Silver Show's a solid gold performance

The Solid Silver 60s Show ***
Playhouse
Now in its 23rd year, the thirst for 60s pop nostalgia remains as thousands of music fans, many of whom eligible for a free bus pass, turned up at the Playhouse last night to cheer on yesteryear's top hit makers.

First up, Merseybeat band The Swinging Blue Jeans arrived on stage wearing (you guessed it) blue jeans and sporting matching waistcoats that made them look more like ageing snooker players than pop musicians from the '60s. Best known for their Number 2 hit, Hippy Hippy Shake, the Liverpudlian quartet received a laugh for revealing their backs tend to go out more than they do, before rocking out with tunes such as You're No Good, which, strangely, sounded more akin to 80s guitar rock than 60s pop.

Next up, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Attired in various pink jackets, leopard-skin shirts and cowboy boots, the band which spent more weeks in the UK singles chart than The Beatles between 1965 and 1969 sparked the audience into life with hits such as Bend It and The Legend Of Xanadu. The crowd didn't require Dave Dee's bullwhip to crack them up, either, erupting in rapturous applause following a curious medley of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven and The Who's Pinball Wizard. Easily the most kitsch band of the night, next act Dave Berry, was quick to remind them, that, while he might have been the oldest musician on stage, at least he could close his own jacket.

Indeed, Berry appears to have looked after himself very well. Dapper in his dark, tailor-made suit, the mysterious Berry seemed to float across the stage as he crooned his way through classics such as The Crying Game and Little Things. Whistle-stop tours towards Elvis (Mystery Train) and Chuck Berry (Memphis, Tennessee) saw the tempo up a little, but while his voice may have struggled on the higher notes, Berry still remains a very cool customer.

Bringing the evening to a close, The Pacemakers led off with The Beatles' Got To Get You Into My Life before Gerry Marsden strode on to the strains of How Do You Do It and loving applause.

Marsden's soaring vocals are still as strong today as they were in the early 60s. Whether romanticising on Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying – written, Marsden revealed, for his wife-to-be after they first split up as teenagers (she returned after hearing the song) – or ripping out a few choppy guitar chords of his own on Ferry Cross The Mersey, you have to admit Marsden still has it.

However, it was the song everyone was waiting for – You'll Never Walk Alone – that put tears in a few peoples' eyes, one happy soul even swinging his cane in the air. And that's what The Solid Silver 60s Show is all about: enjoyment.

Sure, it might be impossible to recreate the consciousness of the 60s, and yes, the modern sound equipment does mask what made the original songs sound so great in the first place. Nevertheless, this was an evening of pop nostalgia that left you in no doubt year 24 will be just as well received.