Chartbusters

RICHARD BATSON

When your theatre's been closed, and you want the cobwebs gone – who you gonna call? Chartbusters.

This "tributes unlimited" show ripped the dust sheets off Cromer's Pavilion Theatre after its winter shut-down, and unveiled a non-stop party of music, impressions and comedy. For almost three hours the five singers and slick four-man backing band cranked out classic golden oldies spanning four decades of pop, disco, soul and rock.

The first show of the season sets the scene for a programme in which tribute bands figure highly – but if they are all as good as this bunch it bodes well for a summer of foot-tapping, side-splitting fun.

Star of the show was Terry Webster, whose comic antics and impersonations lifted it a notch beyond the 'yet another tribute show' category.

His Michael Jackson, Leo Sayer and Barry White routines were brilliant, and beneath a range of disguises there is a fine singing voice – with reminders of his former Jive Bunny connections during a rock and roll medley.

He is joined by Kerry Wilson, whose impressions included Cilla and Cher; Steve Jolley, a Tony Blair lookalike who does a mean Billy Joel; and Kaiya Manning majoring on black women soul and Motown singers.

Completing the line-up is the dusky heart-throb of the evening Cecil Foster whose rich voice glided from Ben E King's Stand By Me to Billy Ocean's Love Really Hurts Without You.

The touring show visited Cromer last year, but returns with an almost completely different line-up, fuelling debate among regulars about who was the best.

But Saturday night's audience had no doubt, begging them back on stage for an encore which summed up the evening – Oh What a Night.