REVIEW: Dreamboats and Petticoats brought sixties sounds and summer love to the Blackpool Grand

The latest Dreamboats and Petticoats show promised to bring back the good times. It delivered a toe-tapping soundtrack and feelgood nostalgia – and an appearance by former pop star Mark Wynter.
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The show was bursting with 60s chart-toppers that had everyone singing along, and reminiscing about the old days.

It harked back to when £11 a week was a ‘good wage’ and kids discovered bands on the radio.

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And the fashion helped set the scene too. Girls wore groovy miniskirts and platform boots as they danced around their handbags.

Dreamboats and Petticoats bringing back the good times. Credit: Jack MerrimanDreamboats and Petticoats bringing back the good times. Credit: Jack Merriman
Dreamboats and Petticoats bringing back the good times. Credit: Jack Merriman

We followed the gang through a raft of hook-ups and break-ups, during a summer season at Butlins. The main two characters are Bobby (David Ribi) and Laura (Elizabeth Carter); two dough-eyed lovebirds trying to make the long-distance thing work.

Laura is a budding star doing nightly shows. She has a belting voice and her sultry vocal rendition of ‘You Don’t Own Me’ was a showstopper.

A wafer-thin plot merely acts as a segue from one jukebox hit to the next.

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But the selling point is a talented cast who really breathe life into old songs like ‘Lipstick on your collar’, ‘Stop in the name of love’ and ‘Blue Moon’.

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And the live band did a fabulous job of keeping things in motion. Benji Lord, Joe Sterling, Rob Gathercole, Sheridan Lloyd, Daniel Kofi and Alan Howell gave a polished performance with plenty of camaraderie.

And Chloe Edwards-Wood and Lauren Chinery played the saxophone when they weren’t busy dancing.

60s heartthrob Mark Wynter also made an appearance as Laura’s manager/agent. He dazzled the crowd with a medley of his old songs, including his most well-known number, ‘Venus In Blue Jeans’.

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But the Eurovision ‘show within a show’ added little to the night – it seemed to drag on longer than necessary and it detracted from what was otherwise a fun and fast-paced show.

However, a Kenneth Williams impression, by Mark Benson, made Blackpool carry on howling with laughter.

The third instalment of the Dreamboats and Petticoats series was less rock & roll than the first one, but it definitely brought the good times back to Blackpool.

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