... Golden era's sumptuous tunes The John Wilson Orchestra Pizza on the Park As a sumptuous reminder of how good the popular music of an earlier era is. John Wilson's superb orchestra, rich in warm fifties- style string sounds and boasting a repertoire of 20th century classics, would be hard to beat. Wilsons own arrangements, as well as those by legends such as Robert Farnon, are handled ...

... Taste of American Home life By JOHN MARTLAND Although many examples of American television humour, such 1 as Friends and Frasier, are permanently available in Britain, we rarely experience anything from the vast number of US radio stations But just a few weeks ago, the cult variety show A Prairie Home Companion (co-produced by Minnesota Public Radio and Radio Scotland for R4, Saturday, ...

... Barry Mason--Remember Delilah Blackpool There are singers of songs, writers of songs and singer/songwriters. Blackpool-raised Barry Mason falls into the second of these categories. Mason penned the words to songs with sales of around 50 million since the early sixties, so who cares if his delivery of them is not quite as polished as that of Tom Jones (Delilah) or Engelbert Humperdinck (The ...

... 51st Annual Blackpool Command Performance Blackpool Packed to capacity, a Horsehoe Bar audience consisting mainly of prominent northern clubland figures gathered for a show which has become a key date in the clubland calendar. Backing musicians Steve Cox and Tony Lea could have been a much more substantial asset to the event had their sound been better balanced. They were not loud enough to ...

... Rising stars raising laughs Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2000 Walking into the foyer of this famous venue, it is easy to imagine the ghosts of audiences past roaring with laughter at the great comics who have trodden its boards. The fresh-faced comedians on trial at this year's final had battled their way through heats held in an adjacent pub over the past few months. Arthur Smith ...

... Sacha Distel Isle of Wight The French star arrived at Warner's luxurious Bembridge Coast Hotel to make a rare appearance at a British holiday centre. Amazingly, it is now 30 years since he enjoyed real stardom in this country with Palladium seasons and Royal Variety Shows. Now in his late sixties, Sacha Distel still cuts an elegant figure, but it was a shame that he did not work his ...

... Metropolis Kabarett Terrace Cafe, National Theatre There is something quite bizarre about this all new, late night dinner and cabaret, watched by the supposed cultural elite of London. It is almost as if a high percentage of the audience are being mocked by those on stage, and they either do not realise it or simply do not care. The show itself, directed and devised by award-winning actor ...

... The Millennium Show Millennium Dome The Dome's new dance extravaganza devised by Mark Fisher, no less, with music by Peter Gabriel is fantastically spectacular, but, like Greenwich's overgrown tent itself, a shade hollow. Why we British have an obsession with mediocrity and a fear of taking risks, I do not know. But the resources these 26 performers have at their disposal (57 winches is a lot ...

... Jont Ronnie Scott's Boasting plentiful stage presence and charisma as well as a superb voice, Jont powered his way through an attention-grabbing performance that was rich in both variety and musicianship. The singer and guitarist's range encompasses music varying from the folk-inspired to more pop directed approaches, delivered in a manner which is at times reminiscent of performers such as ...

... Pride of the Clyde Glasgow Johnny Beattie seems to be an old friend of every member of this show's audience--and it is mutual. The crowd knows the jokes and the songs, but Beattie trusts them not to shout out the punchlines. From the traditional accor dion of Ian Muir to Russel Lane's fabulous Calum Kennedy pastiche, there is something for everyone. But, like Scotland itself, it has its ...

... Perrier Young Jazz Awards 2000 Cafe de Paris Big-name judges such as vocalist Salena Jones and saxophonist Jean Toussaint, chaired by journalist Jack Massarik, selected this year's pick of the bunch from three categories--musicians, bands and vocalists. Each of the performers, who had won through a long series of heats to reach the final stage, was given ten minutes in which to shine before an ...

... Mixed sample of Berlin style Drill Hall Berlin Brecht Calling the audience pinheads at the outset and then ordering them to sit down may have seemed a good way of giving the contemporary theatregoer a brief taste of Bertolt Brecht's twenties Berlin. But the subsequent interpretations of his songs and poems failed to live up to that initial deliberate rudeness and lacked bite. Apparently, ...