The Lee Lard tribute to Peter Kay show
St Johns Terrace club Normanton
March 6th
There are now a number of comedy tributes out there right now in cabaret-land, as folk who wish to see a comedy favourite in their own backyard continue to pack venues to capacity. There is Ricky Lane performing his Bernard Manning act, Anthony Vernolini as Billy Connolly and apparently dozens of funny men taking a stab at Chubby Brown.
Lee Lard was the Peter Kay double in the iconic charity pop video Amarillo and he has been making a handsome living ever since. St Johns Terrace club was packed to the rafters by the Lee Lard show, with the Brian Potter and Geraldine characters brought out to great comic effect, in between a spot of Amarillo dancing and all the rest.
Recorded voice-overs from the Phoenix Nights show were utilised to punctuate the comedy and a piece of business with a step-ladder was very cleverly used. Lee Lard gives the audience what they want and the pitch of the material is both faithful and compatible with the Kay comedic line of crowdapproach.
Supporting artiste on the night was personality vocalist Sonya, whose singing style and performance is steeped in the creed of Northern Clubland. The glamorous and bespectacled Sonya gives an object lesson in Clubland style crowd approach andcertainly knows how to fill a dance floor. Her talents acted as a well-chosen foil for the comic talents of Lee Lard.
This was a superb evening’s cabaret in front of a crowd who were there to be entertained and had paid to see a great show. Cabaret is alive and well in the North of England on this showing. Despite the social club surroundings, there were no bingo interruptions. The bingo brigade are often not appreciative of what happens on Clubland stages and clubs that present live entertainment in this fashion
