P J Proby
South Shields Customs House 27 March 2008
P J Proby is the man. Always has been, always will be. It may not be cool to like him these days, and it probably never was, but he has a voice like no other. Over the years I’ve been to see many great male rock singers: Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, Joe Cocker, Stevie Marriot, Terry Reid, Arthur Brown, Frankie Miller, Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Chris Farlowe ; but to me P J Proby stands apart from all them. This guy has no fear; go to youtube and watch some of those old videos of him in the 60s and you’ll see what I mean.
Its great to see that he’s still going strong and out there. In fact he’s playing more in the UK now than he ever did since the 60s. He out there playing at local theatres and on some 60s package tours but he’s still much more than a revival act.
Norm and I went along to the Customs House which is a smallish (4oo seat) theatre in South Shields to see P J. We arrived just as he had taken the stage; the place was packed and everyone was already up on their feet. The set was a mixture of ballads, Elvis and Johnny Cash songs; and his own hits from the 60s.
The Johnny Cash set saw P J singing Jackson and Daddy Sang Bass along with his wife. His version of Elvis’ American Trilogy has to be seen to be believed and he still manages to hit all the notes in Maria. Finished off with Hold Me which is still a great rock song, and leaves the crowd screaming for more.
You could buy a DVD of the show from the merchandise stall straight after the show. I settled for a signed magazine with a great write up about Proby’s wild life. A great night; if you get the chance to go and see this guy; do it; you won’t be disappointed.
ticket
signed magazine
website: http://www.proby.co.uk/
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