Simone Craddock Photo credit: Emrys Baird

Simone Craddock
(Crazy Coqs, 9 June 2018. Review by Kate Delamere)

In a slinky red sparkly dress looking like a version of femme fatale Jessica Rabbit, glamorous Australian-born jazz singer Simone Craddock promised much when she hit the stage at London’s Crazy Coqs on Sunday night. Singer, songwriter and actress, this lady’s been busy and showcased a variety of original compositions of songs from contemporary artists from the worlds of pop and jazz, as well as featuring her own.

A combo of God Save the Queen/Queen’s We Will Rock You and Duffy’s Mercy provided a punchy opening, along with an inventive version of Creep by Radiohead. But by the time she sang Almost Blue by Elvis Costello, I was feeling almost blue in spite of the more-than-competent talents of Alex Hutton on the piano and Nick Pini on bass.

I found myself drifting away from Simone’s sweet tones, feeling there was something missing… that elusive spark. Nothing was wrong, just nothing right..

It’s No Big Deal, sang Simone defiantly, in her own song, but it was.

There was something a tad too slick about her performance, too neatly reminiscent of a West End musical, but then, of course, she is an actress with leading roles under her belt in shows from Dirty Dancing to Hello Dolly! And sadly, I’m no fan of all-singing, all-dancing musicals…

Perhaps I expected too much. After all, a brief look around the audience revealed rapt, captivated faces, hanging on her every note; and she can certainly hit high ones. And some of her compositions were not to be sniffed at, clever and unique, imprinting her stamp. Songs that stood out – Back to Black by Amy Winehouse, Careless Whisper by George Michael, The Man With the Child in His Eyes by Kate Bush, Life on Mars by David Bowie. But then with classic contemporary songs like that, how could she go wrong?

And yet what the performance lacked, at times, the intimate venue – with its Art Deco setting, winding staircases made for big entrances and photographs of past stars – more than made up for.

I’d thoroughly recommend soaking up the atmosphere of this special venue with a pre-show supper in the grand Parisian-style Brasserie Zédel. Not only does it offer good value French food but also friendly attentive waiters, who, if you’re enjoying yourself too much, ensure you get to your table to watch the show in time.

But back to Simone. In actress mode, she kept the crowd entertained in between songs with an assortment of accents. But I came to hear her sing. “Less acting, more song,” I wanted to heckle. “Whatever you want me to be,” smiled Simone to her audience at one point. And therein the problem may lie; I fervently wanted her to come down on one side or the other.

I wish I’d stayed for her combo of Here Comes The Sun and Something by George Harrison. But the evening became too much like musical theatre.

I’m sorry, it wasn’t you Simone, it was me.