More News from the September Club Night

I must give Eric Whitehouse a mention as he kindly brought me a present - a Vintage sixties Live T-Shirt no less which I wore with pride all night much to the envy of the assembled crowd.

Eric also brought along Stan Laundon who is well known in the area for his "Country Time" programme on BBC Radio Cleveland which he presented for 21 years. What I did not know until the other night was that Stan also worked with the inimitable Joe Brown for several years.
Have a look at Stan's web site - http://www.stanlaundon.com/ - for a wealth of interesting Sixties related information.

All in all we were treated to over three hours of top quality non-stop live Sixties entertainment none of which would be possible without the considerable number of extremely talented backing musicians who come along month after month and give their time, energy and enthusiasm.
Thanks guys - you all know who you are.

Next month - Thursday October 11th - features a guest spot from top Dutch Sixties tribute band Have Mersey plus our usual array of local talent.

Admission to the public must be on a first come - first served basis so get there early to avoid disappointment.

See ya there!!

Rumours Rife at September Club Night

The September Club Night opened amidst widespread rumours that Vintage Sixties Live were about to move to another venue and also that a cover charge was to be introduced.Both of these fabrications were quickly and firmly refuted by Big Jim, who we were delighted to welcome back as compere for the evening.

Organisers, the Two Alans, paid tribute to the Management and Staff of Tudhoe Victory Club, who have, along with the many performers and musicians over the last 15 months , done everything in their power to make Vintage Sixties Live the success it is. They assured everyone that there are no plans to move anywhere.They also confirmed that the club nights would remain free of charge, although due to Health and Safety requirements at the Club, it was necessary to strictly enforce a "first come - first served" policy for the audience meaning possible disappointment for late-comers.

As usual guests and supporters had travelled from a wide area including this month - Dunfermline, Yarm and Richmond.The formalities over with, the evening proper got under way with a couple of gags from Jim, which had them rolling in the aisles, followed by three hours of non-stop entertainment encompassing everything from instrumentals to harmony vocals, and even featuring Kenny "the Legend" Potts' new voice box which he used on his version of the Peter Frampton hit "Show me the Way" and had to heard to be believed. It is a guitar processor which has a tube attached enabling you to control the guitar's sound with your mouth."Isn't it amazing?" gushed Our Paula, "If you put that tube-shaped thing in your mouth and blow down it whilst Kenny is playing the guitar, you can make sweet, sweet music.""Errr .... right, Paula"

Alan Leightell proudly showed off his new red guitar watched by Alan Brason himself - the amazingly talented local luthier (guitar maker to the uninitiated) who made it.On the subject of instrumentals, the lead and bass guitarists of the Shadowcasters, a well-known Shadows tribute band from Tyneside , delivered a couple of impeccable instrumentals supplemented by some of our regular musicians.

Colin Ibbertson and the guys even performed the little heard but excellent Dakotas instrumental the Cruel Sea for us.

Colin also brought along Emma and Joanne again. They were wrongly reported on here last month as sisters - which I got told off for. Neither are they Colin's daughters which I also got told off for. To confuse the situation even further this month they brought Alice along - who is not their sister either.Anyway, supported by Colin, Mark, AlanL and Brian Luke the three of them performed a short set including Aretha Franklin's "Think" and I'll tell you what we think Girls - we think you should come back soon.

More to come ....

August 2007 Club Night

Well. We did not really know what to expect as we prepared for this month's club night.We were in the height of the holiday season, the weather was absolutely beautiful and we knew in advance that several of our regulars would be replacing their love of Sixties Music with a more than healthy indulgence in at least one of the other famous S's - Sun, Sand and Sanatogen!I was still out of action with a bad back so we were delighted when Big Jim kindly offered to MC again. Thanks a lot Jim - it is really appreciated.

In the event we need not have worried as it proved to be an evening of treats and surprises for the near capacity audience.Have you ever noticed how most of the best female vocal group names start with an S - the Scissor Sisters, the Spice Girls and Sister Sledge - well we had the angelic Spenny Sisters, Paula and Annie, appearing together for the first time since being asked to leave the convent.And there was more. We also had Emma and Joanne, brought along by old mate and regular performer Colin Ibbertson, together with Brian Luke on drums. The two girls weren't even born in the Sixties but they seemed very happy to sing our songs and become a welcome addition to our ever increasing array of young talent on display.

Not content with introducing the girls, Colin then proceeded to introduce us to his new group, "the Surfriders" (some of whom looked distinctly familiar) and then surprised us further with a couple of cracking surf instrumentals Surf Rider and Ram-Buk-Shush.If you closed your eyes you could almost hear the coal tubs emptying on the beach at Blackhall Rocks.It was quite a night for instrumentals.In addition to Colin, we had AlanL's usual impeccable performance on the Shadows' hits Wonderful Land and The Savage, and Dave Hodges, Stray Dogs lead guitarist, gave such a brilliant version of Santana's Samba Pa Ti that we have had no alternative but to withdraw his membership until further notice.Hmphh!! We'll teach him - Young Upstart.

Another welcome new face was Sheena. She came along with Mel (he, of the two beautiful daughters from last month fame) and they introduced a bit of class into the evening with a unique vocal rendition of "Besame Mucho" - probably better known in the early Sixties as a Jet Harris instrumental - followed by Clapton's Wonderful Tonight.Alan Wakes and the guys version of the Honeybus hit " I Can't let Maggie Go" even boasted an oboe solo brilliantly supplied by the synth of Colin the Orchestra.We even had a birthday girl present.

It was Kay's birthday and she said she would like to sing with a live group, so Jim and the lads put one together for her. Not only did she get her wish but she did a cracking job to boot. Well done Kay.

In a brief report such as this, I have concentrated on introducing our new friends, but grateful thanks must also go to all of our regular band (pun intended) of backing and featured artists who turn up month after month to make the evening the success it is.I won't mention everyone by name but you all know who you are and how much your efforts are appreciated.

Pics of the night will be added hereand Video clips here as time permits.

Thanks again guys and gals - I'm already looking forward to next month.and don't forget "B there or B Square"

July 2007 Club Night

The July Club night was packed again, with a lot of new faces present.

Big Jim kindly offered to stand in as compere as I was still having severe back problems.

The entertainment kicked off at about 8:15pm and went right through to about 11:20pm -without a break.It featured about 30 entertainers performing 40 songs/ instrumentalsWe had the usual mixture of styles, ages and personalities which we have come to expect.

One of the most gratifying things about this project is the way it increasingly attracts many "youngsters", who were not even born in the Sixties, yet are quite happy to watch or perform Sixties material.
I have posted the usual photos with captions at http://imageevent.com/alanprudhoe/vsljuly2007 and some more new videos herehttp://www.vintagesixtieslive.co.uk/Videos.html