After a rousing overture from the Keeping it Live! showband Steve Walls introduced the first act of the evening to a full house in The Horseshoe, the fabulous 80s Rewind trio taking us back to the good old 80s, a little sentimental for me as this is definitely my era. It is hard to show how your complete show in just 10 minutes and this band was interesting enough for me to say I would love to watch their whole show. Great opening for the evening session.

Having heard quite a bit about Matt Johnson in the past it was delightful to actually have the opportunity to see and hear him at last. A very energetic performer who certainly know how to get the audience captivated from the off, even cheers from a crowd who are not normally known showing their full appreciation. Well done Matt - it was a pleasure to see your set.

Rogue Minogue was the second tribute of the day to the pint-sized Australian diva Wearing a copycat-style costume from her massive successful tour The Showgirl, this young lady entertained us with some of the old classics including a fantastic blues come swing version of Kylie’s big hit, The Locomotion. Fab.

Fawlty Towers Re-Visited is a comedy show that is obviously based on the hit TV programme Fawlty Towers. This for me is a difficult duo to review, as this is a programme that I have not really been in to. Although it is obviously difficult to convert a successful TV sitcom into a stand up comedy routine, they seem to have the voices and looks off to pat. A brave attempt at a tremendously tricky concept.

Next on stage was the Vince Hughes Rock n Roll Jukebox Show and Vince showed us that he is a one of a kind entertainer. Opening with a fantastic song “Sherry” followed by “Big Girls Don’t Cry” he really had the crowd enthralled and me too with the power of his head voice and his obvious skill in using it correctly. I loved the enthusiasm that this guy puts into to his act. Absolutely brilliant!

Abbarettes are a tribute that consists of the female section of the Swedish supergroup and with excellent outfits from the good old 80s their vocals contained harmonies that blended really well in the numbers we all remember so well. The duo can also be booked with the two remaining members of the band to suit all venues and corporate events.

We had the pleasure of seeing the three guys of Simply Soul at the last Keeping it Live! showcase in Stratford Upon Avon, and yet again they certainly know how to entertain a crowd and even bookers were dancing, clapping and singing in their seats - a rare sight indeed. Not too sure about the red suits lads but the show itself is pure class!

With the voice he possesses surely puts Lewis Targer in a class of his own. Working his full set with the Keeping It Live! band Lewis showed he will probably never be out of work. It was a pleasure to listen this young man and I really enjoyed his short spot.

Brilliant! Excellent! Fantastic! Amazing! Tank Sherman has definitely got be the funniest man I have ever seen in my life. Everyone in the whole Horseshoe Bar was 100% behind this comedian. I have never laughed so much to the point like I could not breathe and my sides where killing me. Would love to see the complete show as he is a wonderful entertainer. Thank you Tank for the laughs.

Male / female duo Scandal opened their spot with a great classic “Baby Its Cold Outside” followed by a rendition of the Cher smash “Believe” Their vocals were good but I must admit that to me they seemed to gel better when the male half of the duo took the lead, not taking anything away from the vocal quality of the female, it just seemed a little weaker. Having said that I must congratulate them on their very lively and energetic show and I am sure that most venues would enjoy their gig.

Using a massive musical opener from Carmine Bararna to get the audience attention Danny Lowry as Robbie Williams exploded onto the stage with “ Let Me Entertain You” Danny has more than a passing resemblance to Stoke’s finest export and has certainly studied his mannerisms in detail as he has got them off to a “T”. Nice to see this tribute as we have not had a Robbie Williams on Keeping it Live! until now. Fab spot.

A young lady all the way from the Philippines, Malou opened her showcase set with a fabulous song that you do not hear much, “Shackles”. My only criticisms were that the track was fade out and that there was a little too much dancing which appeared to leave Malou slightly breathless. Malou has a wonderful voice and range and again made good use of the Keeping It Live! band. With a little more time and experience she should go a fair way in the industry.

In complete contrast, next on stage with a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes and wearing sunglasses were the UK Chicago Blues Brothers, a tribute to the fantastic John Belushi / Dan Ackroyd creation. I loved these guys as they were full of life and their vocals blended superbly. This was a really lively set and that for me is a must. Great show boys.

This is the second time that I have seen Totally Take That and I have to say that with the change of lead vocalist there is seemed to be a definite improvement on that side of it, unfortunately the backing vocals are slightly miss married as each one of the members of the band seem to breathing at different times so some of the harmonies are missing. A time spent on correcting this and this show could be fantastic. The boys are still very young and can do this. Well done for the effort and nice to see that you are still really trying to create something special.

Young vocalist Kerrie Leonard has a superb powerful vocal, which is well controlled. Opening with a fantastic James Bond theme, she showed she really has an amazing talent and obviously can fit into the highest standard of venues. A fab set of songs and performance.

Tribute artist Rock Stewart has to be one of the best Rod Stewart’s I have seen in a long time. The complete show is definitely Rod all the way. He never comes out of character and the movements etc are spot on. An excellent performance.

Young male vocalist Nicky Triphook has a talent to die for - his voice is amazing with great switches between the chest and head voice and power too. This young man should be one of the best recording artistes around and the right break he could well be because he is far too good for just the club scene. He also uses live backing as well as tracks, which in my eyes is a talent on its own. I feel very blessed to have had the privilege to have been able to listen and review this very talented young man. Amazing!

Closing another quality evening was five-piece band Diva Fever, a multi-tribute show fronted by Justine Riddoch. Showing just a small sample of their show They opened with a small tribute to Shania Twain “Man I Feel Like A Woman” which was sang slightly pitch wise different from the original and after a short costume change the band then went into a Cher tribute. Great show and obviously bookable as a great party band.

Once again it was left to affable compere Steve Walls to close the show and thank the full audience for their attendance before Mickey and the boys closed the evening in true rockin’ style. A great day with two more to come surely whets the entertainment appetite.

My act of the session: Tank Sherman