BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY

Weymouth Pavilion

Oh What a Night, the boys just keep going and the public still love them as much as ever.

Frankie Valli and the Jersey Boys had the advantage of offering a great set of pop hits thanks to their principal composer Bob Gordio and since the 1960s, tribute bands have kept the original tempo going more than 50 years after the New York-based group first got together.

The East Coast Boys put on a good show complete with American accents and a bunch of excellent backing musicians as they faithfully reproduce Rag Doll, Silence is Golden, Sherry and Walk Like a Man complete with the trademark synchronised dance moves for which the Jersey Boys were famous.

Principal singer Lee Matthews has a similarly amazing falsetto voice that took Frankie Valli to the top of the hit parade and the other three singers keep the magic going with their four part harmonies.

Giving the audience every opportunity to join in the fun, the evening was a great success as non-stop songs brought the swinging sixties back to life, everyone singing along with happy memories of the past.

With no pretence at being the actual Jersey Boys, the show was never going to be a biography of the group, so details of their lives and careers were quietly overlooked, with one exception. An early title of the group was as the Wonderwho and the East Coast Boys gave us an hilarious version of Peanuts, not something that was ever going to make it into the Top Ten. The national tour continues, the nearest future venue being Salisbury in June, definitely worth the trip.

MARION COX