The Ultimate R n B Tour

Central Theatre, Chatham

Sixties idol Dave Berry joked that there was about £850 worth of heating allowance on the stage as The Ultimate R n B Tour hit the Central Theatre in Chatham last week.

I suspect there was thousands of pounds worth in the audience as we relived the golden music era with the singer, Maggie Bell, The Animals (and friends), The Yardbirds and The Zombies.

Berry, best known for his hit The Crying Game, celebrated his 73rd birthday on stage and was presented with a candle lit cake by Scottish rocker Bell, who is only four years behind him.

He was even presented with a present by a fan, which led him to joke: “I hope it’s money. Oh no, it’s drugs.”

The Animals opened the show with a lead singer whose powerful voice was more than a match for the original Eric Burdon, running through their many hits including the No. 1 House of the Rising Sun which, we were informed, took just 15 minutes to record in one take and cost “ten bob” to make.

Berry was an admirable stand-in for the ailing Spencer Davis, ghosting across the stage with youthful nimbleness.

Bell proved she has lost none of her seismic vocal power when belting out such Etta James classics as At Last and I’d Rather Go Blind.

The Yardbirds evolved with three of the most famous guitarists in Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and went on to have a string of hits. The group has now had some young blood injected into it but the classics For Your Love, Over Under Sideways Down and Heart Full of Soul sounded as good as ever.

Their version of the rocking Led Zeppelin song Dazed and Confused had the biggest wow factor or all.

The Zombies, in their 50th year, were the icing on Berry’s cake as the headliners, wrapping up a star-studded show with the dazzling duo of Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent belting out gems such as She’s Not There, Time of the Season and Tell Her No.

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