Format: Music Show
Genre: Pop
Date: March 26 2019
Location: Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
This unique show was dedicated primarily to the music of Tom Jones, as well as other leading performers from the unforgettable decade that was the Sixties.
The night began with background commentary about the events of the time. Then entered the three singers who represented The Shades Of The 60s, along with two dancers called The Pussycats. The girls began with a variety of well-known 60s tunes, such as Twist & Shout, Some Other Girl, Let’s Twist Again and Do You Love Me. They were all adequate performers, with some strange facial expressions at times! The Shades were interestingly introduced as Lola (a nod to The Kinks), Michelle (a reference to The Beatles) and Delilah (referencing Tom Jones), all of whom delivered good harmonies as the show progressed.
Daniel Chettoe then came on as Tom Jones himself, singing It’s Not Unusual (his first #1 record) followed by What’s New Pussycat, to which the audience sang along. His next song took us to the Ballards with I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, and Till was also very good, as was I Who Have Nothing. The mannerisms had mixed success, but he did a good job in the role.
We were then joined again by the girls, who did the Thunderball song, all of whom were very authentic, backed up by the Bond Girl costumes. After we’re reminded of Tom winning a Grammy Award, we were treated to Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow with great harmonies, as well as his #1 in Ireland, Just Help Yourself, followed by A Little Help From My Friends and the very popular She’s A Lady. There were big moments, but the first half lacked something at times.
The second half again featured commentary of the times and familiar background music. The girls sang You Can’t Hurry Love, I Only Wanna Be With You, You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me and Shout, which got the audience going quite a bit! Solo performances followed as Delilah sang Danny Boy, Lola sang Da Doo Ron Ron and Michelle sang Respect. The dancers also reappeared during this section. The girls then mixed the set with Tom for the Full Monty-related hit You Can Leave Your Hat On, which was a good performance by all.
Kiss by Prince was another hit for Tom that was performed here, and Daniel Chettoe threw in the swivelling hips for our enjoyment! He then sang Give A Little Love, Burning Down The House and Mama Told Me Not To Come, all of which were strong efforts. After we’re told of when Tom became a Sir, the show wound down by going back to the beginning with The Green Green Grass Of Home, during which Daniel sounded remarkably like the real Tom. The show finished with Sex Bomb and, finally, Delilah, with the crowd all being encouraged to join in.
The second half was better than the first, and all of the performers worked really hard and gave it their all. I still felt something was missing, a bit of “wow factor” perhaps? It was definitely a fun night of entertainment, though, and it reminded me of a very good cruise act. Overall, every performer made a strong effort, providing an authentic and professional show.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 – Good
