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Picture
REVIEW
​The Last 
Resort

Rayleigh Mill
Charity Event in aid of The Lord’s Taverners
Saturday 23rd November 2019
There are some nights you just want to go out and have fun. Good, old fashioned, fun. Saturday night at Rayleigh Mill was one of those nights.

The Last Resort was formed in 1999 between two old friends, Glenn Raymond and Anthony Woodman, with the aim of reuniting friends and colleagues they had worked with in the past. They performed their first show at Chinnerys music bar in Southend in aid of Cancer Research. This was in memory of Anthony’s father who had passed away from cancer. This show was so successful another two followed at Chinnerys to sell out audiences. The band had realised that the format of different members and different music styles in one show was a winning one. Skip forward to 2019 and you’ll find dozens of musicians from the local music scene having a great time and raising funds for local and international charities in an evening of pop and rock.

The Rayleigh Mill is a great venue of these types of gigs, a nice space and a big stage (necessary for the huge band size, varying from 5 to 12). The biggest problem is the bar service which, frankly, is awful. The staff were trying their best but demand was just overwhelming and it would take on average 20-30 minutes to get a drink. And at a gig where each set lasts approximately 20 minutes, that’s an entire act you‘ll miss as the bar is in the adjacent room.

This doesn’t, however, take anything away from the musicians themselves. We were blessed to see the likes of David Bowie (‘Stars in Your Eyes’ winner Tony Perry), Madness (Paul Maleary), Elvis Presley (Bob More), ABBA (Heidi Carter & Natalie Jenkin-Smith), Bon Jovi (Chris Page) and Queen (Noel Ashton).

The acts were short but effective, bringing variety and great entertainment to the stage. Because each act had only four songs each to play, each stuck to pure crowd-pleasers and the energy remained high throughout. The set changes were rapid and you were never left waiting around for the next band. Intertwined in between acts were messages from the Charity and at one point a short video on what the charity does (more on that great charity below). 

Although all were great in their own ways, I have to put in a special mention to Chris Page as Jon Bon Jovi. Chris is the lead vocalist in the Bon Jovi Tribute act ‘Jon Bovi’ and also 80’s covers band ‘Feel the Steel’ which performs 80’s glam-rock classics. I’ve been lucky enough to see Chris perform in both bands already so was already aware of the awesome power and breath-taking ability of his vocals, but what was amazing was how quickly Chris was able to instantly capture his audience from the short break beforehand in a mad flurry of energy and charisma in such a short space of time. With a stage presence that oozes supreme confidence, many would argue he was the stand out talent of the evening. If you get a chance to catch either Feel the Steel or Jon Bovi  I would highly recommend it.

Review:  Michael Reddihough


http://www.thelastresort.org.uk/
Facebook: @thelastresortcharity
https://www.lordstaverners.org/

The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity, founded in 1950 at the Tavern pub at Lord's Cricket Ground. Supporting some of the most marginalised and at risk young people in the UK, the charity works to enhance lives through sport and recreation, giving young people a sporting chance. With the mission to enhance the lives of disadvantaged and disabled young people through sport and recreation.

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