During the heady days of the sixties, when British bands dominated the charts, there was only one American band, apart from the Beach Boys, that could give the Beatles and the Stones a run for their money – the Four Seasons. Nevertheless, the Four Seasons, with their distinctive lead singer Frankie Valli, were a bit of an anachronism. While other bands of the day eschewed things showbizzy, the Four Season were ensconced in short-back-and-sides Brylcreamed hair, sharp suits and moves that only American bands or Pan’s People (look ‘em up) could get away with. The fact is that even at the height of their fame, they were old-fashioned and much older than all the other bands. Not surprising really considering that Mr Valli had his first hit in 1953, predating even Elvis.
So how come they made it, and made it big, in the days of mop-top hair-dos and Chelsea boots (look ’em up)? Well, you only have to listen to them to know the answer. Their formula was, like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, a combination of very fab songs and a vocal style that was immediately recognisable – due almost entirely to Frankie Valli’s amazing, often falsetto, voice.
There have been several stage shows based on the band, the most famous and successful being Jersey Boys – is it just me or does that sound a bit like a knitting pattern for men’s cardies? New Jersey Nights, which is at the Everyman in Cheltenham this week, has all the same songs, all the same suits and all the same moves but is a quite different kettle of fish. While Jersey Boys has a storyline, a narrative of the band’s rise to fame and fortune, New Jersey Nights is just the songs with a bit of bopping from six dancers to jolly things along. The other difference is that the four singers, Damion Scarcella, Kris Manuel, Jonathan Hawkins and William Hazell all take it in turns to be Frankie Valli and are not in character when announcing the songs.
It could be argued that if you go and see a show about a band it’s the music you want, not a bit of second-rate acting giving us information we don’t really want or need. New Jersey Nights is not really even a tribute band – in tribute bands each singer has his or her character, and that’s who they are. With New Jersey Nights we just have four singers who dress up and sing Four Seasons songs. And jolly good singers they are to. Damion Scarcella, who I guess is the main Frankie Valli, has an amazing voice and is the outstanding performer of the show. That is not to detract from the others each of whom bring their distinct personalities and vocal prowess the party.
One thing that slightly disconcerted me was that William Hazell, who supplies the comic relief to the show, looked, from where I was sitting, remarkably like David Cameron. Had I not known that our beloved leader was in Scotland desperately trying to persuade people to say no, I would have sworn it was him. Had New Jersey Nights been able to enlist Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband, and perhaps Boris Johnson, they really would have had a show – they all have the moves and they even have their own suits.
New Jersey Nights was a lot of fun with some great singing backed by a four piece band led by Richard Healy that sounded like twice as many. The two a cappella songs, especially Silence is Golden, were for me probably the high-spot of the evening
If you like the Four Seasons you won’t want to miss New Jersey Nights. If they were before your time, now’s the time to discover them. The audience was on its feet by the end of the show but I sneaked out before the dancing in the aisles started as I’m too old for that start of thing. ★★★☆☆ Michael Hasted
