Eddie Floyd and Vaneese Thomas

The Half Moon in Putney played host to one of the best nights of Memphis soul seen in London for several years last night with a double bill by veteran Stax star Eddie Floyd and Rufus Thomas's younger daughter, Vaneese Thomas.
Now 73, Eddie's voice isn't what it once was, but he has such enthusiasm and such a great back catalogue that it didn't really matter. Backed by a seven piece band and three female backing singers, Eddie launched into Raise Your Hand and followed up with a song he wrote for Wilson Pickett, 634-5789. Next came the smooth I Never Found a Girl and the funky Big Bird, a song he wrote while waiting at Heathrow Airport to attend Otis Redding's funeral after his death in a plane crash. After the obligatory Dock of the Bay, Eddie finished with his smash hit Knock On Wood. Excellent sixties soul from start to finish.With no let up or interval, the real star of the show Vaneese Thomas quickly launched into Lovey Dovey, a song once recorded by her sister Carla with Otis Redding, followed by the bluesy It's Killing Me. Moving on to the great version of Sugar Pie DeSanto's Soulful Dress, Vaneese slowed things down with One Shining Moment, which she wrote for Diana Ross. Vaneese has a new album of covers of songs made famous by female soul and R & B singers and also an EP with some self penned numbers, including the excellent I Wanna Know, which sounded like a throwback to the sixties. A beautiful rendition of James Carr's Dark End of the Street came next, followed by a rousing version of Nutbush City Limits and the deep soul of A Woman's Love, first recorded by Carla. The set came to a rousing end with Bobby Blue Bland's Further Up The Road, and she was joined on stage by Eddie and Earl Green. Returning for an encore, Vaneese chose her dad's Breakdown, which was a fitting climax to a really good show. I saw Vaneese at Porretta a couple of years ago and wasn't particularly impressed, but her choice of material at the Half Moon put this performance into a different class.

Finally, here's a photo of me with Vaneese.