'Club Show' maintains its standard

Press, 16 April 1979, Page 11

'Club Show' maintains its standard

By

A. K. GRANT

There's no doubt about it,i South Pacific have gone to 1 incredible lengths to improve the standard of "The Club Show.” Right after a Mrs Stockdale had hit the Magic Blob or whatever it is on. Saturday night I nodded off to sleep, and when I woke up again, who should be on the screen but Sammy Davis, jun. Now for my money, or per-, haps I should say, for my. overdraft. Sammy Davis jnr, is the least attractive singer of modern times. The only

The next thing I remember after Sammy Davis, jun. is a ' singer who was Ernie Leonard's Pick of the Week. She sang a song called “I — ‘1 Who Have Nothing,” which had the curious staccato refrain. "Hallerv Yew!" I. don't know what this hallerv, yew is, but presume it to be! a particular genus or species of the yew tree, but what it ; was doing in this particular i song I have no idea. However I didn't worry ! about it for long, because the next thing up was John Hore,

ilwho announced in his song .'that “Ah ain’t got no ciga■jrettes” with a grin which suggested that he had won the :! Golden Kiwi. The last thing LI remember before unconscidousness again supervened ijwas Glyn inviting us to come ‘' back next week and join ! them all live on the Club ■ Show. I remember trying to i ■ work out whether it was we • who were supposed to come •!back live, or them, and then - the blackness closed in again. : Glyn’s ambiguous request, however, did not signify the end of “The Club Show.” betj cause when I came to again. -Ithere, on the same enormous I sets, were people like Audrey

good thing about him is the I wav he keeps shaking his( head from side to side in dis-j belief at the badness of his I own singing. But 1 can’t stand the way he moves his I lower jaw back and forwards; in a horizontal plane, like a trombone seen from the| side. Nevertheless, whatever one' thinks of the man, he is a Big Name, and it must have cost South Pacific a fortune! to get him at such short notice. And they must have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the colossal new sets. You would have almost! thought you were in Holly-i wood.

’Hepburn, Laurence Olivier,! John Wayne and Jane Fonda. 1 They were playing some com-! 'plicated game which involved ! giving each other little gold] j statuettes. Presumably what! I was happening was that the) [show’s producers were trying[ [out a substitute for the Silver; Shot. ■ 1 must confess that even! 'allowing for the vagaries of! i the arrow in the Silver Shot, i I I think it is more of a crowd- [ pleaser than the statuette! game, which although obvi-l [ously very' exciting for the I participants, has rules which j were never explained and [does not allow for participation from the viewers at [ home I Also I must question the [wisdom of South Pacific I spending such a huge sum on I “The Club Show” at this particular time in its fortunes [(and I use the word “for-! : tunes” ill-advisedly). Might it! [not have been better to have! ■ worked Jane Fonda, John! Wayne and the others into! ; programmes like “Farming! [Today” or “Butcher’s Hook”?! [You don’t need big sets for! i those.