fiction were very
impressive indeed. With their male and female vocalists and four
good solid musicians, all of them looking smart and wholesome,
Pop Fiction are bound to be in demand as a function band. The
fact that each looked well turned out and performed party
favourites and dance floor hits from Wham, Simply Red and
Charlotte Church, all indicates that their preferred market is
the hotel and wedding scene, where I’m sure they are very busy
indeed.
Vittorio Pascarella is the name of an Italian tenor
who gave us a touch of Bocelli and of course the almost
obligatory Nessun Dorma.
Complete with the cool Italian swagger one would expect from
this type of performer, this immaculately dressed singer gave an
oddly languid performance, standing back somewhat from his
audience. Perhaps he wasn’t used to performing in front of a
noisy, party-type crowd like this one.
“Mikki Jay is Michael Jackson”,
intoned the compere and on moon-walked a whitish, pasty-faced
version of the troubled pop prince.
A live vocal here from Mikky Jay and lots of deflecting backing
vocals on the track, which created more than a little ambiguity
to be honest.
Mancini and the Hitmen are a four-piece semi-live
party band who gave us a disco party set, performed in segue
style.
With an outstanding female drummer and a girl singer who
twinkles away in the personality stakes out front, Mancini and
her Hitmen (and woman), were quite a hit.
I’m just guessing, however, that this function band would be
equally at home in a club or holiday centre but functions are
where the good money can be earned and this lively band are
certainly equipped to fill any dance floor at a corporate ‘do’
or a wedding.
Harry Cambridge is a very excellent
vocalist whose tribute to Luther Vandross makes him a pretty
busy member of the tribute fraternity.
Dance With My Father is a tough song to phrase and emphasise but
Cambridge made an attempt that was as good as any I have heard.
With comedy trio
Vice-Versa, we saw
three guys camping and vamping it up in drag. There were comedy
‘take-off’s’ of Stevie Wonder and The Darkness, all complete
with wigs, crazy costumes and huge fake willies. The humour was
of the fun and basic variety but the vocals during the
impressions was mostly live.
The market for Vice-Versa is most definitely clubs but I didn’t
see all that many club bookers in the audience.
Chick-A-Cheeta is an Abba girls
only duo, which should appeal to those on a budget, who want an
Abba act at a party but don’t have the money for a band.
There are one or two image problems to address here before
Chick-A Cheeta will be considered as anywhere near the top of
this particular branch of the tribute tree.
Matt Byrne is a
noted Robbie Williams tribute act and this guy has
the feel of a genuine entertainer in his own right with his high
energy and ‘up and at ‘em’ approach.
We were told that Byrne has just completed a summer season in
Blackpool and this may account for his slightly throaty vocal
delivery. However Byrne is a dead-ringer for ‘The Robster’ and
his place in the tribute market seems pretty much assured on
this showing.
There was no Elvis in this tribute-heavy showcase event but
there was a Jake and Elwood. The Blues
Bruvvers consist of a high energy Jake.
Closing the night were four dancing girls, who are collectively
known as
The Crazy Sexy Cool Show.
Some live vocals here but mainly a costumed dance-based act who
performed songs from The Pussycat Dolls and others, between a
succession of quick changes.
Unit One is ostensibly an entertainment
marketing company and in my view, the marketing side of this
showcase event was nothing short of excellent.
Perhaps a large stable of carefully selected managed acts could
be the next venture of this long established and recently
revamped company.
Production information
Willows Variety Centre, Salford , October 5
Producer: Gary Mac
Featuring: Lisa Lawson, Pop Fiction, Vittorio Pascarella, Mikki
Jay, Frankie Allen, Mancini and the Hitman, The Fake Bee-Gees,
Boney M, Harry Cambridge, Vice-Versa, Chick-A-Cheeta, Matt
Byrne, The Blues Bruvvers, The Crazy Sexy Cool Show |
