Rita Coolidge

King's Lynn Corn Exchange

On the first night of her 11 day UK tour those who had paid £24 to see the Grammy award winner were introduced to John and Wayne.

Who? That's what the rather meagre audience which only just filled about a third of the Corn Exchange to see Rita Coolidge perform asked.

The pair said they were carpenters from Cumbria who had toured with Marti Pellow and Paul Young.

Their songs were well sung, fun and quite original (the first being about the pair crashing into a roundabout in Coventry) and after 40 minutes and an interval it was time for an hour and a half of Rita.

Her singing was the deep husky soft Nina Simone-like voice she is well known for despite the hitches.

It perhaps took a little while to get the audience going who had perhaps wanted to hear some more of her classics instead of new songs from a jazz album she is promoting.

It was the music from her days with Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker that really got the audience going, The Way You Do The Things You Do - only to be knocked down with an American national anthem sung in Cherokee.

But it was the backing band who shone, especially the pianist and double bass player who both provided plenty of solos while Rita watched.