The Kast Off Kinks, Civic Theatre, Darlington

THE Kast Off Kinks have excellent pop credentials. Mick Avory was the original Kinks’s drummer, bassist John Dalton joined the group in the 1960s, keyboard player Ian Gibbons in the 1980s and vocalist Dave Clarke has played with the Beach Boys.

They strolled on in a casual manner offering a cheery "evening all" in greeting. As they warmed up to a curiously quiet audience, one could be forgiven for mistaking them for the road crew.

However the four lads soon went into action and got the show going. Those iconic and nostalgic hits soon flowed: Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, Death of a Clown and most of others made it seem as though it was still 1965.

The conversation also flowed. Each member of the band did his bit with stories and anecdotes from the band’s heyday. This included an unprintable explanation of the hit David Watts, subsequently covered by The Jam.

John Dalton also placed on record that it was the younger Davies brother, Dave, who created the groundbreaking sound on You Really Got Me by putting a knife in the speaker – priceless.

Even the dreaded phrase no one wants to hear at a concert: "Would you like to hear some new music?” only resulted in the 1983 hit Come Dancing, panic over.

The encore mirrored their no-nonsense approach, disdaining to come off and return, they stayed on performing a further two numbers. The evening ended with a version of a 1957 blues hit Louie Louie. Thoroughly recommended.

Philip Sedgwick