Sixties stars still strutting their stuff Published:
NOW in its 26th year, the Solid Silver 60s Show has proved itself to be the best 1960s package revue ever, and this year will be one of the biggest, with 68 performances on 57 dates. This year’s extravaganza kicked off in Aberdeen last night and winds up in Oxford on May 26. In between, the show will play all around England, Scotland and Wales and is sure to thrill fans of the music of that decade. So enjoyable are the tours that some of the stars keep coming back to appear. This year is no exception, with Dave Berry (The Crying Game, Little Things), Chris Farlowe (Out of Time), Wayne Fontana (Pamela Pamela, Game of Love) and Vanity Fare (Early in the Morning, I Live For The Sun) all reappearing. Special guests this year are The Merseybeats (Don’t Turn Around, Wishin’ and Hopin’). This year, though, promises to be extra special because touring the UK for the first time in 30 years is Terry Sylvester – the man who replaced Graham Nash in The Hollies in 1968. Speaking from his Florida home, Terry is wildly enthusiastic about taking part in the tour, despite the weather. With his still-apparent Scouse accent (he hails from Liverpool and was a member of The Swinging Blue Jeans before joining The Hollies) he said: “It’s chucking it down with rain at the moment; it makes me feel like I’m at home in England. “After leaving The Hollies in 1981, I used to mainly tour the Continent in the 80s and 90s, and even though I come back to Britain quite often, I haven’t toured my homeland since the early 80s.” So, how did the idea of joining the Solid Silver 60s Show come about? “It really came out of the blue and the negotiations started about six months ago. “I do quite a lot of shows in America with the likes of Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and on one of these I was sharing a dressing room with John Walker, of The Walker Brothers. “He had just done one of the tours and asked me if I had ever done one and he said he thought I’d be perfect. In the end, he set it all up.” Terry, whose first recording session with The Hollies was to record the number-three hit Sorry Suzanne, is looking forward to the tour for a number of reasons. “It’s gonna be fantastic,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the fans and some family; it’ll be fun and I’ve already had some e-mails to my website.” The tour is quite a lengthy one compared with his dates in the US. “In America, I do about 50 dates a year, but the place is so vast that I usually get to a venue the day before the show, and then I might stay on afterwards, so with 50 dates it works out that I’m away for about 120 days a year in total. “With the Solid Silver 60s tour, I’ll be away for three months. “You have to be up for it; it’s exciting. I love my life and I love singing.” He is also being a bit cagey about what he will be singing. “We will all be doing our well-known hits, and the four solo singers will be backed by Vanity Fare. I’ve never worked with them before, but everyone tells me that they’re superb. “I’ve only got about 20 minutes in the show, but I’ll be singing some of the hits I was involved with, plus a few surprises. In a way, the audiences decide what you play.” Terry’s now 64, but he’s still as enthusiastic about performing. “When I was in The Swinging Blue Jeans, we used to sing When I’m 64 on stage. Who would have thought that I’d still be singing at that age?” Terry also says that he doesn’t get nervous. “No, never. It’s just great to get out there.” He has had many highlights in his career, but one of the things that gives him the most pride was when he was (with The Hollies) inducted into The Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. “I’m only the fifth Liverpudlian to be inducted; I have the statuette I was given in front of me. “When I flew home, I wasn’t allowed to have it with me in the cabin and I had to put it in my luggage in the hold.” With such a line-up, it looks like The Solid Silver 60s Show will continue for a good while yet. Founder and creator of the show Derek Nicol sums it up: “As long as the punters keep coming and we can promise a great show, we’ll keep delivering.” The Solid Silver 60s Show plays Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, today at 5.15pm and 8.30pm (01463 234234 www.eden-court.co.uk), and Dundee’s Caird Hall tomorrow at 7.30pm (013824 434940 www.cairdhall.co.uk). -- http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2101453 Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
