Yes, I know it isn’t really rock, but it is still fun! A few years ago, I vowed never to attend a 60s revival tour again. I found them cringy; and full of really old people dancing in a very embarrassing way! Roll on some years and I have gone back on my decision. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, I realise that I love 60s music and it was the soundtrack to my childhood and early youth. Secondly, I have lost any concerns of going to see bands with very few, or no, original members. I now take the view that I will enjoy the songs, even the lineup is not 100% authentic. Finally, I am now myself a really old person and I fit in with the crowd! So let the fun begin. This was the 60s gold tour.
Darlington Hippodrome is a lovely old theatre which I have visited several times over the years, including taking my daughter to see the Chuckle Brothers in pantomime. Good fun! This time I was going to witness a collection of bands from the 1960s. There were 7 acts in the concert so it was jampacked and very tightly timed.
First up was the Fourmost, who enjoyed a golden era of hits including “Hello Little Girl” “I’m in Love” and the classic1964 hit “a Little Lovin”. Well, they performed all of those hits in their allocated 12 minute slot. Not sure if there are any original members in the band but sounded pretty authentic anyway and were a good opening and.
The 2nd group was Gerry’s Pacemakers, the band who used to back up the late great Gerry Marsden. They performed some of Gerry’s massive hits, including “I like It”, “ How Do You Do It”, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, and “Ferry Cross The Mersey”. Quite entertaining.
Next up was someone who is 100% authentic, 82 years old and still in great voice. Dave Berry has his own individual style, including those hand movements across his face and performed chart-topping hits, including my favourite “The Crying Game” (which featured, on the original 45, Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan on guitar: fantastic), “Little Things” “Memphis Tennessee” and “Mama”. Excellent.
Closing the first set was my main reason for going. Now when I was around 12 or 13 years old, I had several heroes. These included of course the Beatles and the Stones. However, on a Saturday morning I would attend a kids disco at Sunderland Top Rank Suite (The Rink). I would try and dress like a young mod and I modelled myself on Barry Ryan, Steve Marriott and the man who I was about to see: the one and only main mod man Steve Ellis, the original lead vocalist and founder of Love Affair who had five Top 20 singles, “Rainbow Valley”, “Bringing On Back The Good Times”, “A Day Without Love” and their classic No.1 “Everlasting Love”. Steve still looks and sounds great. Very much the Cockney swagger growing old disgracefully mod. He performed all of the aforementioned songs, and also included a great cover of Small Faces’ “all or nothing” in tribute to “the boys” and the other Steve (Marriott). I think I will be seeing Steve again on another 60s concert tour very soon. Time for a pint of Guinness.
Interval
Opening the second half of the show was Herman’s Hermits, who are led by the only original member Barry Whitwam, the drummer who looks great and is 87 years old. They were, of course, one of the biggest selling bands of the 60s The band has chalked up 23 hit singles, 10 hit albums, and have sold in excess of 75 million records. They performed very good renditions of ‘There’s A Kind Of Hush’, “Wonderful World”, “A Must To Avoid”, “I’m Henry the Eighth I Am ” and others.
Next, we were treated to a performance of Searchers hits performed by current member Spencer James who has been with the band since 1986. They performed great versions of those wonderful hit songs, including “Needles And Pins”, “Don’t Throw Your Love Away” “Sweets For My Sweet” and many more.
Closing the show was the consummate professional Marmalade, who I have seen before and always put on a great show. The band does have a link to the originals through front man Sandy Newman, who joined Marmalade around 50 years ago and was on their last hit “Falling Apart at the Seams”, which they performed along with the classic pop songs, with their great harmonies, “Lovin’ Things”, ‘Reflections Of My Life”, “Falling Apart At The Seams”, and their Lennon & McCartney composed No 1 smash hit “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” which closed the show.
A marathon of 60s hits, all good fun. Steve Ellis was worth the ticket price on his own! He remains a cool mod and a great hero of mine. Many thanks to Jan and Chris for the images.
