David Cassidy on the Web
Once In A Lifetime (David Cassidy, David Essex, The Osmonds, Bay City Rollers)
June 25, 2005
By Steve Marshall
LondonNet Gig Preview
www.londonnet.co.uk
Wembley Pavilion
Wembley Stadium Complex
Empire Way
London HA9 0DW
Tube: Wembley Park
UKP44
Not But Twice
Resurrection of the biggest 70's pop idols makes for a once - okay, twice in a lifetime musical experience.
It should be sensory overload met by a fury of more aged screams as a horde of 70's teen heartthrobs invade Wembley Pavilion in June. It'll be difficult to believe that the clock hasn't been turned back thirty years as many of the faces who filled television screens and made teenage girls scream in their bell-bottoms return to rekindle that passion on a grandiose package tour.
David Cassidy first endeared himself to American and UK audiences on TV, as "Keith Partridge", a member of the traveling family rock n' roll band, the Partridge Family. He was able to survive the unraveling of that show to have a successful solo career as a pop-singing heartthrob. More impressively he was able to survive career purgatory and return to prominence with a little help from Las Vegas and VH1 in the late 90's.
The tour's English David, David Essex, resonated much stronger in his native land. He outstripped his tour mates in critical success and respect and nearly equaled them in commercial success. He made the most of his stardom, using his talent to become a crossover success in both stage and screen and prominently contributing to charitable efforts in Africa. With this year seeing the re-release of many of his 70's albums, Essex has returned to his roots.
Like all of the 70's teen idols, the Osmonds made their mark on TV. Forming before the Partridge Family, as well as not being fictional band, the Osmonds nonetheless followed their lead in a sense, with a series of television appearances on the Andy Williams Show and similar venues skyrocketing them to fame. Donny and Marie have met the most solo success since the group disbanded, but the rest of siblings met with moderate prominence playing country as the Osmond Brothers.
Edinburgh's the Bay City Rollers shared a similar fate to their counterparts. For a few years between the twilight of glam rock and the dawn of punk, the Bay City Rollers almost achieved world domination. The tartan-wearing quintet collectively made teenage girls worldwide swoon with such massive, tuneful pop-rock hits such as "Saturday Night" and "Bye Bye Baby" (a cover of the Four Seasons hit) for a few turbulent years in the mid-70's. At their height, hordes of screaming fans reached Beatle mania levels. By the end of the decade, personal tensions and the creative drain that followed caused them to burn out rather than fade away - only to return two decades later on this large-scale tour package.
This should be a good, albeit a second, "once in a lifetime" chance for those who loved the 70's teen idols the first time around to relive their youth.
Tickets also on sale for Birmingham, Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle & Nottingham.
