Gene Pitney Backs Damon
LEGENDARY American vocalist Gene Pitney comes to Salisbury City Hall next month – Saturday May 20 celebrating the release of his new CD “Looking through...”
And supporting Pitney from across the Salisbury Plain will be Cholderton’s rising young entertainer, the versatile monkey-man Damon Scott uniting a career of 40 years with that of one on the threshold.
Pitney first won acclaim nearly 40 years ago when the Beatles were making international waves, achieving hits with “Looking Through The Eyes Of Love” and the memorable “Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa”.
He achieved his number one in 1989 with “Something’s Gotta Hold Of My Heart” with Marc Almond and other titles include “Town Without Pitney” and “I’m Gonna Be Strong”.
Damon Scott, just out of his ‘teens and voted “Best Speciality Act” and overall winner in the National Finals of the British Resorts Association talent contest last year recently featured as the subject of the BBC documentary “The Monkey Man” in the real life series and appeared on ITVs “Young, Gifted and Broke”.
He studied performing arts at Salisbury College and is a former student of the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School.
In addition to his singing and dancing Damon Scott features as a ventriloquist with an assembly of dolls including range of monkey characters associated with famous stars!
His dates with Pitney follow an eight-minute spot in the Leamington Spa BRA finals for which judges included music promoter Derek Nicol who subsequently chose him to fill the entire first half of the 22-date tour.
Understandably excited about what might prove his first big-time break, Damon Scott was eagerly looking forward to meeting Pitney this week. “We’re going to have a meal together in London,” he said, “and we’re due for a spot on the Richard and Judy show as well as BBC’s GMTV.
After a day in London meeting Derek Nichol as well as stage crew and production staff Damon, who is into lighting and electrics for his own shows declared “It was amazing, I felt like I’d written to Jim’ll Fix It”!