Happy Birthday Max: Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth

HOW many 80-year-olds can sell out a 1,500 seat theatre, tell a string of of jokes that wouldn't look out of place on the Frank Skinner Show, get the audience singing joyously along and bow out with a standing ovation? Veteran entertainer and long-time Bournemouth resident Max Bygraves did precisely that last night.

Starring in his own 80th birthday special at the Pavilion Theatre, he showed what a consummate professional he is.

"Do you wanna here old songs or new songs?" he asked the audience.

"Old" came the deafening reply.

"Thank gawd for that," said Max.

In fact as, by my calculations, the combined age of the audience in question was around 90,000 years he hadn't been taking much of a risk.

Dishing up singalong favourites that ranged from Tulips In Amsterdam and Me and My Shadow to You Are My Sunshine and his self-penned signature tune You Need Hands, he made it look effortless. Surprisingly perhaps the jokes were largely sex and drugs orientated although the drugs in question were invariably Viagra. In fact this material brought a whole knew meaning to the phrase stand-up comic.

Main support act were long time showbiz pals The Beverley Sisters who first worked with Max on a Royal Variety bill way back in 1952.

The Bevs - Joy, Babs and Teddie - cranked the nostalgia dial right back to wartime with a series of stirringly up-beat songs like Roll Out The Barrel and Pack Up Your Troubles.

They also got the audience singing and giggling along to Pee Po Belly Bum Drawers, Flanders and Swann's song about the joys of smut.

Also taking part were Max's son and fellow entertainer Anthony Bygraves and youngsters from the Big Little Theatre School.

While an Audience With... style question and answer session featured celebrity guests in the audience including the singer Anita Harris; composer Les Reed, who wrote songs like Delilah for Tom Jones; top theatrical agent Dorothy Solomons and football agent Eric Hall.