Superb Performance By John Rowles

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31923, 26 February 1969, Page 18

Superb Performance By John Rowles

New Zealand’s John Rowles, known as one of the world’s top pop singers, gave a superb performance at the Majestic Theatre last evening. For an hour he switched successfully from ballads, such as “Honey,” to folk songs such as “Biowin’ In the Wind,” to straight rock numbers such as “Shake," to musical show numbers such as “Tonight.” His voice did not falter and the impact he made on the capacity audience was such that he was made to sing three encores. His strong voice and the sheer resilience of his warm tones seemed to make unnecessary the microphone and sound system, which unfortunately marred one or two items. The 17 songs he chose from his repertoire were as varied as one could imagine, and members of the audience were heard to sniffle back tears at the end of the most moving ballad, “Honey,” whict he sang with simple and genuine feeling. No matter what type of song he chose to present, the enthusiastic audience, which ranged from children to pensioners, accepted it with thunderous applause. Perhaps most popular were the numbers which have reached high ratings on the “Top Ten" all over the world

—“Hush, Not a Word to Mary,” “The Pain Goes On Forever,” and the song with which he sold a quarter of a million records, “If I Only Had Time.” However, his bracket of three songs from “West Side Story”—“Tonight,” “Maria,” and “There’s a Place for Us” —showed to best advantage his wide talents, and the length of time for which he truly held the final note of the last number suggested a possible career in grand opera. By comparison the first half of the show faded. Although each individual artist performed well, nothing presented in the first haff could match John Rowles’s shattering effort. Allison Durban proved her worth as New Zealand’s top female vocalist in the pop field, and all of her six songs were well received. The closest she came to really captivating the audience was with her Golden Disc award-win-ning song “I Have Loved Me a Man.”

De Larno, the Christchurch magician who filled second spot on the programme, gave a polished exhibition and his humorous patter bettered that of the programmed comedian, Chic Littlewood. The latter earned his place with some clever impersonations.