Some time ago I promised myself I would never again go to a 60s show. Too cheesy. Too embarrassing. Too many people dancing around in an unbecoming manner! However this one tempted me for several reasons. Firstly it featured my hero PJ Proby. Secondly I always fancied seeing Marmalade. I have a vague memory of seeing them at Sunderland Top Rank in the early 70s when they were out of the charts and the place was empty. But it is very vague and I can’t be certain I was actually there! And yes I realise there is no original member in the band from their heyday when they had their big hits such as “Reflections of My Life” and “Lovin’ Things” but Sandy Newman has been a member of Marmalade since the mid-70s and featured on their last big hit “Falling Apart at the Seams”. And thirdly the show featured another hero of mine, Steve Ellis. Now Steve Ellis has sadly had to pull out of the tour due to ill-health. I hope he’s soon better. Still the line-up remained strong.
When I was a kid, around 11 or 12 years old I would go to the Saturday morning disco at Sunderland Top Rank. It was 1967 or 1968 and my heroes were Steve Marriott, Steve Ellis and Barry Ryan. I had a pair of black checky hipster trousers and a black plastic belt which was very wide and had two metal prongs as a fastener. You bought the belts at Woolworths as I recall. The hipster trousers were made of very rough material and were quite itchy to the skin. I also wore a Paisley shirt with button-down collar made by “Rave” which was the make of the day and you bought them at Binns. Of course, I also wore a vintage kipper tie. I felt I was a young mod and would parade around the walkway which circled the ballroom eating my iced drink, called a Slush. I would even dance sometimes! I often think those were some of my happiest days. One of the records I loved was “Lovin’ Things” by Marmalade. I used to gaze at young girls my own age but didn’t dare talk to any!
Elaine who was, for the evening, my guest rather than a carer. She was sitting separately from us as we bought her ticket later. However, she was able to come over and join us later on. 
which continued throughout his set. He sang a few of his hits including “Memphis Tennessee”, “Mama” and my favourite “The Crying Game” with its wonderful Wah Wah guitar. The guitarist did a reasonable version of the original guitar sounds and solos, which were performed by either Jimmy Page or Big Jim Sullivan (great session man who went on to become Tom Jones guitarist on his TV show). The truth of who played on the single seems to be lost in the depths of time. Whoever it was they did a wonderful job. Dave Berry is 80 years old and looks, and sounds, just fine. Excellent.
songs which still sound good today. Strangely the band also included the singer from Gerry’s Pacemakers! Then came my hero!
and stylish with longish white hair and full beard, he belted out his hits including “Somewhere”, “Hold Me” and “Maria”. PJ sat down for some of the performance but also managed some dancing with his saxophone player! The man is a hero of mine and continues to astound with his vocal histrionics and his melodramatic, but wonderful, rendition of classic ballads from musicals. Proby, and all the other acts before him, were backed by Gerry’s Pacemakers. Then things moved up a gear.
70s and featured on their last big hit record “Falling Apart at the Seams”. I first saw Sandy at the Grangemouth pop festival in 1972. He was second on the bill, after Billy Connolly, and fronting the Chris McLure Section. The stage cleared for Marmalade who are a truly professional act and moved the whole show up a notch. Great versions of classic songs followed: “Wait for Me Marianne”, “Lovin’ Things” (in my mind I was 12 again and back in the Top Rank Suite in my hipsters), “Rainbow”, “Reflections of My Life” and their cover of the Beatles song, which got them a big hit and up to number one in the charts “Ob La Di, Ob La Da”. An excellent close to the first half of the show, and a long time wish of mine fulfilled; to see Marmalade!
“Early in the Morning” (their biggest hit) and “I Live for the Sun”. This is an example of a band which doesn’t include any original members; however it does include some long-standing members who have been with the band for many years). They reopened the proceedings well and were good fun.
Barry Whitwam, who has been in the band since its inception. The band members have gradually retired over the years and Peter Noone left in the early 70s. Now the musicians who surround Barry have been with him for many years and did great versions of wonderful pop classics including “No Milk Today”, “Sunshine Girl” and “There’s a Kind of Hush”. Barry Whitwam came to the front and explained how the band had sold 80 million records and told the tale of how they once had the great privilege of meeting Elvis Presley. I have seen this version of the Hermits before and they always put on a great performance. You can’t go wrong with hits like that.
replaced by none other than his son, the “One and Only” 
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