Be Bop A Lula review, Ambassadors Theatre

Everyone has favourite music haunts from their youth. In my bit of London it was the Windsor Castle on the Harrow Road, the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden, the Greyhound on Fulham Road and the Nashville Rooms in West Kensington. They put on some terrific nights and an evening at Be Bop A Lula, a pop-up event on the first Monday of every month, was a bit like going back in time to one of those venues to see Fumble or Dr Feelgood or The Steve Gibbons Band. All one needed was a bar sticky from beer spills, the fug of cigarettes, and a long haired boyfriend to complete the picture.

As it happens, there were a number of long haired gents singing and directing the music from their seats at Be Bop A Lula all with matching wives and girlfriends. They were as much fun to watch as the show, which is a bit like Rock of Ages but with even less narrative. The staging is very basic. Five exhumed rockers - Billy Fury, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Eddie Cochran - are performing live on a radio show. That's it. If you want thumping rock'n'roll, you get it. If you want a story, forget it.

So let's stick with the music.  The house band - The Wildcats - is terrific and bendy saxophonist Spencer Evoy proved himself as much a star as the main performers. Gavin Stanley was a solid Billy Fury and Eddie Cochran this evening. Lars Young plays Vincent and Orbison and his voice is the sweeter and his characterisation less caricature. We also had an appearance from Buddy Holly. While there is some humour to be had from seeing portly older performers play the parts of lithe stars who died as young men, there was also a sense of regret at the thought of what might have been.

In conclusion: What you see is what you get with Be Bop A Lula, a straight series of performances which will appeal to anyone whose foot starts tapping the minute some good old fashioned r&r comes on the juke box. For me, after the first hour, I was caught between a rocker and a hard place. I'd heard enough yet I yearned to dance. There are worse dilemmas.

References
Be Bop A Lula, Tickets


Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9ND