REVIEW: Lipstick On Your Collar - The Charter Theatre, Preston.

The Lipstick On Your Collar band are a fifties and sixties inspired act who are currently touring UK with their evening of non-stop blasts from the past with a nostalgic show which is promoted as being direct from London's West End. On closer inspection I found that the show was staged for one night only at Leicester Square on 6th May 2018. I must admit that I was expecting a musical show with a story interspersed with songs from yesteryear but what we got was a five piece band and a lead singer who did her best to encourage the audience to join in with the songs or to clap along. Lead singer, Nicola Seeking-Smith’s enthusiasm was at times slightly over-the-top and seemed rather contrived but in comparison the other band members were all rather bland and seemed to be going through the motions.

Their publicity states that the band are ‘Made up of some of the country’s top musicians, in addition to their UK theatre tour band members have appeared in many other West End and UK touring shows including Buddy, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Thriller, Dancing in the Street and The Elvis Years’. Their talent as musicians cannot be disputed but for me two hours of sitting in a cramped seat in the Dress Circle of the Charter Theatre, Preston watching a band perform nearly four dozen songs with only a small projector screen at the back of the stage changing from picture stills depicting news footage and TV advertisements from the fifties and sixties to videos of the artists performing during that time period was a little too much.

Lead singer, Nicola left the stage at times for a costume change but other than that the scenario was the same. Nicola and the lead guitarist attempted to interact with the audience at one point by sitting on the edge of the stage but this proved embarrassing for Nicola as she had to sit with her legs spayed apart, either side of a piece of stage equipment (which I think was a stage light, but could be wrong) and then had to be helped up by another band member, by pulling her up to her feet. Nicola’s outfits were mainly of the same style; four consisted of a fifties inspired halter-neck dress with a waspy belt and flared skirt with stiff black petticoats underneath with different patterns, (spotted or plain), except for two dresses which were a sixties inspired tight black and white mini dress and a full length sparkly number which she wore whilst singing a Shirley Bassey hit, ‘I Who Have Nothing’, a particular favourite of mine which I’m afraid didn’t live up to the original.

The set list was ambitious and Nicola was out of breath at times as she covered hit songs from all the well-loved entertainers of the period such as Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, Buddy Holly, Susan Maughan, Petula Clark, Elvis, Cliff, Cilla, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion, The Everly Brothers, Carole King, Neil Sedaka et al and included a tribute to Phil Spector’s music.

All the elements for a nostalgic night listening to the hit songs from my childhood were there except I just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t class the band as a Tribute Act as there were far too many artists and their songs being covered and at times I didn’t think the lead singer’s singing ability was up to scratch as she was at times out of tune; additionally some of the musical arrangements didn’t match the originals. Indeed at times it was difficult to ‘Name that tune’ at the beginning of a number as it was so unlike the original arrangement; it helped that the original performer was on the back-drop screen.

A Beatles medley of a stand-alone routine by the musicians received the best applause of the evening from a mainly over sixties audience. It was a full house and as the performance finished rapturous hand clapping was received by the performers. Although all my favourite songs and performers were
included, I didn’t personally leave the theatre wanting more.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
on - 2/2/19