... The Fourmost Wakefield With a string of top ten hits to their name in the late sixties, the Liverpool-based four-piece band the Fourmost, with two original members, are still gigging heavily and providing nostalgia fans with a fast moving set of ditties. Their hour-long set is made up of renditions of their own old hits, such as A Little Lovin' and Hello Little Girl, and covers of other ...

... Thunder from Down Under Peterborough All the raw energy and candour of young Australia is here at the Key, from the moment loud rock music builds, clouds of dry ice clear, and the lightshow reveals the muscular silhouettes of this talented group of extremely fit, handsome young men. It goes without saying they all have tremendous physiques, but their friendly, good-humoured approach is what ...

... Show Toppers Paignton Show Toppers is another building block in the Torbay summer sea son. It is a modest affair at the Festival Theatre but aims high, seeking to present highlights from hit West End musicals, songs and some production numbers. Four singers, Mitchell i Armstrong, Lorraine Brown, David i Lawrence and Natalie Cleverly, rattle through excerpts from West i Side Story, Miss Saigon, ...

... Spike Robinson Quartet UCS Theatre Before the advent of John Coltrane, jazz tenor saxophonists tended to line up stylistically behind Lester Young or Coleman Hawkins. Young's lighter, more oblique approach attracted many followers, among them Spike Robinson, bom in Wisconsin but now a Brit by adoption, and still committed to the engagingly lucid improvisatory line developed by such other ...

... The Fabulous Rock, Rock. Rock Show Torquay To pack the English Riviera Centre is a feat in itself and seldom, if ever, have I seen a standing ovation at the end of a performance. But that is exactly what was achieved by the cast of The Fabulous Rock, Rock, Rock Show. Conceived and produced by Anne George of Trevor George Entertainments UK, this is a scintillating, fast-moving show that will ...

... John Shenley The Coach Stop The toast of Memphis came home as he rocked his enthusiastic audience at The Coach Stop, North Finchley. Jonn snenley, whose real name is John Incenzo, began rocking as a spotty-faced teenager, and over the years has worked with the best of them including being a regular member of the backing band for PJ Proby. After just completing a suc cessful three-month stint ...

... Keith Smith/ 'Fabulous Fats' Harrow Keith Smith creates new touring jazz shows at the drop of a crotchet, it seems. This one celebrates the musical legacy of the much-loved pianist/composer Thomas 'Fats' Waller. Sticking largely to the format developed by Waller himself, the programme combines quintet numbers, solo features, and a sprinkling of cheery vocals. For this kind of thing to work ...

... Palestrina Royal Opera House The life of the composer, Hans Pfitzner, and the style, rather than the substance of the music, are more interesting than the opera itself. In truth it is a very dull, undramatic affair, with a 105-minute opening act that, for most of its length, has only four characters on stage, though never ail at the same time. There is Palestrina himself, heartbroken after ...

... La Boheme Glasgow For a solid rendition of a classic work, Scottish Opera's La Boheme seems a safe bet once more this winter. In Daniel Slater's production, the orchestra, conducted by Stephen Clark, is excellent throughout and each of the leads sing finely Rodolfo (Ian Storey), Mimi (Elizabeth Collier), Marcello (David Barrell), and Musetta (Ann Archibald) showering the audi ence with the ...

... The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook Show Pizza on the Park There will never be another singer like Ella Fitzgerald, but the ladies who paid tribute to her musical memory at Pizza on the Park have no need to stand too much in her shadow. insteaa, Barbara Jay, Maxine Daniels and Tina May offer their own versions of those songs we associate with such a memorable performer, and acknowledge the great ...

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... Girly show still packs a punch Vaudeville It, Wit, Don't Give a Shit Girls Just when I was beginning to bemoan the lack of intimate revue nowadays, it returns in the form of Fascinating Aida, back in the West End after a two-year absence. For those of us who saw the show at the Garrick, this latest offering holds few surprises, and yet that does not seem to matter a great deal. Adele Anderson, ...