Tony Grant at the Lancashire Lass

Date published: 08/07/2007

The sad demise of the "local’ pub as national chains bought them up and turned them into plastic palaces took with it a raft of pubs where live performance was once the pubs' main draw. Thankfully there are a few venues still left in Rochdale where one can go and enjoy a performance at its best, raw and real, were performers and audience are literally cheek by jowl and The Lancashire Lass is one such place..

So it was then that Rochdale Online owners and music lovers Pauline and Malcolm Journeaux hurried excitedly along on Sunday night having heard that renowned professional singer Tony Grant was doing a "turn’ at the Lass.

Greeted at the door by Grant’s sound man Pete King and his wife Karen, the Journeaux's were introduced to Tony Grant and as is often the case when performers are introduced the discussion quickly got around to gigs and rigs.

Tony Grant is well known for his Freddie Mercury tribute act and with good reason; however, he is also a very talented all round performer and his set at the Lass, whilst covering a medley of Queen classics from the seventies and eighties, also took in everything from the Drifters to Robbie Williams.

A small but appreciative crowd loved every minute of it and lapped up the constant stream of repartee that Grant indulged in between songs - even his seriously cheesy jokes went down well!

It is good to see professionals like Tony Grant performing on what is left of the local pub circuit and music fans everywhere should get along to such venues and support landladies such as Donna at the Lancashire Lass who are keeping alive the long and glorious tradition of live performance in local pubs.

A final point of note, it was a novel experience to be able to see the performer and not constantly gag on a dense blanket of smoke – yes, the no smoking rule has lots of advantages, another being clothes not stinking of tobacco when one gets home!