The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Oh Boy, Buddy Holly show sure to get you in the Christmas spirit
That’s it. The countdown to Christmas has officially begun in my eyes, because I’ve spent an evening rocking around a Christmas tree with Buddy Holly and the Cricketers.
The show, which is running at the theatre until tonight, makes regular visits to the Highland capital and always goes down a storm.
This year’s outing was simply a knockout from the start to finish.
It was the perfect yuletide show to get the audience into the festive spirit, thanks to the high-energy performances of all five musicians, Alan Grice, Connor Arnold, Brad Bransdon and Nick Player, and Gordon Taggart who donned Buddy’s trademark glasses to take the lead role.
They each had a chance to shine, demonstrating a grand variety of musical talent, but when they played together, it was dynamite.
It’s not often these days you get to see a band where every person, including the drummer, sings which resulted in some terrific harmonies and melodic versions of classic hits ranging from the opening number, That’ll Be The Day, to a host of golden oldies such as Heartbeat, Raining in My Heart, Peggy Sue, Maybe Baby, Oh Boy! – all nice reminders of Buddy’s prolific songwriting skills.
Buddy, who giggled when he asked the audience if he was looking good for 81, told lots of stories about Buddy’s life between songs, spoke about opening for Elvis and Chuck Berry, and having a young Des O’Connor as a warm-up man when he played the UK 60 years ago.
If it’s a feel-good show you’re after, this is it, a superb show that’s simply not to be missed.
Time to embrace Holly this Christmas.
Susan Welsh saw Holly at Christmas 2017 at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness.
“This year’s outing was a knockout from the start to finish”