Music lovers were treated to fantastic evening recently as the Music Legends Tribute Night was staged at the Eastern Grand Palace Hotel.
With over 450 guests it was a massive sell out and all in the name of charity. The concept was the brain child of Tom Coghlan who is a well-known local businessman with his company CSP Construction.
Tom has a passion for music and over the years has arranged many small concerts, usually for friends or birthday parties, but on this occasion he pulled out all the stops and enlisted local celebrity Barry Upton as the musical director.
Through their numerous connections they were able to harness the talents of many professional musicians who either live in Pattaya or spend some of their time here.
The evening kicked off with the zany antics of the hilarious Morgan Kent who gave a brilliant rendition of Rod Stewart interspersed with witty one liners that quickly put the audience at ease.
Paul Strachan assisted Tom Coghlan with the MC duties and gave a rundown of the evening as we moved from the shores of England across the ocean to America for an outstanding set by Endless Summer: The Beach Boys Tribute act with classics such as ‘Good Vibrations’, ‘I Get Around’, ‘Fun Fun Fun’, and ‘California Girls’.
Then the most famous Elvis impersonator in Thailand, Arthur Hussain, who is a resident artist at the Jomtien Boathouse took to the stage and captivated the audience with classic songs like ‘Return to sender’ and ‘Love me Tender’ from the King of rock n roll.
Next up was the Blues Brothers Tribute act, with songs such as ‘Everybody needs somebody to love’ and ‘Minnie the Moocher’, including a full band with singers representing Joliet Jake Blues and Elwood Blues as played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the 1980 iconic movie.
Tom then introduced the most famous boy band ever, the legendary Beatles. In their first they set focused on the early years of the famous four lads from Liverpool with a barrage of hits including ‘Love Me Do’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘From Me To You’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’, ‘A Hard Days Night’, ‘Help’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and ‘Twist & Shout’.
During all of this the dancefloor was crowded with people swinging their stuff to these great tunes, so they were ready for a quick break as Tom Coghlan thanked the event sponsors: Riviera Group, CSP Construction and numerous media companies including the Pattaya Mail.
Paul Strachan then rattled through the 25 raffle prizes with the help of fellow Scot Jimmy Malone. The top 3 prizes were a day in Barry Upton’s recording studio, a day out on a 60 foot yacht, and first prize of a flight over Pattaya.
After a quick dress change the Beatles reappeared this time in their Sergeant Peppers outfits for their second set of iconic songs such as ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’, ‘All You Need Is Love’, ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Get Back’, and ‘Back in the USSR’.
Then a shift of pace altogether with a popular mix of opera and pop called Popera sang by the virtuoso classical performer Yves Barron. He stunned the crowd with his rendition of ‘Time to say goodbye’, and ‘You Raise me Up’.
The evening continued with a quick song by local singing sensation Rose who gave a lovely delivery of the classic Barbara Streisand song ‘A Woman in Love’.
The show had started 3 hours before but there was still more to come as Paul Jackson took to the stage as Freddie Mercury with a full backing band.
Dressed in the iconic outfit from Queen’s classic gig at Wembley in 1986, the yellow tunic, slicked back hair and shining white teeth, Paul completely embodied not just the voice but the huge stage presence that Freddie was famous for.
He started with ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, followed by ‘Somebody to love’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘I want to break free’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and rounded out the evening with ‘We are the Champions’.
All that was left was for Tom to thank the musicians and his organizing team who all gave their assistance free of charge. Tom also brought Rose and her daughter on to the stage and informed the audience that some of the proceeds from the concert would allow Rose and Swan to visit Rose’s husband Andre. Andre, who was a very well-known musician in Pattaya, had a debilitating stroke a few years ago and he returned to America. He is now in hospital in Arizona. Recently he developed respiratory problems and this planned trip for Rose and Swan will allow them to spend some time with Andre perhaps for the very last time.
A little over 300,000 baht was raised on the night. This money will be used to fund their trip, and to assist Kates Project, a foundation that looks after underprivileged families, and to assist Take Care Kids, who have a shelter for at risk and abused children.
Plans are already underway to stage another event like this perhaps in February 2018. Details will be published in the Pattaya Mail.
