Movin’ Melvin Brown Assembly Roxy 16.25

This man is a character in himself. He is not impersonating Chuck Berry as he has enough personality and talent of his own to go round.
And he shares his talent generously with the audience, telling stories, singing, tap dancing and generally having a good laugh while he does so.
It is a bit of an odd time of day to go into a show like this however, as it is really more suited to a night-time cabaret, but such is the Fringe.
It became only a little awkward when Melvin clearly wanted people to get on stage with him and rock ‘n roll. Maybe if he already had a dancer or two up there it would not appear such a big empty stage and would be a little more inviting.
It was clear that there were some Berry fans in the  room at the Roxy (which was a bit hot!) but even when they called out some song suggestions Melvin could not always oblige. An hour is probably not long enough for this show which in my view would benefit from a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere.
And did we really need reminding of Berry’s silly Ding-a-Ling song?!
All of this said and done, Mr Brown can certainly dance. If I had not known he was 72 I would have placed him in a much younger age bracket. He is an accomplished tap dancer and is hosting a lesson at Assembly Checkpoint on Saturday morning when anyone can join in.
He introduced his band just before the end of the show, when each of them in turn gave a little solo turn. This really allowed them to show their musical talents off, and I think would be better if it was done earlier in the show.  Until then I had not really appreciated the band, or quite how good they are!
Melvin sings easily and his voice is well-suited to the Chuck Berry songs he covers so well. He also sings his own compositions which are about Berry, and he relates some of the Berry story in between.
A good show for the Chuck Berry fans among you  but prepare yourself in the front row for getting up for a Twist or two!
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.