Concert Secretaries Federation Artistes of the Year Show

Published Wednesday 12 October 2005 at 14:00 by Mark Ritchie

This annual awards ceremony provides a platform for those who book cabaret entertainment at social club level to reward some of their favourite clubland acts.

Compere Danny Andrews opened proceedings in song with This Is The Moment from Jekyll and Hyde, before opening up with a mellow and witty line in chat and crowd approach.

Personality vocalist could be a term that was invented especially for Kevin Kane. Astonishingly, in view of the fact that Kane has been involved in clubland for over 30 years, this was his first ever clubland award. This refreshingly candid entertainer sings with great conviction but chooses to play the clown for much of the time. Oddly enough the style fits him like a glove.

Equally witty and vocally gifted were duo Crazy Diamond. Consisting of a lady, who arrived armed with hooker boots and a well pitched voice, and a blokey bloke with a ready line in chat, I am not surprised to find this cosy act hitting the mark in a field where building a rapport with an audience is more of a prerequisite than in other areas of the marketplace.

Natalie Brandon is a snazzily dressed young singer who gave us a well thought out set, which seemed to gather momentum after something of a shaky start. The feeling here was of someone with a style that is still developing and bags of promise, a vocal impressions section proving to be the highlight.

Two girl one boy act Triple Exposure certainly took the prize for the most unusually dressed act. Dungarees were a pretty novel choice for stagewear but the trio sounded quite reasonable in the vocal department with a version of the Chaka Khan hit, Ain’t Nobody.

The presentations from senior club officials put a seal on a successful clubland night out in Yorkshire that was attended by many of the great and the good in social club circles.