David Cassidy on the Web
Seventies acts David Cassidy, Leo Sayer, Hot Chocolate and Smokie turning back time in Birmingham
October 30, 2012
Stars including David Cassidy, Leo Sayer, Hot Chocolate and Smokie play the Once In A Lifetime tour at Birmingham's LG Arena.
By Birmingham Mail
http://www.birminghammail.net
It has proved a popular concept over the last few years, and the Once In A Lifetime tour – showcasing some of the biggest stars of the Seventies – looks like being a winner this year, too.
The 2012 line-up features David Cassidy, Leo Sayer, Hot Chocolate and Smokie – four acts with no less than 36 top ten hits between them.
Cassidy was one of the top heart-throbs of the decade. After coming to our attention in the TV series The Partridge Family, he had chart success with Cherish, Could It Be Forever and How Can I Be Sure.
Leo Sayer burst on the scene in 1973 with the quirky The Show Must Go On. This was soon followed by hits such as One Man Band, When I Need You and You Make Me Feel Like
David Cassidy
Hot Chocolate first entered the charts back in 1970 and went on to have at least one hit every year until 1984.
Hits such as You Sexy Thing, Everyone's A Winner and So You Win Again ensured their place in British music history as extraordinary performers.
Smokie complete the bill.
Original member Terry Uttley still helms the band that came out of Bradford in the Sixties.
Terry recalls: "We started out at school and became professional in 1968. It was at Butlins in Skegness, but we got fired after one week because we only knew 15 songs."
They kept plugging away and in 1975 hit the top ten with If You Think You Know How To Love Me and Don't Play Your Rock 'n Roll to Me.
A cover of The Searchers' Needles And Pins and then Oh Carol were a couple of other big hits later in the decade.
One of their hits, Living Next Door to Alice, twice made the top ten after they teamed up with risqué comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown in 1995 for Living Next Door to Alice (Who The F*** Is Alice).
Strangely, when the band perform Alice in concert, the audience tend to take over and add the Chubby Brown expletive.
"Yeah, it can be a bit off-putting for the people who like the original version,'' says Terry, ''but it gets the crowd involved.
"Funnily enough, we were playing at a New Year celebration for the Russian President Vladimir Putin (the band are massively popular on the continent and in Russia) and someone actually dared to shout it out."
Terry adds: "We're used to big audiences in Europe and if these dates go well, maybe we'll do some solo shows in Britain next year."
* The Once in a Lifetime tour will be at the Birmingham LG Arena on Friday November 9. Tickets priced at £38.50 from 0844 338 8000.
