Freddie Starr
Liverpool
Empire Theatre
April 13th 2006
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FREDDIE STARR 2006
After an absence of far too long, Freddie Starr hit The Empire
with gusto. Heralded onto stage by the theme of 2001: A Space Odyssey,
the Mighty Mouth of Toxteth roared into his routine as though he'd never
been away.
Supported ably by, though with little in the way of reward from this most difficult of audiences, Johnny Laff was at times hilarious without ever overplaying his role as warm up. Saving his best for last, his Benny Hill impression brought gasps of amazement as to how a man so large, could move so quickly.
Freddie Starr, though is, well, Freddie Starr. Deliciously
cheeky, irreverent and crass, he still holds the magic to spellbind
an audience, even when some of those present are rude enough to try
to spoil the entire show by shouting out pointless observations. His
Mastermind and Magician sequences, especially, were something to witness
even though they have been done before in different incarnations by
other comedians. Freddie, though, can swing it like no other.
"Look's easy this, love, doesn't
it?" he said to one persistent heckler, quickly followed by: "Like
prayer. And believe me, you don't want to know what I'm praying for
right now, but that balcony looks pretty shaky."
It's difficult to imagine that ten years
ago idiots who insisted on calling out banalities to both Starr and
Laff during their acts would have been treated so lightly, but time
does mellow even the most acid of tongued. Tonight Freddie resorted
to begging to be "given a break" before visibly showing his
frustration, and understandably so, which got a great supportive response
from the remainder of the audience. It was such a shame for him to put
up with such nonsense during this, his hometown gig.
Freddie Starr is undoubtedly
a comedian that appeals, in the main, to those of a certain age, but
is nonetheless energetic, dynamic and, above all, talented enough to
get away with murder.
He also has a pretty decent singing
voice, as his opening number of Wild One, the closing ballad
of Don't and his send ups of Elvis and Sintara clearly demonstrate.
But his overall stage persona carries the weight of his appeal and this
was given a free reign, as much as he was able, for the entire show.
Leaving the stage, Freddie Starr
stood tall in every way but physical stature and long may he continue
to prove his doubters wrong.
8/10
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