2012 is the 75th anniversary of the birth of music legend Buddy Holly. Although Buddy is no longer with us, fans can at least celebrate the anniversary of his birth by catching the premier tribute act Buddy Holly and The Cricketers across the United Kingdom.
Over the years music legends including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan have recognised Buddy Holly as a major music influence on their own musical styles. So it’s only fitting that over 5 decades on from Buddy’s initial chart success, the tribute act Buddy Holly & The Cricketers delight audiences worldwide with a variety of live shows celebrating the music of Buddy, The Crickets and their contemporaries from the 1950s and 1960s.
Buddy Holly and The Cricketers Rock Newport Riverfront
With an opening yell of “Good Evening Newport, are you ready to go?” Buddy Holly and The Cricketers kick-started a Rock 'n' Roll Jukebox of hits with a rousing version of That’ll Be The Day to a packed theatre audience at Newport Riverfront on February 9th 2012.
The group was fronted by musician Dean Elliott, although for the evening, he was only ever referred to as 'Buddy'. Dean’s portrayal of Buddy, complete with tuxedo, Fender Stratocaster and spectacles was clearly a celebration of the great man and his music performed with character, energy, accuracy and dedication.
Dean himself is no stranger to the role of Buddy having played him in the West End and even complimented by members of Buddy's family on the authenticity of his portrayal. He was joined on stage by his band The Cricketers, Stephen Gray on guitar, Ben Kypreos on bass, Kevin Oliver Jones on keyboards and Leon Camfield on drums.
Buddy Holly Tribute Act Also Perform Hits By Elvis And The Everly Brothers
The group continued with a selection of well known Holly classics including the upbeat Rock around with Ollie Vee and the rock classic its So Easy.
Although it would have been easy to just continue playing Holly’s greatest hits “Buddy” pointed out that he would also like to acknowledge some of the artists who influenced him for the next couple of tracks. These included a rendition of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel and The Everly Brothers All I Have to Do Is Dream, both songs well suited to the Buddy Holly sound. There was even a nod to The Beatles as Leon Camfield delivered a belting performance of I Saw Her Standing There from behind his drum kit.
Buddy Holly And The Cricketers Replicate Sounds Of Peggy Sue And Everyday
'Buddy' and the band encouraged the audience to participate at varying points, encouraging them particularly to show their appreciation with a Texan whoop, a movement involving shaking your right arm and whooping! There was much whooping to be done too as the band continued to belt out energetic versions of Holly classics Peggy Sue, Brown Eyed Handsome Man and Not Fade Away.
The concert continued in fine form with more classic hits including a version of Everyday, which featured Leon Camfield replicating Jerry Allison’s thigh slapping percussion from the original and It Doesn’t Matter Anymore in which Kevin Oliver Jones recreated the elaborate orchestrations of the original.
The second half featured a further mixture of rock greats and classic love songs including Raining in My Heart and True Love Ways. The audience by now were truly getting into the spirit of the evening and were been encouraged to dance in the aisles of the Riverfront theatre by the band.
Buddy Holly And The Cricketers Concert Memories That Will Not Fade Away
The concert culminated with a funky version of Think It Over followed by Oh Boy! And Rave On before the band then left the stage only to return a matter of minutes later in shirt sleeves to perform a belting rock n roll medley of tracks including Tutti Fruiti, At The Hop, Sea Cruise, Wipe Out and Johnny B Goode. The audience Texan whooped and danced through a rock 'n' roll party tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets creating memories that would Not Fade Away for a very long time!
Buddy Holly and The Cricketers Rock 'n' Roll Jukebox will continue to tour throughout 2012, for further information on tour dates, visit their official website.
