Part stand up comedian, part charismatic southern Baptist preacher, an eccentric entertainer(he threatened to kneecap anyone leaving early!) and, above all, the sensational voice of one of the legends of soul music and R and B of the sixties and seventies. His stature is obvious when one considers that he has worked with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Cream and was later celebrated in the hit song Geno by Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

Geno Washington ‘s performance with the veteran 4-piece Ram Jam band contained little that the audience had not heard many times previously as they ran through many of the classics of soul music. However this was no standard run through of familiar material. This was one of the voices that, along with the likes of Stevie Wonder and James Brown, defined the genre. He was a central figure in its development.

Little in his performance suggested a man approaching his seventieth birthday as he soared and barked his way with huge verve through one classic after another and interacted with the audience in some call and response . We had Papa’s got a brand new hat, Do you like soul music?, In the midnight hour, Knock on wood and many more as well as some of his own material such as Michael from a time when his albums dominated the charts in the mid - sixties.