stephsbear wrote:peterchecksfield wrote:I was chatting to this bloke half hour ago...![]()
Really ?!? Did he play at where you work? Chris Farlowe made some great records, great blues singer. Tell me tell me more....
Yes, he played in Margate last night, along with a few others:

I was "working" on a door near the back of the theatre, but I managed to peek inside & watch most of the show...
As I was getting things ready (unlocking doors etc), P.J. Proby was doing a soundcheck & I literally almost bumped into Brian Poole, very surreal!
The backing band throughout were Vanity Fair (+ a female saxophonist / flutist / backing vocalist), & they did an excellent job, as well as performing a few of their own hits (which I'm not over-keen on).
The first headline act of the evening was Chris Farlowe. As with all but one act tonight, he'd piled on quite a bit of weight since his 60s heyday, though his voice is as strong as ever & he seemed reasonably fit & healthy. He only did about 4 or 5 songs (including 'Handbags & Gladrags', 'Stormy Monday Blues' & 'Out Of Time'), but I was impressed. I'd seen him once before (about 15 years ago) when he did a local concert with Maggie Bell, though if anything I thought he was even better this time.
Next was P.J. Proby, someone I've wanted to see in concert for decades! I met him a couple of times (& even went to his home) when he lived in London, back in 1984-1985. At the time he was virtually an alcoholic & he was "on the dole" (getting welfare payments), very sad to see, then I met him again backstage at a Jerry Lee Lewis concert in 1993...between these meetings he "died" of a heart attack (in 1992) & finally (permantly) stopped drinking (this hasn't changed his "awkward" reputation though; after being on tour for just over a week he's already on his 2nd tour manager, & during a tour last year he got through five managers!!!)...anyway, I was impressed with his voice during the soundcheck, but during his (short) show he was clearly struggling at times. He gave it everything he had, even (with some difficulty) dropping to his knees, & his singing voice was mostly powerful & he still hit the high notes, quite impressive for a man who's nearly 70! But between songs he was very out of breath & hoarse, & kept gargling with water (& quipped "It was much more fun when I used to duet with Jack Daniels!"). Songs included 'Together', 'Maria', Somewhere', 'Hold Me', '(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over' (my fave, love the falsetto verse near the end!), 'Lonely Weekends' & 'American Trilogy' (a song I usually despise, but I found his version strangely moving).
Then it was time for the interval, followed by Mike Pender, ex-lead singer & guitarist for The Searchers (he left the group in 1984). He looked almost as thin & agile as Mick Jagger (though more youthful), & did the expected Searchers greatest hits (of which 'Goodbye My Love' was the most impressive in my opinion). He sounded very good, but the harmony vocalists were mixed a bit too quite, so the vocal sound was a bit thin & weedy.
Closing act was Brian Poole. I can understand why the audience enjoyed him (he probably went down better than anyone) as he knows how to get an audience to dance & sing-a-long, but to me he just proved what I always knew, that he's someone of only mediocre talent.
As a finale all of them sang Joe South's 'The Games People Play' (a slightly unexpected choice), with them all trading verses, & P.J. Proby looking knackered.
Afterwards both Brian Poole & Chris Farlowe (as well as Vanity Fare) came out & chatted, posed for pics & signed autographs with everyone who wanted them. I didn't see P.J. or Mike leave the building (they probably used a different entrance to the one where I was working) but I chatted to Chris Farlowe for a few minutes while he waited for a taxi, & found him very down-to-earth & unpretentious P.J. Proby's current manager told me he wished he was working for Chris instead!).
So, that was my evening's work...

Peter C.
PS. I never bought a copy of the programme, but browsing through it I noticed a photo of Mike Pender with Jerry Lee Lewis! I'm guessing it was taken backstage at a show during the 80s (Jerry was wearing his white frilly shirt that he wore in Wembley '85 etc), does anyone know more?