Ready Steady Go! at the Royal Festival Hall

On Saturday we went to my second Meltdown Festival event on the Southbank - a re-creation of the Ready Steady Go! telly programme from the early/mid-60s as part of Ray Davies Meltdown. At this point I need to mention that I was at the ripe old age of six years old when the show closed and never actually saw it until repeats of specific shows (usually about Motown) in the '90s and '00s. So, I know what it was and its importance but I was too young to experience it.

The show was exactly the kind of thing I look forward to at Meltdown - an ensemble piece with people coming on stage to sing a few songs, being replaced by someone else and then coming back later to do some more. They're always themed in one way or another and my first one was when Patti Smith curated Meltdown in 2005 and held a 'Stand Bravely Brothers' evening with the songs of Brecht and Weill and she brought over those punk cabaret raggamuffins, The Dresden Dolls (who stole my heart). So I had high hopes of this evening's entertainment.

First on stage were The Manfreds with Paul Jones on vocals. If you'd ever said I'd be seeing The Manfreds I'd have laughed in your face but I must admit that they were great fun and Paul Jones is an expert at working an audience. They played two songs that everyone knows and one that only fans would know - '5, 4, 3, 2, 1' and 'Doo Wah Diddy' (and yes, we all sang along to 'Doo Wah Diddy'!). Next on was Dave Berry (yes, he was in 'Are You Being Served? in the '70s) who sang his big hits, 'The Crying Game' and 'Little Things' along with a song written for him by Ray Davies. And he did his funny walk thing (I can't describe it). Both Paul and Dave have excellent stage skills coming from several decades of working an audience, so credit where it's due.

Paloma Faith was on next, singing one of her own songs and then 'Ain't No Sunshine' as her Ready Steady Go! song (except it was written after the show closed). She wore a strange brown ensemble and I'm afraid I didn't warm to her or her tales of how Sandie Shaw ruined her mothers' feet. But then we had Carl Barat (ex-Libertines, current Dirty Pretty Things) in black jeans and leather, introduced in the context of RSG was always "edgy" so this continues that tradition. I liked him, he had good stage presence and a nice voice, a vicious guitar style and good hair. He played 'Bang Bang You're Dead' and 'Hanging With The Boys', both his own songs. I don't know what the audience felt about him but I need to hear more of Mr Barat.

Next up was the most wonderful Sandie Shaw who had her first hit when I was aged four and she's looking good. Dressed in a floor length coat made out of pink Union Jack's with tasseled sleeves and pink hot pants and NO SHOES, she looked fabulous! (I worried about her bare feet on that stage). Sandie is the legend I wanted to see, someone I've never seen and never thought I'd see, and yet there she was in front of me. And she was having the time of her life from the look of her, bouncing all over the stage and showing off her bare feet, sitting on the edge of the stage and teasing us, all with the biggest smile of someone who's enjoying herself. She sang her classics, '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me' and 'Girl Don't Come'. I was breathless at the end of her songs - that was Sandie Shaw!


Then we had David McAlmont (of whom more later) singing his 90s hit 'Yes', followed by the magnificent Nona Hendryx. Nona used to be in LaBelle and opened her set with 'Lady Marmalade', one of the originals singing a song we all know. She sang an extended version of her song 'Winds of Change' and then got some audience members on stage for 'Sweat'. She was excellent, working us and kneading us in the palm of her hand and looking pretty damn fab! She can do her wiggle anytime. She had a nice long section in the middle of the show ('Winds of Change' was the extended 12" version) that got us settled down before we had two songs from Loick Essien, a new artist who sounded a bit Craig David to me.The next goddess was Ronnie Spector who strolled on to serenade us with 'Be My Baby', 'Walking In The Rain' and 'Baby I Love You', all classic Ronettes songs. Ronnie strode from one side of the stage to the other while singing to us, big hair and big smile saying it all. She had the audience in her hand and used us to good effect.

The final section was a Dusty Springfield tribute, with Nona Hendryx singing 'I Only Want To Be With You' (and forgetting some of the words), David McAlmont singing 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' and Paloma Faith's version of 'Son Of A Preacher Man'. The highlight for me was David McAlmont's song (depsite the out-of-tune horn intro - for shame!). Ray Davies then came on to sing 'Lola' with Paloma who sings it on Ray's latest album, 'See My Friends'. And that was the signal for the whole ensemble to appear for a mass rendition of 'Lola'. They were all there on stage (apart from The Manfreds) and looking and sounding good, with Sandie Shaw keeping the chorus going at the end - she looked like she just didn't want to leave the stage while Ray was happy to wander round, chatting to the artists and slapping Nona's arse (yes he did).

If I had to select three performances I'd pick Sandie's '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me', David's 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' and Nona's 'Lady Marmalade'. I've seen David McAlmont a couple of times in the last few years and each time it's been 'small' - David needs a big sound, a big band for his voice to soar above and I thought he sounded excellent! Forget the small gigs, David, just do big ones with a big band in future. It was a fun show made all the more funner by having a short chat with Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols who was sitting in the row behind me and how he thought Carl Barat did really well. I talked to a Sex Pistol - that is *something*!