Bop ‘til you drop with Eddie and co

Gavin Stanley, right, has been doing Billy Fury to great acclaim since he was 14, and has now added Eddie Cochran to his repertoire, a singer with a not dissimilar vocal style as shown in Gavin s renditions of both singers’ best known hits.

Lars Young appeared first as Roy Orbison, complete with dark glasses and an operatic vocal range.

His second incarnation, as Gene Vincent, had him twitching round the stage like someone had put itching powder inside his tight leather trousers as he worked his way through ‘Say Mama’ and some lesser known numbers.

Surprise guest Spencer Jordan came on as Buddy Holly but bespectacled compere/saxophonist, Spencer Envoy, looked more like the Lubbock Legend, as he amazed the audience with his version of The Champs’ ‘Tequila’ during which he did the splits.

Backing group, The Wild Caps, resplendent in flat caps like Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps, provided an authentic 50s beat with a cheerful Paul Pritchard on double bass, Phil

Casey pounding the drums, Evelyn Cromford on keyboards and lead guitarist, Gerry Slattery who sang a wild version of Little Richard’s ‘Keep a Knockin’.

By the end, the audience were on their feet, minus the drape jackets and brothel creepers they would have worn half a century ago but just as exuberant.

But put this show in a dance hall, where it belongs, rather than a theatre and the sparks would surely fly.

Ron Ellis