There is talent out there

Its been well documented that the recent revival of “stars in their eyes” has been an absolute disaster.As well as being a terrible TV programme ,its also an insult to the tribute act industry as well as club/cabaret acts who travel the length and breadth of the country providing class entertainment to audiences of varying amounts.

Contrary to what the show is saying ,there are great acts out there and here i’m going to mention a selection of acts who are worthy of a visit and support.In the tribute acts section ,the first name i’m going to mention is the star of the show “A Vision Of Elvis”.His name is Rob Kingsley and to me this is the best Elvis Presley show out there.The reason for me saying this will be so obvious in this clip

The great band who provide the music for the 3 visions ie The Sun Records ,after Elvis leaves the army and, my own favourite section,the Las Vegas years are called The Cadillac Band and like a Cadillac take you on a smooth journey of musical styles and together with Rob provide a night of musical excellence that’s the best at what they do.Do yourself a favour ,if you haven’t seen the please do so,you wont regret it’ p.s The Americans think they have the best Elvis tribute acts/I’ve seen quite a few and to me A Vision Of Elvis would make Elvis himself proud

The next name on my list thats well worth seeing is Joe Longthorne.There isnt enough space on here to tell you his background,suffice to say if he’d been American they would have made a film of his life by now and people would still find his story hard to be believe.Check out his Biography wriiten by Chris Berry.Here’s Joe after another massive chapter in his life

So thats my first two names in my quest to have people go out and see live entertainment at its best without having to rely on waiting till they come on tv to get you to go see them live

time to look back at 2014

today is the first official day of 2015.I get now to look back at some of the highlights of 2014 there have been a few for me in among all the rubbish that has happened in the year just gone.I’ve written in the past about Elbowgate,realising who ones true friends really are and not the kid on ones are etc.Here though are my lasting memories.

Theatre:The two best shows ive seen in 2014 were at the Glasgow Pavilion and at the Beacon Arts centre .I attended the Joe Longthorne concert at the Pavilion in June last year.The news had had just came out that Joe had been diagnosed with throat cancer but is intending to perform as many concerts as possible before he went into hospital.Now I’ve seen Joe many many times before but that night He gave possibly the best performance he has ever given.Even fans who had seem him more times than i have couldn’t believe what they had witnessed.Even with everything else Joe had going on in his mind,his performance that night was phenomenal.I was so glad i was there.Here is a clip from his latest DVD which covers that period in time

At the Beacon Arts Centre,I was so pleased to witness ,for my money,the best Elvis Presley Tribute act in the world.The name of the show is “A Vision of Elvis” and the star is a gentleman by the name of Rob Kingsley.Its better for you to witness how good this show is without me describing it.I may be a tad biased

I was given a chance to do a song with the band from that show at their sound check.this is what happened

when it comes to personal highlights,that was my favourite because it helped me realise an ambition and also helped me get my confidence back.

i have sang since then..I had a great time singing to the lovely people of Rutherglen as they completed their Christmas shopping and finally

Inverclyde Radio:I’ve been lucky to interview some very well known names on my internet shows i.e Kiki Dee.the aforementioned Rob Kingsley.Dec Cluskey from The Bachelors and the Cabaret/West End Star…Darren Day and much much more’.The biggest project was finding out what the fans of Joe Longthorne thought was their favourite song recorded by the great man.Number 1 was this one

A big thanks to Geraldine and Christine from the Joe Friendship Club for helping to spread the word about the chart.To the rest of the amazing fans he has,who helped compile the chart ad finally to everyone whos friendship and support have got me through the year(you know who you are).All the amazingly talented cabaret/club acts out there  who i havent mentioned till now for doing what they do so well i.e Jimmy Love ,Heather Dee, Helen Ashton,Pineapple Jack to name but a few

I’d love to have Joe on my show in 2015,who knows what might happen there

Happy 2015 to each and every one of you

talk soon i hope

 

 

 

It’s Only Words

There is  a singer who’s story I always thought would make a great movie His name?? Joe Longthorne.!!.It would have been a movie much better than the recent mini series “Cilla” starring Sheridan Smith..Sheridan’s performance was rightly acclaimed but this story has  far more scope than “the lass from Scottie road

Now I bet you are thinking ok you’re a fan we get that so what makes him so different?. Whether you’re a fan of his or just like reading biographies,I guarantee this book(well written by Chris Berry) would open your eyes in astonishment at the life Joe has actually led.If a Hollywood scriptwriter had written a story like Joe’s ,it’d be a virtual certainty that the movers and shakers would laugh and throw it out because they wouldn’t think it could ever be true…….but it is true..

It may not be a film showing in your local multiplex but there’s a new DVD out called In My Own Words  which covers Joe’s story from May time 2014 on wards.The story starts after Joe was told he had throat cancer so”In My Own Words” is Joe taking the viewer through his thoughts,feelings leading up to the operation some of the footage in his garden brought a lump to my throat He also visits places in the Blackpool area  that means lots to him ,places he has played like the North Pier which was the first theatre i ever saw him,,people he has met not forgetting a chance to see clips of the concert he gave  in Billingham.Special mention goes to the duets he does with Tracey Jordan who is a class singer in her own right so singing with Joe is DYNAMITE The best compliments I can pay them is,i was never a fan of the two songs they perform when they were originally hits ,Joe and Tracy’s versions are far superior. to the other renditions I’ll let you watch it to let you see what the songs are.

I need to mention Paul Smith at this point.There have been many documentaries made about Joe in the past but Paul has produced a DVD that I know Joe’s fans will watch and love but I also think that any one who hadn’t heard of Joe before should treat it as a MOVIE Paul has done a great job on this project.Watch it with a open mind and hopefully you’ll feel the same as we all do.Joe ‘s a star whose light will always shine.If you have never had a Joe DVD before…get this one