David Essex has a soft spot for Croydon and his fans still flock to his concerts at Fairfield, writes Christine van Emst.

Sadly on November 5 there were a half-dozen fools in the balcony who disrupted the evening and for a while distracted David on stage.

But always the professional, the night rolled along with old and new Essex boy material.

The familiar appealed more, as David Essex doing funk' would not prompt me to rush out and buy his new Wonderful album.

He still has that twinkle in his eye but the grey, short-cropped hair and the dustman's style outfit he chose made him look like an elder of a religious sect.

I much preferred his gypsy, foppish style, but maybe that's best left for Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen nowadays. Imperial Wizard and Salve Regina were highlights, Essex at his theatrical best.

November 14, 2001 16:30