Cory belong on the big entertainment stage. Their mix of polished presentation and superb playing is top door professionalism; rehearsed, practiced, repeated. The end result is outstanding. 

It also means that they have the ability to share the spotlight with performers who add larger than life character to their own musical personalities, without ever being pushed into the shade. 

Here it was with Wynne Evans (better known to millions as the comedic tenor singer in the Go Compare adverts), as well as singer and actors Craig Gallivan and Di Botcher - both familiar faces to the family audience that packed into famous old Grand Theatre for this enjoyable concert.

Gauntlet

The world’s number 1 ranked band threw down the gauntlet with their opening mini-set: ‘Valero’ bubbled with energy before a super little multi-media tribute insert to Roger Moore welcomed Stewart...Steve Stewart, in 007 mode with a ferocious take on ‘Live and Let Die’.

before a super little multi-media tribute insert to Roger Moore welcomed Stewart...Steve Stewart, in 007 mode with a ferocious take on ‘Live and Let Die’.

Each side of Wynne Evans showing his serious side (and he is a very fine tenor indeed) with full blooded renditions of ‘Granada’ and ‘The Impossible Dream’, neatly accompanied by the band, Tom Hutchinson took to the trumpet for a buzzing ‘Green Hornet’ before the half was rounded off with that dead cert family favourite, ‘Climb Every Mountain’.

Slickly presented

The second half was more of the same: ‘The Remarkable Life of Roald Dahl’ was so slickly presented - helped by Di Botcher’s heartfelt narration, Helen and Glyn Williams in particular playing with subtle lucidity and the music engaging with young and old through its cleverly character, wit and pathos. 

Craig Gallivan then stepped up for a touch of classic big band memories with ‘Cry Me a River’ and ‘New York, New York’, before Cory put the lid on things with a mesmerising ‘Gota’ and a swashbuckling ‘Finale from Symphony No 4’ by Tchaikovsky.

The encore of ‘The Four Seasons’ was a party-trick tour de force that any old pro who has stepped onto the stage here over the past 120 years would have been proud of - and left the audience in no doubt who the biggest stars of the evening were. 

Alwyn Curtis