I thought I could remember The Barron Knights from way back.
Well, the 70s is way back isn’t it, when they hit the charts with A Taste of Aggro and Live in Trouble?
It turns out they’ve been going strong since 1959, and although I knew they’d had some “straight” songs in their repertoire too, I had no idea these 60s covers were the ones that get the crowd going.
Harmony forms a key part of the group’s evening and they used their talents to perfectly recreate the work of the Everly Brothers and Frankie Valli, among many others. Paul McCartney’s Blackbird, for instance, sung a cappella was a moment to savour.
The only remaining founder member is Peter Langford – and he reminded us of his own virtuoso talent, leading the band in The William Tell Overture and performing flamenco on acoustic.
A true cabaret band, you get the feeling that The Barron Knights today wouldn’t be out of place doing summer season. But they have bigger fish to fry, continually touring the world.
Whether the band is still genuinely funny after all these years or whether there’s a certain amount of warm affection, it’s hard to judge on their comedy numbers.
While their 70s hits made me chuckle, there was also new (to me) material, which neatly filled the gaps between the music they say has formed the soundtrack to their lives.
Time out from the singing gave Peter chance to remind us that they previously toured with the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. But those days are long gone – magically brought back to life only as long as The Barron Knights continue to tour.
