... Sheila Ferguson Green Room, Cafe Royal I talk back, says the former Three Degrees lead singer Sheila Ferguson to a well-intentioned heckler in the audience, and she means it. Combine this attitude with some powerhouse vocals, and the rowdiest of drunken Christmas party animals is likely to sit up and listen to this viva cious cabaret artist. Sophistication and intimacy may fall by the ...

... Moscow State Circus Clapham Common It is impressive to note that after almost nine months of touring, the artists of the Moscow State Circus are still performing with verve and enthusiasm. Even more so when it is in front of a dispiritingly small crowd. mt;ie are bume gurgwub and unusual acts, my favourite being the lovely Irina Pilipovitch on swinging trapeze, beautifully choreographed to ...

... 'Cos we can dance By LISA MARTLAND Contemporary music is always being affected by trends which come and go as quickly as the bands which follow them, but there is still a great deal of mileage left in seventies disco, as Paul Nicholas explained in Boogie Wonderland-the Story of Disco (R2, Saturday, November 28). It may be easy to make jokes about how insubstantial the decade's music was, ...

... BMHS Annual Ball Marriott Hotel British Music Hall Society's 35th Annual Ball kicked off with a host of celebrities, some performing and some content to sit and watch the antics, which bled a sort of A to Z of variety past and present. Top table guests included Roy Hudd and Debbie Flitcroft, both of whom made witty speeches, together with Glen Hayes and chairman John Roscoe. Special awards ...

... Corrigan Celebration Batley More than 300 people gathered in Batley Town Hall to pay tribute to James Corrigan, who put the Yorkshire mill town on the world map, by signing up such stars as Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield, and Gracie Fields. This event was organised by Maureen Prest and included a civic reception In which a cut- glass inscribed shield was pre sented to Corrigan (now 73 and ...

... Jimeoin Cochrane I rather regretted leaving my large holdall at the Cochrane's cloakroom before Jimeon's 90-minute show because the Northern Irish/Australian comic proved once again an ideal person to take home to perform a whisky-fuelled encore for my flatmates. Think of him regaling the throng with witty skits about an r old woman shocked to learn in the middle of the night that the Princess ...

... Simon Day Preston There has got to be a reason for a one man comedy show with no sets, no scene changes and no props other than a video screen to keep its audience waiting 35 minutes at Preston Guild Hall's recently revamped Charter Theatre. Simon Day is the latest of the Fast Show team to capitalise on the television series' success and risk headlining a solo show. Three of his four ...

... Blues Estafette Utrecht, Holland Considered by many aficionados of the genre to be Europe's principal blues festival, the 20th event lived up to the expectations of the thousands of blues-lovers attracted from all over the world. The all-American line-up showcased a number of artists rarely seen outsioe tneir nome country, several of whom have never found their way to the UK. Colourfully ...

... Chuckles for a cheeky chappie Apollo Jeff Green--Love Bites When asked to compare his sell-out season at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with appearing in his West End debut, Jeff Green remarked that the West End demands something more august. He is spot-on with his recognition of that fact, but whether he actually abides by this observation is another point entirely. Certainly ...

... Pizza on the Park To see a good singer obviously enjoying performing is always attractive, and it was clear that was having a good time during her varied set at Pizza on the Park's Music Room. Her sunny disposition was evident from the moment she launched into her opening num ber, Goody Goody, and when there were opportunities to be playful and saucy with the audi ence the singer embraced ...

... Average White Band Blackpool Twenty-three years in popular music is a long time. Some performers retire for good, some watch tribute bands playing their music and some reinvent them- selves with a new line-up and some old material. Into this last category comes I the Average White Band origi nally a Scottish outfit which in the mid-seventies proved you did not i have to be black and American ...

... Red Roses, Blue Ladies BAC It has been a genuine pleasure encountering Barb Jungr in her new show. It has also been rather a frustrating encounter. The programme digs away at the thornier side of love, the blues ever-present in the wings, but the evening remained too unfocused i iiiw uiv iuu ivi gUIIUIUUJ Ol IC\* dotal linkage neither sharpens the focus nor opens it out. Jungr possesses a ...