Show is solid silver as 60s comes swinging in
They were promised silver, and that's just what the audience got, writes Mike Woods.
Solid Silver 60s Show
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
By Mike Woods
They were promised silver, and that's just what the audience got. The guitar knobs, the drums and even the hair all delivered as the 60s came swinging into Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre for a gathering of some of the decade's biggest names.
The Searchers, Wayne Fontana, The Merseybeats, John Walker and The Dakotas joined forces for the Solid Silver 60s Show for thousands of fans on Saturday.
See our gig photo gallery below
Hits like Sweets for My Sweet, Needles & Pins and Game of Love took fans on a whistle-stop tour of the decade credited with giving birth to modern pop and rock. Fans young and old, who had started the evening tapping their hands on their knees were soon dancing in the aisles.
Wayne Fontana, dressed in a white jacket and cowboy hat, feigned breathlessness after his opening number, to great laughter from the audience. "You were expecting an older man?", asked the 63-year-old Mancunian. "No tucks here, just me. I've had nothing done - I'm pushing 50 now."
The Merseybeats continued the fun, dedicating their rendition of Live and Let Die to the ex-wife of their Merseyside chum Paul McCartney, Heather Mills, who the band declared was "still a miserable cow, despite getting his £25 million".
Linda Nybo Andersen, aged 57, came over from her native Copenhagen.
The 57-year-old insurance worker, a self-confessed Searchers fanatic, even saw both the matinee and evening performances on Saturday.
She said: "It's always worth the trip. I can't count how many times I've seen The Searchers. I've loved them since 1964."
Paul and Pauline Buckingham, from Norton, Stourbridge, were at the show to celebrate Paul's 60th birthday. Pauline, aged 59, a cleaner at Gig Mill Primary School, Norton, said the night reminded her of good times spent partying at Stourbridge Town Hall and the Plaza in Old Hill.
"You just know all of the words to all of the songs," she said.
Engineer Paul added: "The Searchers were the highlight, but I enjoyed all of it. It brings back happy memories."
Wayne Fontana joined The Searchers and John Walker, one third of the Walker Brothers, to sign autographs after the show.
Searchers frontman Frank Allen, aged 65, said: "I loved it. It's such a nice theatre and it's lovely looking out at people and feeling what's coming back from people."
