Double chance to get Hooked; Singer Dennis Locorriere has two North East shows coming up. Entertainment Editor GORDON BARR reports.HE has played Glastonbury in the past, this weekend he's at the Gala in Durham and next month the Customs House in South Shields South Shields, city (1991 pop. 86,488), South Tyneside, NE England, at the mouth of the Tyne River. It is a significant port. Shipbuilding and marine engineering are the main industries; chemicals and paints are manufactured. . Such is the wide range of fans singer Dennis Locorriere Dennis Locorriere (born Dennis Michael Locorriere, 13 June 1949, Union City, New Jersey) was the lead vocalist, guitarist of the pop group Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, later Dr Hook. has, he can charm a field full of grungy grun·gy adj. grun·gi·er, grun·gi·est Slang In a dirty, rundown, or inferior condition: grungy old jeans. [Origin unknown. rockers as easily as a theatre full of stalwart Dr Hook followers. An artist with an enviable reputation for his live work, Locorriere plays halls and festivals throughout the world. His hugely successful appearance at Glastonbury, where he took to the main stage after the English National Opera English National Opera (ENO), located at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane is the national opera company of England, and one of two opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. , came as the direct result of appearances at Cropready and Guildford the year before. No stranger to Britain, American-born Locorriere is one of that rare breed of artists who can seemingly win over any audience, any place, any time. Bringing his distinctive vocal style to theatres up and down the UK, Locorriere regularly receives standing ovations and rave reviews for his musicianship and charismatic delivery. He has one of the finest voices around, combining impassioned heartbreak with lost innocence - and that's more than 20 years after the group he sang for called it a day. As lead vocalist with the hugely successful Dr Hook, Locorriere was the recipient of more than 60 gold and platinum albums, with No 1s in more than 40 countries. Dr Hook's songs are classics and include Sylvia's Mother, A Little Bit More (a number one in the late 90s for 911), When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman and The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan. But does he have a favourite? "I liked a lot of the old Shel Silverstein-written songs very much. As a young guy, Shel not only gave me things to sing, he also gave me things to say," he says. "Songs like Sylvia''s Mother and Carry Me, Carrie. Once you sing Shel Silverstein Noun 1. Shel Silverstein - United States poet and cartoonist remembered for his stories and poems for children (1932-1999) Shelby Silverstein, Silverstein material, it makes your own writing so much better as there is a certain criteria you want to hit. "As a singer, it''s all about the words, to me. Sylvia''s Mother, although I''ve sung it tens of thousands of times, is still a great song as there''s a story you can invest in, it''s not just a melody. "To sing that song, you have to be a little bit of an actor as it''s about that kid in the phone booth and all the break-up thing. "You can''t just go out there and sing the melody like you are playing saxophone. It''s a song that makes you concentrate on the words. "As a singer, it''s all about the words, to me. If I just had a melody I would be Kenny G." Dennis Locorriere is at the Gala in Durham on Sunday and the Customs House in South Shields on September 11. CAPTION(S): ON THE ROAD - Dennis Locorriere was vocalist with the hugely successful Dr Hook and now tours extensively as a solo artist |
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