You do something to me

Madame Arcati and I went to the swanky Pheasantry in Chelsea last night (well, it is actually a posh Pizza Express, but lovely all the same) to see the venerable actor John Standing in cabaret, with his tribute to one of the world's greatest ever songwriters Cole Porter. It was fabulous!

Here's the review by Charles Spencer in The Telegraph:

It’s not every day that one has the pleasure of seeing a septuagenarian hereditary baronet singing Cole Porter’s greatest hits in a Pizza Express, but that is the delightful, delicious and de-lovely experience on offer in John Standing Swings Cole Porter.

This top toff actor, whose mother was the actress Kay Hammond and whose stepfather was the actor Sir John Clements, has long been one of my favourites, with his mixture of wry old-school English charm and a delicious hint of the louche about him. And after success with an earlier Noël Coward compilation – his mother played Elvira in the premiere production of Blithe Spirit – Standing now turns to the even greater songs of Cole Porter.

With his lined, hangdog face, dashing co-respondent shoes, and wary, weary eyes that have clearly seen a lot over the years, Standing cuts a striking and charismatic figure. Better yet, his lived-in voice and air of casual sophistication are beautifully suited to the mixture of wry wit and aching romanticism of Porter’s American songbook classics. And yes, backed by a terrific pianist (Will Stuart) and a sexy, jazzy female double-bass player (Jo Carter), Standing really does swing.

The songs range from famous hits like I Get a Kick out of You, Anything Goes and Night and Day to the less familiar – I particularly liked You Do Something to Me with its effortlessly brilliant triple rhyme – “Do do that voodoo that you do so well”.

I couldn't have put it better myself...

There are no videos out there yet of Mr Standing's Cole Porter performance, but here are a couple of him doing his much-admired Noel Coward tribute (which we missed when it was on):

[2019 NOTE: ALL GONE FROM YOUTUBE]

And, partly to illustrate the brilliance of the late great Cole Porter, and also to mark the 104th anniversary of the birth of our patron saint Miss Ethel Merman on Monday, here's the great lady's own Porter medley...

Ethel Merman – Cole Porter medley

The Pheasantry