Solid Silver 60s Show 2011, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

I have skipped a couple of years of Solid Silver 60s shows for various reasons, but last night my best friend Ellie and I went along to the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall for an evening of fun. Actually we started at the Philharmonic Pub for drinks with Toni from the Dakotas who is currently sitting in on keyboards with The Merseybeats. There was a fair amount of catching up to do as I'd not seen him for ages. I mustn't leave that long again!

Vanity Fare were on stage when we took our seats, we were just in time for Hitching A Ride. Vanity Fare provided the backing for all the solo artists on the bill. They are jolly good at it too.

Wayne Fontana took the stage in his white suit and cowboy hat. Still in fine voice he entertained the crowd in his own inimitable style. With classics like Um Um Um Um Um Um and Game Of Love we were already dancing in our seats and singing along.

Following Wayne was Chris Farlowe.  It had been a while since we'd seen him on a Manfreds tour. He still sounds great. The set list included Handbags and Gladrags, a rather nice new song the title of which escapes me right now and ended, of course, with Out Of Time. 

After the interval it was time for Dave Berry. Opening with Memphis Tennessee and working his way as only he can through a cover of ZZ Top's Give Me All Your Loving, Mama, Little Things (cue us joining in on the backing vocals) and The Crying Game he gave a great show. He even came back for a kind of encore, which was a version of the BeeGees' First of May. 

Next was Terry Sylvester who was in both the Escorts and the Hollies for a while. As a local lad he must have had a lot of family in judging from the reaction from the audience. Vanity Fare did a fabulous job of recreating the Hollies-esque harmonies for the set. 

The evening was rounded off by The Merseybeats. They very quickly had the crowd going and even had some up on their feet. By the end we were all on our feet actually! The band never fail to entertain. We got Wishin' And Hopin', a coupel of Everly Brothers tunes, Don't Turn Around, I Think of You, a version of Live and Let Die with pyros and strobe lights...and that was topped with a crowd pleasing rendition of Sorrow before they belted out a version of Hi Ho Silver Lining. 

The finale was Glad All Over with all the acts back on stage and the crowd clapping and stomping along. We had a fabulous night and it reminded us how much fun we have at these things. Personally I'm already eager to find out the line up for next year!

Full set of photos here at my flickr account.