Gemini Promotions

Published Thursday 30 September 2004 at 17:05 by Mike Martin

A night devoted largely to tribute acts - but such is the nature of showbusiness these days. Although more comedy or speciality would have been a welcome relief amongst all the music and song, agent Mark Carter of Gemini Promotions presented a fairly well-balanced bill at the GER Club.

Primo, a 6ft 3ins mobile robot reminiscent of Star Wars C3PO, handled the meet and greet. The costume was most effective and eye catching, as was the cyborg character, which worked the tables during the interval.

Compere Dave Summerton proved himself a competent linkman throughout the evening, providing the right blend of humour and strong Neil Diamond style vocals between the acts. He has a style very much his own, displaying some inventive material as he attacks the audience with a confident, upfront delivery.

First on was a male duo, Streets Ahead, on guitars and keyboard. Their choice of numbers reflected the tastes of a modern club audience, opening with What a Night and moving on to Ronan Keating and Robbie Williams. I really am overdosing on Angels but it has become the 21st century My Way. Lacking somewhat in the personality stakes, they were not very watchable but they sang and played well enough.

Carla Gray lit up the stage from the moment she stepped onto it. Young, stunning looks, shapely and sexy, she is a singer who deserves to rise above standard cabaret work. Her deep, powerful voice has quite a range and she knows how to sell a song. With soul and feeling, she also possesses a relaxed quality and warmth with just the right amount of minimum chat between songs. She was the highlight of the show.

Next came a tribute to the music of Queen, provided by a convincing Freddie Mercury look/sound-alike and Brian May-be. They were Pure Magic, performing an entertaining, energetic set of favourites, such as Radio Ga Ga and We Will Rock You, which had the room rocking. Ending up strutting the stage draped in the Union flag, this Freddie comes close to recreating the huge persona of the real item.

Not quite so dynamic were the boy/girl duo Tiger Bay, the former on keyboards as the bubbly blonde singer bounces around with a bright and happy image. They are competent, standard club fare, who present a set that includes hits from over the decades, opening with Hey Baby, drifting through Elton and Kylie and culminating in a funky Love Shack.

Opening the second half, vocalist Ryan has a unique image. Although I thought he initially resembled Phil Collins, he soon proves himself to be very much his own man. A rocky, good mover with an engaging personality and strong voice, he works the crowd well, mainly relying on popular songs from yesteryear.

Abba Daze represent just the female half of the legendary Swedish group. Attractive girls, they begin in sparkly capes which are soon discarded to reveal seventies-style Roman tunics. Familiar numbers like Mamma Mia! and Dancing Queen are always a safe bet, plus they wore fedora hats and waved cash around during Money, Money, Money, but they did not quite cut it vocally. That said, they did get a little more into their stride as the set progressed.

Ventriloquist Johnny Lowe and his dummy Alec were like a breath of fresh air in the midst of all this intense music. Obviously a seasoned pro of the old school, Lowe works at a nice, relaxed pace. The doll is old fashioned but comes across well and there are some clever, original twists in the presentation. Shame about the reliance on toilet humour but I guess the argument would be that most people still laugh.

The plunge back into music came in the form of Get It On, a decidedly dodgy tribute to Marc Bolan and seventies glam rock. At first I thought that Brian May-be was back but this Bolan, wearing what appeared to be Charlie Cairoli’s old trousers, was actually more like Tiny Tim. Ungainly and looking wrong, although the singing was fine, this did not work for me at all. At least The Chicksters, a pair of gyrating dancers on either side of him, had some energy.

Closing the show came a classy five-piece function band, Sahara. Fronted by two girl singers, who help out on percussion, this is a typical high quality, strong combo for corporate bookings and the like. There are many bands like them but they can certainly hold their own with fine harmonies, professional slick presentation and, without doubt, an endless pool of contemporary material.

Paul Wortley provided and proficiently operated the sound and lighting system.