Starring Billy J McGregor
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Starring Billy J McGregor |
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Press Reviews The ELVIS Collection at The Whitley Bay Playhouse A great night of nostalgia for those who enjoyed the ELVIS PRESLEY chart hits first time around and an appreciation of of a truly great period of music for the younger people in the audience. These were the Elvis songs performed by the truly great entertainer Billy J. McGregor, complemented by an equally talented band and backing singers. McGregor did not attempt to impersonate Elvis but to pay tribute to a great performer - which he did outstandingly to everyone`s delight. From the intro of a Space Odyssey he belted out a selection of Elvis numbers such as CC Rider, Burning Love, Proud Mary and many more. The band came into their own with great playing, especially on piano in the bluesy section. Numbers such as Good Luck Charm, That`s Alright Mama and Mystery Train had the audience clapping their hands and tapping their feet. There were also times when melancholy songs silenced the audience. Numbers like Don`t Cry Daddy and You Gave Me a Mountain were sung with such feeling I`m sure most of the audience had a lump in their throat - and if anyone had dropped a pin it would have been heard. Half way through the second act, there was no stopping this audience with everyone on their feet swaying and clapping. A truly entertaining evening Doreen Moon Evening Chronicle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ELVIS Collection At the Marina Theatre Lowestoft Saturday February 1st 2003. Another triumph for the Marina Theatre with The Elvis Collection. Tribute bands can be very difficult to review because every one of us has our own idea as to what should be offered as a `tribute`. In fact some bands have given the phrase tribute a very dodgy image, so it must be difficult, with the glut on the market, to pick the cream of the crop. The cream of the Elvis crop was most certainly in the Marina that night courtesy of the Manager, Martin Halliday in the form of Billy J McGregor and his powerful 9 piece band, not forgetting the 2 accomplished backing singers. Billy J. upon entering the stage made a clear point that he was not there to impersonate the King, by his own admission he did not look like Elvis but he wanted to pay tribute to an artist who changed the face of music. The passion and the energy with which Billy and the Band performed Elvis numbers was staggering, all the hits, too numerous to mention, were there with others that although not chart hits were welcomed by the lively audience who had braved the worst of the weather. With the minimum of banter, The Elvis Collection entertained throughout the first and second sets with real energy, skill, charisma and obvious enthusiasm. A selection of Elvis numbers were also sung by guitarist and band leader Alan Wearmouth who with a style of his own complimented his chosen numbers perfectly. The rare thing about the evening was that all the band members appeared to truly love what they were doing despite endless hours on a tour bus and a grueling tour. The journey to Lowestoft had been a particularly arduous one due to the harsh weather, but with the show must go on spirit everything came together for the band and the audience in a full and exciting evening. The audience that filled the Theatre showed their immense pleasure and appreciation of the bands hard work by demanding and getting two encores. The second of which I am told was totally unrehearsed. In a somewhat mad scramble the evening finished with an extraordinary power packed rendition of Moody Blue, the bands way of saying thank you to a great audience. The audience reciprocated in voice and body as the aisles filled with rockin rollers of all ages loving every minute of the night. BOYS A JOB WELL DONE Catherine Fitzpatrick Lay ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ELVIS Collection at The Queens Theatre Barnstaple September 26th 2003 Elvis : Not a copy ..... Just my tribute All over the world there are Elvis impersonators, soundalikes and lookalikes and many who should not have given up their day job. Others fortunately can sing! The ELVIS Collection fronted by Billy J McGregor is one of the better shows dedicated to the memory of Elvis and he said "I am not an impersonator I am here just to pay tribute to him". With a powerful voice and support from three guitars, trumpet, sax, trombone, keyboards, drums and three backing singers, Billy certainly did it in style. There was plenty for all tastes between the show opener CC Rider and Suspicious Minds. Other highlights included fiery versions of The Promised Land, and Viva Las Vegas. It was all enough to get the audience dancing in the aisles. Alex Goodman ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To their credit The Elvis Collection make no attempt to imitate Elvis. No sparkles, just solid rock and roll. Their reward, a thunderous standing ovation. Before watching this show I must say I was never convinced by the hordes of Presley tributes".