Martin Farbrother

Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne

It's not often you get to hear Frank Sinatra and Matt Monro on the same stage on the same night these days.

On Friday at The Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne, the audience was treated to the songs of both singers, thanks to self-styled crooner Martin Farbrother.

The former bread salesman spent the first half amiably rambling through the hits of Sinatra including classics like That's Life, My Way and New York, New York, lacing them with a running commentary of anecdotes gleaned from acquaintances, research and the internet.

For the second half, he returned with another set of songs made famous by the British bus conductor from Shoreditch formerly known as Terrence Parsons and featuring the theme to The Italian Job, an unusual version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Yesterday, Portrait of My Love, From Russia With Love and Born Free.

Martin is a superbly professional entertainer and looked very dapper in his dinner jacket, bow-tie and red flower in his button-hole.

Yet he is so laid-back there is a danger you can forget you are in a theatre.

At times it seemed more like we were all having a chat with him in his living room back at his home in Herne Bay.

Then there was the overwhelming temptation to sing along, which he encouraged. At times, the night was in danger of becoming something akin to crooner-karaoke.

And just when he had lulled the audience into a false sense of security he would gently pounce on a female, any female, sitting in the front row and whisk her off her feet with a dance.

Meanwhile, his wife Colleen was watching from the second row.

"It's a good job I'm not the jealous type," she said with a grin afterwards.