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.
60 years on and you can’t keep a good band, like 
These are the songs of my childhood and youth. Yes this band may not be 100% “cool” but hey who can forget the jangle of “Needles and Pins” or the thumping bass of “When You Walk in the Room”? Pure 1960s pop classics. By the way, check out the originals by Jackie De Shannon (there are some great videos of her performing the songs on YouTube). John McNally, now 81 (wow!) still plays a mean 12 string Rickenbacker and Frank Allen, new boy to the band (he joined in 1964 and is 79 years young) is the consummate front man. “New Comer” Spencer James who joined in 1986 takes the honours in singing lead vocal on most of the songs. And a great job he does too.
We arrive in time to buy a couple of programmes, one for me and one for my friend John in the USA, a T-shirt and a fridge magnet for my eldest daughter who loves to collect small memorabilia, a double whiskey to get me in the mood and quickly to our seats down the front. They start, well right back to the start with “Sweets for My Sweet” and the wonderful “Don’t Throw Your Love Away” and then John gets a chance to really jingle jangle his 12 string on the Byrds/Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”. More hits follow including another favourite of mine “What Have They Done to the Rain?” followed by “Goodbye My Love” a great version of Del Shannon’s “Runaway” and “Someday We’re Gonna Love Again”. Yes they did have loads of hits during the period 1963 – 1966. They close the first half by returning to their roots and covers of “Peggy Sue”, “Oh, Boy!” and “Running Scared”.
The interval allows time for a lovely Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and more hits and covers: “Ain’t Gonna Kiss Ya”, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”; back to the start again with “Sugar and Spice” and another favourite of mine that I have on an EP somewhere “Love Potion No. 9”. A few more covers and they close with “Needles and Pins” and “When You Walk in the Room”, followed by their version of the Isley’s “Twist and Shout”. Finally we get a medley of all the hits together: “Sweets for My Sweet; Don’t Throw Your Love Away; When You Walk in the Room; Love Potion No.9; Sugar and Spice; Needles and Pins”. That’s it. Will it be the last time. I suspect not.
Music and performing is in the blood of these guys. They just can’t stop. If you told me when I was 15 that at 66 I would be watching a band of “pop” stars in their 80s still singing their hits I would have said you are crazy. But hey why not. It’s all good fun. Happy days. “I saw her today, I saw her face, it was a face I loved, and I knew I just had to run away, and get down on my knees and pray, but then they begin….” You just can’t beat it. Pure magic.
Second set: Ain’t Gonna Kiss Ya; All My Sorrows ; Where Have All the Flowers Gone; Sugar and Spice; Somebody Told Me You Were Crying; Love Potion No. 9; Four Strong Winds; Have You Ever Loved Somebody?; The Rose; Young Girl; Needles and Pins; When You Walk in the Room; Twist and Shout; Medley of Sweets for My Sweet; Don’t Throw Your Love Away; When You Walk in the Room; Love Potion No.9; Sugar and Spice; Needles and Pins.
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