The Drifters
Liverpool
Empire Theatre
9th April 2006
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THE DRIFTERS 2006
There is a great deal that music lovers everywhere should be grateful to The Drifters for. The fact is that without them, soul music crossed with gospel might never have become as popular as it has and some truly classic tunes might have been left unrecorded. With "trademarked" choreographed dance routines that defined a generation still sending ladies of all ages into apoplexy and a catalogue of hits spanning five decades, a great night's entertainment was guaranteed.
Sweets For My Sweet, Under The Boardwalk, Come On Over
To My Place and Saturday Night At The Movies are superb songs
all and here they were performed with a tight professionalism that underlined
further the group's panache.
Immaculately turned out, first in shimmering
grey, then shimmering cream suits, Peter Lamarr, Patrick Alan, Rohan
Delano Turney and Victor Bynoe more than did justice to their predecessors,
with an energetic performance that rolled back the years and the exceptional
talent of the group, and of their backing band, appealed to every generation
and by the end of the evening the aisles were literally bouncing.
Performing individually with their own
interpretation of the group's timeless classics, each singer was superb.
Rohan Delano Turney's version of Save the Last Dance For Me was
exceptional, while Victor Bynoe lifted the roof with Up On The Roof.
Put them all together and they were simply outstanding.
Patrick and Peter played the audience
as though they were instruments themselves and didn't they just love
it. The whoops and hollers of appreciation echoed long after this ultra
fan-friendly outfit signed the last autograph as the audience sang the
songs all the way home afterwards.
And so the hits just kept on coming.
On Broadway, There Goes My First Love, You're More
Than A Number In My Little Red Book and a haunting, gospel backed
rendition of Stand By Me were all delivered with a faultlessness
that gladdened the heart and dance moves that made you dizzy.
There were other songs and stories from
the old days during this two hour thirty minute treat, but the music
they chose for the evening spoke for itself. Not for nothing have The
Drifters collectively sold 185 million records worldwide and attracted
backing performers of the calibre of Dionne Warwick and Burt Baccarach
along the way.
Fifty-three years and still going strong, should they ever wish to return to the City then Liverpool will welcome them back with open arms.
If so - please feel free to leave your FEEDBACK
break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.