THE CRAIG CHARLES FUNK & SOUL CLUB | CLUB REVIEW

Sin City, Swansea, Sun 30 Apr

Swansea loves Craig Charles and his Funk & Soul Club. He has played in the city a fair few times now, with the most recent visit, on Bank Holiday Sunday at Sin City, being his second in just over a year for promoters Funk Junkkies.

The dancefloor was busy from the off, with resident  DJs Hustle giving the people what they wanted, and by the time they  introduced their much-loved guest they had done a cracking job of creating the atmosphere for a friendly club. The next two hours with Craig Charles were full of the classics that we all know and love to sing along to, from Marvin Gaye to Stevie Wonder and The Mary Jane Girls.

Craig turned the volume down on occasion to hear the dancefloor singing along, blissfully happy, and also found time to play air guitar on stage before jumping off to mix in the next track. No wonder his sets are described as energetic. OK, so he didn’t play rare grooves like Larry Young’s Turn Off The Lights or Chocolate Milk’s Action Speaks Louder Than Words, but he thrilled us by playing plenty of stone-cold classics alongside modern remixes and unusual cover versions.

At the end of his set he reminded us about his 6 Music funk and soul show, which is not only the longest running programme on that station but also has the highest audience share of any programme on the network. Craig Charles has been entertaining us for many years now – long may it continue.

words EMMA JAYNE SMITH