Reviews of Darren Shaw - Award Winning Vocalist

What a fab afternoon great singer and entertainer Darren had us all laughing and dancing will definitely book Darren again...thanks for a fab time x

Absolutely brilliant afternoon for our VE Day party . Darren was amazing from start to finish , residents loved his banter along side his singing.
Highly recommend him .

Thanks Darren great entertainment
Everyone enjoyed 👍

As a person, Darren is a very friendly, approachable, outgoing and a great communicator. As a singer, he is outstanding, with both a great range in quite remarkable vocals and superb entertainer.

Already rebooked and looking forward to seeing him again, as are all those who attended, giving great feedback.

Absolutely fantastic afternoon entertainment by Darren. Great selection of songs and great vocal range. Excellent rapport with audience. Asked by a number of residents to pass on his details so looking forward to hearing him sing again. Nothing was too much trouble. Worth every penny and more!

Hi we have just had Darren here for our Halloween Night what a brilliant night it was Darren did some costume changes which went down very well what can I say it was such a great night from start to finish and all the songs he sang were great he was so funny as well . All our residents want Darren and Richard back again in the future so we’re all looking forward to our next party night with both of them. We didn’t want the night to end as we were all having so much fun and dancing as well ….

I booked Darren Shaw through Last Minute Musicians during the summer to entertain our group at the Christmas Party which we held on Thursday, 1st December 2022. You can imagine picking someone from the internet to entertain a group of over 150 people at their special annual bash I did it wondering if I had done the right thing. The evening came and Darren was at the venue in excellent time to get set up and for Richard to test the sound equipment. We had our meal in the lovely venue of the Grand Pavilion at The Moorlands, Ogden, Halifax, which is our local place for posh parties. Then on came Darren and from the very first number I could relax and enjoy the evening as he was wonderful. He very quickly picked up what our audience liked and he ran with it all evening. He did us a 45 minute spot and then we drew our raffle which was quite a long affair as we had many prizes and in total we made £432 which went to our chosen charity for the year - Prostate Cancer. Then on Darren came again and had everyone on the floor dancing and for those who weren't able to dance we could sing along and sing our arms in the air to Sweet Caroline and such numbers. What I great evening he gave us. I spent the following day receiving emails and phone calls from people who had been at the party telling me what a wonderful evening they had had and saying how wonderful Darren had been. I would not hesitate to recommend him as your entertainer, you won't be disappointed.

Great Artist very friendly and accommodating. Darren performed a large range of songs which everyone at the club enjoyed and which they were dancing to. Have booked Darren again and will continue to do so in the future. Would recommend to all who enjoy a good night with a great artist.

Superb nights entertainment, enjoyed by all as you saw from the reception you got. Will sort out for you coming back early 2020.

I'm just watching him now he's brilliant up Coppull Legion club.

IT WAS billed as A Night At The Musicals, and it was certainly a title which attracted a packed house to the Howden Park Centre last Friday evening when Darren Shaw and three dancers took the stage and sang and danced their hearts out.

Two for the price of one took on a whole new meaning in this show in which we, the audience, were encouraged to join in with some of the well known songs.

If you looked around, all you could see was a sea of smiling faces having a great time reminiscing and sharing some of their favourite moments from the musicals.

This was courtesy of one very talented young man sporting a George Clooney haircut and diamond earring, some nifty costume changes, an incredible voice range and an endearing smile.

Using a variety of spectacular, if sometimes dazzling lighting effects, and the obligatory dry ice creating an atmosphere that makes the singer appear suspended in clouds, the show began with a spotlight into which sauntered Mr Shaw in top hat and tails singing On The Street Where You Live, from My Fair Lady.

Once again the excellent acoustics of the Brian Duguid Theatre played host to emotive, full orchestral music courtesy of impeccably timed tapes.

Maybe it was just a shade loud in the first half which saw something very unusual and totally original.

Everyone is familiar with The Sound of Music and the recent Connie Fisher version of The Hills are alive.

Enter Darren Shaw looking splendid in lederhosen, like a denizen of Austria and straight from the Alps.

To everyone's amazement and some barely concealed audience mirth, he became a soprano and made the hills come alive in his own special way.

As the show progressed, the format of two songs by Mr Shaw interspersed with dance routines by the hardworking dancers began to win us over.

