Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys
The Crazy Coqs, London, U.K, February 26, 2016
Reviewed by Fiona Coffey for Cabaret Scenes
Friday night is swing night at London’s Crazy Coqs. Tables and chairs are pushed to the back, the art deco tiled flooring is revealed, customers arrive after the last cabaret show to dance their way to midnight in the company of one of the venue’s resident swing bands. The program pitch of one such band, Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys, is notable for its ebullience.
They ask whether you are “busting to show off your Black Bottom” and offer the chance to “let yourself go with wild, raucous gay abandon.” When I first saw them perform here in January, this is precisely what happened. Champagne Charlie’s effervescent performance, his natural warmth and showmanship created an all-night party experience in barely an hour and a half, fueled by an audience that was dressed to the nines and clearly in the mood to let its hair down.
On this particular night, a different audience needed rather more encouragement. But it was in this contrast that the true substance of Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys’ offer shone through. When an audience needs a little coaxing, when they are frankly not ready to give themselves away on the first crisply played toe-tapping jazz number, then one appreciates all the more the wit, attention to detail and musicianship that underpin a lovingly-crafted show. For this is no bland dance band pastiche. Champagne Charlie looks every inch the 1920s bandleader—his immaculate tuxedo and smooth good looks combine with a languid honey-toned voice ideally suited to the repertoire. At the same time, his cabaret host persona is never far from the surface, introducing flamboyance and a taste for devilment that lifts the show beyond the expected and into new realms of delight.
The set is built around numbers that one might anticipate and, indeed, would feel cheated if they were not included: classics such as “Cheek to Cheek,” “42nd Street” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz” are beautifully arranged and performed with effortless precision and panache by the Bubbly Boys. Songs such as “What’ll I Do” and “So Long for Now” are sung with a genuineness that invites respect for the old-fashioned sentiments they convey.
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But when the Bubbly Boys don their fezes for a series of numbers inspired by 1920s Tutmania—”Cleopatra,” “The Sheik of Araby,” “Egyptian Ella,” “In the Old Bazaar of Cairo”—we travel into less familiar and deliciously exotic territory. It is the innocent charm and sheer political incorrectness of these songs that clearly speak to Champagne Charlie and, in turn, infect his audience with glee. By the second set we are ready to be treated to Harry Roy’s “My Girl’s Pussy,” its jaw-dropping innuendo acting as a healthy reminder that our ancestors enjoyed salacious humor, too, and we can therefore permit its inclusion here.
This is a show that clearly aims to delight its audience at every turn. Props abound—a brass megaphone, tiny Egyptian cymbals, a dance cane that appears to spring from a handkerchief—are all deployed without fuss and to great effect. Champagne Charlie makes his second set entrance wearing a gold lamé turban adorned with fruit—as the band strikes up “Brazil”—and leads the audience in a conga. There is a breathtakingly quick costume change from an all-black to all-white tuxedo for the encore: a wonderful tap dance routine in the middle of “42nd Street.” The audience soon learns that when Champagne Charlie yells “Champagne!,” they are supposed to yell “Champagne!” back. And, of course, in increasing numbers, they do. By the end of the evening, a very sizeable number participates in the signature twelve-minute Charleston dance-off, and even those who remain rooted to their chairs look extremely happy and satisfied.
Champagne Charlie is a natural front man and a fine singer. The Bubbly Boys, led by Tom Carradine, are first-rate musicians who are all well established on the London cabaret scene. Working within a conventional dance band brief, these five would surely deliver an excellent evening of entertainment. But Champagne Charlie’s infectious enthusiasm for the dance-band genre, coupled with his cabaret performer’s creative sensibility, results in a show that is special and distinctive. Essentially, it is a masterclass in how to give an audience a fabulous party, whether or not they choose to leave their dancing shoes at home.
http://www.champagnecharliemusic.co.uk
