The Swinging 60s and Seventies

They say if you remember the Sixties then you weren’t really there. Well I certainly was there and covered many of the songs of the era in my time as a pop singer. How delightful to hear so many again in a live setting.

Doug Williams has created an entertaining pastiche of the music of the era, linked by the memories of an old, retired couple, Alf and Betty, as they work their way through the hits of two decades. There are 38 songs from 20 years of the very best era of pop music, a great selection of ballads and upbeat numbers. True, there are some glaring omissions - but you can’t have everything, and some songs are still subject to copyright.

An enthusiastic cast tackles the songs with energy, and though the balance between ballads and up-tempo numbers is sometimes off kilter, it’s governed by what was a hit that year.

Despite some really good singing, the highlight of the night was the one mimed track.

Doug Williams, in his retirement home nightshirt and pushing a walker, had the audience in stitches with his rendition of Ray Stevens’ “Ahab The Arab”. His natural flair for comedy and great timing made a feast of the novelty number.

Other comic delights came from The Righteous Brothers (Gerald Rascionato and Dan Benmayor) wrestling over just one microphone for “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling”  and the wonderful Cameron Bracken cutting Deborah-Joy Sykes skirt shorter and shorter until it was almost non-existent. Luckily it didn’t distract from Deborah-Joy’s impressive voice in “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” – a boring song without the comic relief.

There were great numbers to dance to  - Cameron’s “I Go to Rio” was a delight, as was Gerald’s “Crocodile Rock”, while Donna McGlinn reminded us of the style and glamour of both decades with “Those Were the Days” and  Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”.

But it was Dan and the entire company bopping to The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A” that had many of us on our feet (myself included) dancing in tribute to an era that will never come again but we will never forget. Even the youngsters in the audience loved it.

A fun night out for everybody, but especially those of us old enough to remember.

Coral Drouyn