STARS IN THEIR EYES 7
AMERICA thinks it’s got talent, Britain hopes it’s got talent, but Wilmslow definitely has talent.
For the seventh year running, the rugby club has staged a star-studded evening of entertainment that brought the house down.
Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, the Bee Gees, Bucks Fizz and Wham! all packed out the Pownall Park venue for the sixth successive year of Stars in their Eyes.
Staid businessmen and seasoned professionals piled on the greasepaint to put on a sleek, if hilarious, night’s entertainment for the rugby club and their friends.
The club’s entertainment supremo and host for the evening Simon Johnson said: “It was the best yet. Grown men take this opportunity to live out their wildest fantasies, and some of them actually got away with it.”
He and co-host Tony Kersh, dressed in drainpipe trousers, long jackets and crepe soles, launched the evening with a Showaddywaddy number.
Then Ben Goodman, Si Bullock and Ben Warren – the backbone of the club’s 2nd XV – traded boots and jockstraps for sleek white suits to perform as The Bee Gees.
Graham Vickers is an enthusiastic junior section supporter and sponsor of the club via his Printerland company. But he and wife Stephanie teamed up with pals Simon and Fiona King to sing the Bucks Fizz Eurovision entry ‘Makin’ your mind up,’ complete with skirt-ripping routine.
They didn’t win the main competition, but their hilarious video submission walked away with the runners up prize.
Andy ‘Vas’ Vassell reprised his show-stopping Bob Marley performance that clinched last year’s show with his rendition of ‘No woman, no cry,’ Mike Start played Bryan Adams, Tim Medwell was Jarvic Cocker and former Colts Stephen Beard and Richard Valentine played George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley respectively as Wham! singing their hit “Wake me up before you go go.”
But it was first team coach Darren ‘Daz’ Lucas who stole the show, if not by bursting out of his figure hugging costume, then certainly with his outrageous make-up and faithful rendition of “Let me entertain you.”
Fresh from coaching the 1st XV to promotion in his rookie year, Daz crowned his season with success in Stars in their Eyes. He said: “It doesn’t get much better than this. I’ve got the whole summer to live this down, before we get back to the business of rugby.”
The evening was opened and rounded off by the club’s favourite band “The Receivers” who backed all acts and, as ever, left the crowd shouting for more.