---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Elvis Collection disproved the myth that you need costumes and wigs to pay homage to The King. This was a truly powerful tribute to a legendary performer".---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What The Elvis Collections' performance made clear was that the early music - the Black sound, with a feeling for the Blues, sung by a good looking moody sullen rebel, was the real stuff".---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "There are so many Elvis impersonators around these days you can hardly tell one from the other. Tribute band The Elvis Collection really stand out from the crowd because they let the Kings music speak for itself".---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "They belted out standards Return to Sender, Heartbreak Hotel, All Shook Up and Suspicious Minds then they changed the mood with classics I Just Can't Help Believin' An American Trilogy and In The Ghetto to the obvious delight of the enthusiastic audience".---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The official UK Elvis Presley fan club said...... "....check out a band called The ELVIS COLLECTION an Elvis show with a difference. The ELVIS COLLECTION took the audience on a magical Journey of the King's repertoire, a great show"---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elvis CollectionMARTIN LENON *** Nov 2006 ELVIS may well have been the most recognisable name in popular music of the 20th century. Whether or not he was the most impersonated singer in musical history, he's surely a contender for the title. Last night at the King's, appropriately enough, Billy J McGregor pointedly didn't impersonate the Memphis Flash, instead performing a tribute to his music. The show was very much styled after one of Presley's. Opening with a recording of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, leading directly into See See Rider, McGregor took to the stage, dressed in a replica of what Presley called "The Kitchen Sink" white jumpsuit, because it had everything on it but. The show continued as the opening chords of Burning Love began to show off the talents of the ten-piece backing band. A short, sharp Love Me found the Beale Street Horns exchanging their brass instruments for finger-snapping and nifty footwork - a talent they would revisit regularly throughout the evening. All of the versions and medleys presented in the show had previously been formatted by Presley himself at one time or another, including the lounge singer introduction to Hound Dog, but of course within a few moments, the more familiar, rockier version took its place. Swiftly followed by All Shook Up, McGregor, while not a copyist, displayed a few decent Elvis-style moves, shuffling and whipping his arm to the music. After one of the best songs of the evening, a big blues-ey version of Heartbreak Hotel, McGregor described Elvis as "unique, a one-off who can't be replaced" to explain the fact that he wasn't an impersonator. Return To Sender, a faithful rendition featuring a very authentic saxophone introduction, was followed by two Elvis hits from the sixties - Devil In Disguise and Marie's The Name, before the band changed the pace completely for Presley's favourite gospel song, How Great Thou Art. There then followed a heartbreaking trio of songs, beginning with Don't Cry Daddy followed by In The Ghetto and McGregor's own favourite, You Gave Me A Mountain. These songs were very much proof of Presley's abilities as a balladeer, and they did the same for McGregor. The second half opened oddly. A quartet, showcasing Alan Wearmouth on vocals and guitar, and featuring bass, snare drum and the astounding lead-guitar playing of Nick Rickard took to the stage to play a short selection of Presley's hits, including That's All Right, Mystery Train and Blue Suede Shoes. When McGregor retook the stage, it was wearing a bright red jumpsuit, and it was straight into The Wonder Of You, complete with audience on backing vocals. The sound quality had taken something of a leap in the second half, and especially during Just Can't Help Believing, the Beale Street Horns proved the value of having a real horn section in the band, as opposed to a synthesised one. It was back to rock 'n' roll for a while as the band trundled through classics like Teddy Bear, Don't Be Cruel and Johnny B Goode, which featured Rickard sliding around the stage on his knees and the horns dancing for all they were worth. Often in an Elvis show, An American Trilogy is poorly performed, but not here. McGregor had exactly the right voice for the number, and the arrangement was impeccable. The famous flute solo in the middle was replaced by some the sweetest trumpet played this side of Miles Davis, by Sean Hollis. After a few encore numbers including Viva Las Vegas and finishing with Suspicious Minds, Elvis left the building, or at least the stage. The King is dead, but his kingdom is in pretty good hands.
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