For the first time ever, the famous duet from Grease, You're The One That I Want, was sung by Mr Shaw who performed the male and female parts.

Using his falsetto voice – an attribute which was once taught in Italy in the middle ages resulting in the singers being known as castratto (please, don't ask) – Shaw sang the SuBo hit from Les Miserables as he duetted with himself in I Know Him So Well.

In The Phantom of the Opera sequence he once again sang the famous duet which takes Christine, the soprano and The Phantom to perform, all by himself.

As for the three dancers, two glamorous blondes and a bonny brunette, they proved their versatility by dancing a variety of styles from musical comedy to modern with a brave attempt at Irish River Dancing which drew cheers from the audience. The finale saw Shaw resplendent in a mint green sparkling shirt and matching flares with the dancers in glittering jump suits so there was no doubt that we would hear something from Mamma Mia and we certainly did. This night at the theatre was indeed a feast of tunes from the musicals which at first, thanks to Mr Shaw's dual voice, seemed a little hard to digest but soon became an acquired taste.

We stumbled across Darren Shaw while we were away for Christmas in Blackpool. This young man was one of a number of entertainers who were booked to entertain us and another 40 guests at the wonderful family run hotel that we return to every time we visit Blackpool. Now, everybody knows what to expect from hotel entertainers, a bit of Elvis, mostly 50's and 60's songs, voices that are just flat enough to irritate without actually forcing you to get up and walk out, generally very average. Well not Darren Shaw.
Darren got the longest and loudest applause you have ever heard forty something people making, he took the roof off, and deservedly so. Quite what he is doing on the hotel circuit I really don't know. You have never in your life heard anyone professional or otherwise with a voice like this.
His set started with what you would expect, a couple of Kenny Rogers songs, good voice, bang on the notes very deep and easy to listen to and then the intro started for a well known Dusty Springfield song. I expected a joke of some kind, but what I didn't expect was a rendition of "You Don't Have To Say you Love Me", so perfect that I truly believed that he was miming to the original track. I suppose shock was my first reaction, desperately trying to catch him miming and show that this voice was not coming from Darren. I think everyone else was as shocked as I was. The reception this song got was rapturous at which point he actually asked if anyone thought he was miming and being me I just had to say something. He then proceeded to sing falsetto without any backing and sang both parts of "You're The One That I Want" the John Travolta and Olivia Newton John song from Grease. I was absolutely astounded. Darren Shaw can sing female vocals better than any cabaret singer I have heard.
His first set had to be cut short while we were still coming to terms with what we had heard but an hour later he returned to do another 30 minutes or so. During this set we went from Tom Jones " Delilah", very reasonable, to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" which was truly astonishing. Ask yourself, have you ever heard anyone else trying to imitate Celine Dion ?, because I haven't. They won't do it simply because they can't, but Darren Shaw can. This was followed by the classic karaoke song "My Way" which thankfully I was able to record on video camera. I have heard plenty of people singing this, from Sinatra and Presley, to the Sex Pistols, and everyone in between. Everyone sings this, and it is always the most popular song in any karaoke competition. No one else sings it like this. The only version I have ever heard that was better than Darren Shaw's was by Sinatra himself. This was better than any version I have heard elsewhere, professional or not, and the applause was thunderous. Darren finished up with an Elvis song that was every bit as good as the original, and I can say that it was a real privilege to be there that night and see a truly awesome performance from a young man with a unique and remarkable talent.
After the show Darren was happy to spend nearly an hour talking to the guests and I was lucky enough to be able to have a chat to him. Only 33 but on stage for 15 years he has no appreciation of his own talent. Very down to earth and easy to talk to he told me that he has a repertoire of over 4000 songs so far and due to professional jealousy he has found it necessary to change his set completely at the last moment on a number of occasions but has been able to do this without any difficulty. He has faced hostility in some quarters as the shock that his exquisite female vocals generate doesn't always manifest itself appreciatively. This horrifies me, as his voice is truly unique and deserves a great deal more exposure.
Darren has his own website which is well worth a visit, and as you will see on there he has a stage show in Kelso coming up as well as plenty of other bookings. If you get the chance don't miss his show. Any TV producers looking for talent, anyone looking for a show that will have an audience crying out for more, don't look any further than Darren Shaw, he is sensational.