It was Wednesday Night at the Caird Hall rather than Saturday Night at the Movies for a group of children from Dundee’s Dens Road Primary as they joined Motown legends The Drifters on stage at a packed concert.
A group of excited primary six and seven pupils gave the group whose most famous hits include songs now considered era standards like Come on Over to My Place, Under The Boardwalk, and Up on the Roof a helping hand on stage during the latest date of their UK tour.
The school’s choir had been practising long and hard for their performance and had a visit from one of the group to get them in tune for their night treading the boards.
The Dens Road children were joined by budding artistes from St Paul’s RC Primary, Glenrothes, who will also appear onstage at the Drifters’ fourth gig of the week at the town’s Rothes Halls tonight.
Parents from the Fife town had pestered the tour’s organisers into allowing their children to appear on another date after an immediate sell-out in Fife meant parents couldn’t get tickets to see their children perform.
The children featured in star spots during Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and Stand By Me last night and also took to the stage for sing-a-long encore finale Love Train.
Ahead of the gig, the band’s Michael Williams, who visited both schools before the tour kicked off, said the children had been “perfect, fantastic” to work with.
“We tried this about two years ago with a couple of schools down in England and we found that the kids enjoyed it so much, and we enjoyed it so much,” he said. “It’s always big with the crowds, and the parents love it too.
“I’ve visited Glenrothes and Dundee to hear them sing and go through the songs with them.
“Working with kids you never know what’s going to happen but they sound great and have been absolutely fantastic and it’s good to see them having fun and singing.”
Dens Road teacher and choir leader Heather McLean said the children were in good voice after weeks of practice.
“It’s been great an absolutely fantastic experience,” she said. “You can tell just by looking at them that the kids are so excited.”
One of the biggest-selling and longest-running bands of all time, The Drifters’ line-up has included more than 60 vocalists over almost six decades in the business including icons such as Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore.
As well as Williams, the current line-up also includes Vince Durrell, Ryan King and Maurice Cannon.
The band, supported by Virginia vocalist Kellie Schreiber, have played dates in Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen and will play the Glasgow Pavilion on Friday.