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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

1 HIT WONDERS



1 Hit Wonders is a tribute to recording artists who only had one hit song and then disappeared into obscurity, never to be heard of again. That is until now, in Barnyard Theatre’s current production at the Gateway venue.

“Since the birth of rock and roll, we have experienced one hit wonders on the pop charts - such as guitar legend Carl Perkins who said not to step on his Blue Suede Shoes,” says the Barnyard creative team. ”This single-hit trend gained momentum in the 1960’s with songs like Do You Love Me by The Contours and Wipe Out by the Surfaris. In the 1970’s we experienced some outrageous dance floor one hit wonders, if we think back to songs like Knock On Wood, Play That Funky Music, Le Freak (Freak Out), Rapper’s Delight and Kung Fu Fighting, to name but a few.

“In the 1980’s we experienced a new sound of one hit wonders with songs such as You Spin Me Round, 99 Red Balloons and (I Just) Died In Your Arms. These bands had some outrageous names such as Cutting Crew and Dead Or Alive. In the 1990’s we had some crazy one hit wonders with songs such as Who Let The Dogs Out, Macarena, Ice Ice Baby, and let’s not forget the ultimate … I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt. Into the new millennium, we have an avalanche of one-hit wonders such as Gangnam Style, The Ketchup Song and I Like The Way You Move by Psy, Las Ketchup and The Body Rockers.

“This phenomenon of one-hit-wonders looks set to continue well into the future, but the 80’s and 90’s is when these hits songs really made an impact on the soundtrack of our lives.”

1 Hit Wonders features a talented 10-piece cast performing more than 60 songs. They include vocalists Andrew Webster (also narrator), Lee Paver, Gift Gwe, Caelee Vercueil and Anastasia Dilima. The band will be made up of Barry Thomson on guitar and vocals, with Calli Thomson on keyboards, Kelly Joubert on bass guitar, Ruan Oosthuyzen on drums and Ola on saxophone.

1 Hit Wonders runs until July 10 July at The Barnyard Theatre at Gateway. Tickets R155 pp from Wednesday to Saturday (R120 pp every Tuesday night and R110 pp for Sunday matinees) For bookings and enquiries, phone The Barnyard Theatre on 031 566 3045 or visit www.barnyard.durban.

For further information, e-mail gateway@barnyardtheatres.co.za or visit www.facebook.com/gatewaybarnyard