Rollermania! at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Review
Rollermania!
Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
2 October 2016
Reviewed by Louise Styles
I discovered last night that Les McKeown and his Bay City Rollers are to my mum what Mark Owen and Take That are to me! We went to see aforementioned Les and his band at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury and I can honestly say I had a great night. There is plenty of parking available in the surrounding area as well as bars, restaurants and even a travel lodge right next door.
The venue staff were all welcoming, smiling and chatty, the theatre was clean and there were lots of opportunities to buy drinks and snacks. The bar que moved swiftly and was managed well so that those who waited longest were indeed served first. I sat down with not a clue about the songs I would be hearing but by song no. 2 it didn’t really matter as they were all catchy pop beats.
The audience wasn’t large in volume which lead to the show being slightly more intimate than I think was intended but that only added to the fun as Les joked and interacted throughout with as many tartan clad ladies and gents as he could. He was very much the entertainer always smiling at cameras and getting everyone hyped up to dance in the aisles.
There was a good mix of songs from ballads to pop to rock and I was surprised that I knew more than I thought I would, having not known the Bay City Rollers had covered some well-known hits, finding their own success with them. Songs like ‘Bye Bye Baby’ (featured in Love Actually), ‘Be my Baby’ (the original featured in Dirty Dancing) and ‘I only want to be with you’ (a new version featured in this year’s Dogs Trust advert) as well as distinctive original songs like ‘Shang a Lang’ and ‘Summerlove Sensation’.
There were some important milestone songs thrown in like ‘Saturday Night’ – their only US no. 1 song and ‘Remember’ – the first Les McKeown lead vocal single, as well as some slow ballads such as ‘Give a little love’. There were also two songs from Les’ new album ‘The Lost Songs’ both of which went down well with the audience. Despite plugging the new album for sales unfortunately I overheard potential buyers say that there were no copies left available to buy on the night. There was a great atmosphere in the theatre despite the size of the audience and it really was infectious, lots of smiling, singing, happy, tartan wearing people!
Overall I had a great night and have come away with a new appreciation for 70s pop music!
Rating: 4/5
Rollermania! is currently on tour around the UK. For more information and tour dates visit www.lesmckeown.com.
For other shows at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury visit www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury.
Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UG | 0844 871 7607
