REVIEW

Buddy Holly - A Legend Reborn

Weymouth Pavilion

OH BOY! Buddy Holly fans were in for a treat as they spent the night Reminiscing over the UK’s number one tribute act A Legend Reborn at the Pavilion.

Before the show had even started, audiences were transported back in time with the stage set to show black and white adverts from the era and archive footage of screaming fans getting worked up over 1950s legends, including Holly himself.

The title of the show was Maybe Baby a little embellished for the energy and charisma of which the main star, Marc Robinson and his band The Counterfeit Crickets, put in. Yet there was no question that the Brown Eyed Handsome Man on stage and the rest of the gang certainly looked and sounded the part.

With Holly’s notorious hiccupping vocals and elaborate guitar riffs, the band treated the crowd to classics such as Peggy Sue, Words of Love, Down the Line and the most notable Everyday in the first half, accompanied with excellent, if not slightly unusual, thigh-slapping percussion from the drummer.

Between some over-worn jokes in dodgy Texan accents, audiences were also treated to plenty of lesser-known tracks such as Blue Days Black Nights, Tell Me How, Bo Didley and Wishing, which kept heads swaying and toes tapping all the way to the interval.

Into the second half, the band had re-energised and came on ready to Rock Around. Kicking off with That’ll Be the Day, the crowd were right back into the swing of things, singing along to more of their much-loved hits such as Not Fade Away, Well Alright, True Love Ways, and even some Elvis crowd-pleasers like Blue Suede Shoes and Rip It Up.

The audience were even given opportunities to see some polished solo acts as double-bass player Alan, keyboard-playing Chris, lead guitarist Adrien, and drummer Paul, had a Rave On their instruments and proved that It Doesn’t Matter how much music has changed, rock and roll still stands the test of time.

Finishing off the night, Buddy and the gang performed Great Balls of Fire which ended the set on a triumphant high.

Reminding the audience of Buddy’s would-be 80th birthday next year, the band invited audiences to check online for their upcoming tour dates. So if you’re questioning whether to get tickets, don’t Think It Over too long, grab your cokey-colies and get Ready Teddy to rock and roll all night!