On Saturday evening, Elvis came to Woodstock and he brought some friends with him to entertain us.
The venue was nicely busy, the bar area buzzing with the Rugby World Cup on in the background and groups of friends/family sat around the tables, waiting for the show to begin. When Andrew Francis burst onto the stage, smart in his frilly shirt and suit, the show did indeed begin. He immediately had the attention of the audience, and had us eating out of the palm of his hand within seconds, with his enthusiastic, charming banter. But it’s no good being charming if you can’t sing, is it? Fortunately, he can. As can his brother, Richard Francis and the lovely ladies Yvonne and Lynda, our backing singers for the evening.
The poster for the show promised ‘a night of entertainment’ and that is exactly what was delivered. For the first part of the show, we clapped and tapped along to hits from the Rat Pack, beautifully led by Andrew’s rich tones. We were treated to a cheeky rendition of 'Me and My Shadow' where Andrew’s Frank Sinatra was joined by his brother’s Sammy Davis Jr. and they both looked like they were enjoying the show as much as the audience. By the time Elvis arrived, the crowd were starting to get up and dance, shaking off that British reserve that always holds us back at the start of an evening like this. 'Elvis' strutted his stuff in his black satin bejewelled jumpsuit (with red-lined cape, no less), and was greeted with whoops and cheers and possible swooning from the ladies. I managed to rein it in, right until the end of the show when he was dressed as GI Elvis. I may have blushed slightly - well, who can resist a man in uniform?
With a mix of backing tracks and live music from an excellent band – Charlie on drums, Dan on bass guitar and David on lead guitar – this ensemble really gave their all to Woodstock, belting out hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s as well as the aforementioned swing/Rat Pack/Elvis combination. Even if they have performed this show numerous times, it came across as fresh and fun, and the dance floor was packed all night.