Unit One Entertainment Annual Showcase 2006

Published Monday 23 October 2006 at 10:45 by Mark Ritchie

Pipe major Peter Doyle was on hand to herald the arrival of the assembling throng at The Willows and there were plenty of other busy helpers on the meet and greet front.

Photographer Peter Owen gave us a touch of the paparazzi as he mixed and mingled with balloon modeller Alan Russell, magician Harry Robson, caricaturist Kelly Cox and Collars and Cuffs roaming muscleman Troy Stevens and his team of equally toned and stripped male helpers.

In the midst of balloon decor, supplied by Les and June Ward and a huge chocolate fountain, supplied by Cocoa Flo, The John Gordon Jazz Quartet were on hand in the foyer to ease the many guests, mainly from the hotel and corporate entertainment market, into the proceedings proper.

Unit One company director Steve Sale donned his best smart suit and assumed the role of the compere by announcing the cabaret on and off, complete with a flood of information about anything and everything showcase linked.

Sale informed us that the opening act Lisa Lawson was “a very classy lady indeed”. This sparkly gowned brunette singer certainly looked a good bet for a singer at a wedding or similar function. The ‘talking down’ of applause often indicates nerves and/or inexperience. In this case however I thought that it was more likely to indicate a lounge or function band singer, who simply isn’t all that used to performing solo. A very sweet voice though and a well sung version of Secret Love.

Six-piece party band Pop Fiction were very impressive indeed. With their male and female vocalists and four good solid musicians, all of them looking smart and wholesome, Pop Fiction are bound to be in demand as a function band. The fact that each looked well turned out and performed party favourites and dance floor hits from Wham, Simply Red and Charlotte Church, all indicates that their preferred market is the hotel and wedding scene, where I’m sure they are very busy indeed.

Vittorio Pascarella is the name of an Italian tenor who gave us a touch of Bocelli and of course the almost obligatory Nessun Dorma.

Complete with the cool Italian swagger one would expect from this type of performer, this immaculately dressed singer gave an oddly languid performance, standing back somewhat from his audience. Perhaps he wasn’t used to performing in front of a noisy, party-type crowd like this one.

“Mikki Jay is Michael Jackson”, intoned the compere and on moon-walked a whitish, pasty-faced version of the troubled pop prince.

A live vocal here from Mikky Jay and lots of deflecting backing vocals on the track, which created more than a little ambiguity to be honest.

I just wondered how much appeal there is now for a Michael Jackson tribute since the star’s well publicised recent foolishness in Neverland? After all, I don’t think there is a single Gary Glitter tribute left out there these days.

Comedian Frankie Allen looks slightly edgy and vaguely dangerous. However the range of material, all crow-barred into the same over-long spot, indicated that Allen was trying to make the statement that he can work completely clean or very blue indeed.

This was a smart approach on a showcase set. The problem is, how do you get the crowd laughing at clean and clever stuff when you have already stuck your comedic toe in much bluer waters? A very funny and well delivered routine involving Bin Laden singing karaoke was followed by easier but much less tasteful routines on such celebrities as Michael Barrymore and Jeremy Beadle.

Compere Sale had to walk on in the end to curtail Allen’s spot, as with other acts waiting in the wings and bookers with long journeys home after the show, this was clearly a tad undisciplined and self indulgent.

Mancini and the Hitman are a four-piece semi-live party band who gave us a disco party set, performed in segue style.

With an outstanding female drummer and a girl singer who twinkles away in the personality stakes out front, Mancini and her Hitmen (and woman), were quite a hit.

I’m just guessing, however, that this function band would be equally at home in a club or holiday centre but functions are where the good money can be earned and this lively band are certainly equipped to fill any dance floor at a corporate ‘do’ or a wedding.

I’m afraid The Fake Bee-Gees didn’t really work for me. There just wasn’t enough of a live band feel present and the lookalike aspect seemed to have descended into a sort of caricature of the real thing, as opposed to a tribute. Additionally there are one or two really notable examples of this type of tribute around at the moment and in my view, this act just didn’t compare.

It’s always the case with older name chart acts that people will make various claims to the famous name. The Drifters has to be a case in point, with many Drifters-type acts out there.

On this particular night Boney M were introduced on stage and we were told that singer Sheyla Bonnick was an original member of the act from their 1976 heydays.

Perhaps the rather truncated, medley-style backing track did this particular Boney M line-up no favours but in my view, the act just failed to ignite on this night.

Harry Cambridge is a very excellent vocalist whose tribute to Luther Vandross makes him a pretty busy member of the tribute fraternity.

Cambridge has a great voice and looks very natural on stage but the effect was all but ruined by dreadful backing tracks, complete with karaoke-style fade outs.

Dance With My Father is a tough song to phrase and emphasise but Cambridge made an attempt that was as good as any I have heard.

With comedy trio Vice-Versa, we saw three guys camping and vamping it up in drag. There were comedy ‘take-off’s’ of Stevie Wonder and The Darkness, all complete with wigs, crazy costumes and huge fake willies. The humour was of the fun and basic variety but the vocals during the impressions was mostly live.

The market for Vice-Versa is most definitely clubs but I didn’t see all that many club bookers in the audience.

Chick-A-Cheeta is an Abba girls only duo, which should appeal to those on a budget, who want an Abba act at a party but don’t have the money for a band.

There are one or two image problems to address here before Chick-A Cheeta will be considered as anywhere near the top of this particular branch of the tribute tree.

Matt Byrne is a noted Robbie Williams tribute act and this guy has the feel of a genuine entertainer in his own right with his high energy and ‘up and at ‘em’ approach.

We were told that Byrne has just completed a summer season in Blackpool and this may account for his slightly throaty vocal delivery. However Byrne is a dead-ringer for ‘The Robster’ and his place in the tribute market seems pretty much assured on this showing.

There was no Elvis in this tribute-heavy showcase event but there was a Jake and Elwood. The Blues Bruvvers consist of a high energy Jake, who is a bit too slim and a monosyllabic Elwood, who also plays the harmonica but doesn’t seem to be able to dance and speaks with a Yorkshire accent. Suffice it to say that this is not one of the better examples amongst the massed ranks of black suit and sunglasses clad Brothers that the tribute market is currently at saturation point with.

Closing the night were four dancing girls, who are collectively known as The Crazy Sexy Cool Show.

Some live vocals here but mainly a costumed dance-based act who performed songs from The Pussycat Dolls and others, between a succession of quick changes.

Possibly some nightclub work here but the appeal may be a little limited, given the volume of similar acts currently out there.

Unit One is ostensibly an entertainment marketing company and in my view, the marketing side of this showcase event was nothing short of excellent.

Perhaps a large stable of carefully selected managed acts could be the next venture of this long established and recently revamped company.