So, who would have thought that one man and a keyboard singing Christmas carols from yesteryear would nearly fill the Pavilion?
Well, I did for one because this act, which might otherwise be filed under ‘miscellaneous’ and restricted to church halls, is an inexplicably growing phenomenon.
James’ non-festive show, Primary School Bangers, played to thousands at Glastonbury last summer, and he has also appeared at Latitude and Camp Bestival, as well as making appearances on the likes of BBC Breakfast, The One Show and Songs Of Praise, among many others.
He has developed that show into a seasonal performance over the last couple of years, which has been touring (more than 30 dates) in bigger venues, such as Leeds City Varieties and Aylesbury Waterside, up and down the country since November 2 and finishes on December 22.
And while November 18 may be a little early for seasonal offerings (but you have to start somewhen), that didn’t stop the Pavilion audience getting fully into the Christmas spirit.
Small declaration here; I’ve known James since he was three years old (no B in those days) and was growing up in Oakdale, Poole, and so have taken an interest in his burgeoning career as he moved through Gareth Malone’s Voices, pop vocal group The Harbour and the Truly Medley Deeply party band, while at the same time teaching music in schools.
Thus, this was a ‘hometown’ gig (although he did play a smaller venue at Lighthouse, Poole, some time ago) with plenty of friendly faces in the theatre urging him to do well, as well as a huge proportion of teachers on a busman’s holiday.
Men were in a tiny minority; even all the loos had been converted for ladies.
So, just what makes people part with their hard-earned cash to see it?
Well, it’s an unabashed evening of nostalgia and singalong classics with which – a rarity in theatres these days – the audience is encouraged to join in and sing to the best of their ability, perhaps downloading the lyrics from his app.
The performance, which was being filmed by the BBC for a Christmas broadcast, is two hours of holiday favourites for which you had forgotten you know all the words, some smart medleys and a sprinkling of tinsel on top.
Our host is genial, warm and engaging and has the audience in the palm of his hand from the opening moments and holds attention excellently (two hours is a long stint, even in two halves) with his tales of Christmases past (but not that far back as he’s only 34) and family life to embarrass his onlooking parents.
His set has expanded as stages have got bigger – now there are four Christmas trees, desks, school paraphernalia, toys of yesteryear and a trolley of percussion instruments.
A rear mounted screen displays song titles and messages, but might be better utilised with lyrics so people wouldn’t have to refer to their phones.
The tunes included traditional such as Away In A Manger, O Little Town Of Bethlehem and Come And Join The Celebration, but they came so fast that if you didn’t really like one you knew another would be along in a moment on this festive trip down memory lane.
But it wasn’t all carols – witness Hark Maria Carey Sings, Last Christmas done three ways to different hits, a Christmas reimagining of Mr Brightside as Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and a mash-up of Mary’s Boy Child, The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy and Feliz Nativad.
It was the epitome of low-tech – apart from the headworn microphone – as James, with ‘the smell of Brussels sprouts in the air’ took us through wrongly sung lyrics, a Generation Alpha version of the Christmas story (six-seven anyone?), hits of Christmases past (but obviously not most of the 1970s hits), and nativity plays.
He also gave shout-outs to virtually everyone in the audience, squeezed in mentions of Prince Albert, Darius Danesh, Wenceslas, Eminem and Bohemian Rhapsody and the likes of Oakdale, Stanley Green School and St George’s Church from his childhood past.
Oh, and for someone by the name of Partridge, he couldn’t possibly not do The 12 Days Of Christmas – so he did, complete with actions, and thankfully raced through it at ever-increasing speed.
James finished with the classics Hark The Herald Angels Sing and Oh, Come All Ye Faithful, with the Bournemouth Pavilion Christmas Assembly Choir in fine voice – complete with descants.
That festive feeling was fully imbued as we poured out into the cold Bournemouth air – and realised it was still five weeks until Christmas.
