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Tuesday 25 June 2013

Kiss and Tell

Melinda Hughes studied at the Maastricht conservatory, the Royal College of Music and the Brussels Opera Studio and she has appeared in the title role of  Madama Butterfly with Diva Opera and Longborough Opera. Jeremy Limb read music at Queen’s College, Oxford, then studied piano at the Royal College of Music. Since leaving the R.C.M. he has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of their Young Artists’ Forum concert series. But together Limb and Hughes form the cabaret group Kiss and Tell and are presenting their new show French Kiss in Edinburgh from 2-10 August at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall. Last night (24 June 2013) the presented a tryout of their new show at the Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zedel, joined by Andy Tolman on double bass.

In style the songs are not dissimilar to Fascinating Aida, as Hughes in the guise of very posh tottie laments about being Crunched or tries to recycle to hilarious effect. The writing teams consists of Hughes, Limb and Lloyd Evans, the songs are catchy, amusing and sometimes frankly filthy. Their new show, French Kiss has a French theme because Hughes has a new French lover, whom she calls the Frog prince. Cue some hilarious material about unsuitable love affairs and a completely unprintable song about how horrid the French are.

Try outs are tricky to report on, as you know that the material is still being worked on. But we had a wonderful time. I can highly recommend the show and have no doubt that by the time they reach Edinburgh the results will be slick and sophisticated. For the second set we were treated to some delightful Mischa Spoliansky songs including Life's a swindle (perhaps the best known on of the group) and the wonderful I am a vamp. You can get some idea of the group's style from the songs available on their website. They have also recorded a disc Smoke and Noise which includes a number of the Spoliansky songs.

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