Frank Sanazi: Evil dictator/legendary crooner
Ol' Blue Eyes invades Shanklin... and we loved it
An excellent start to Ballyrags’ gigs at the Ocean View Hotel in Shanklin, which have now evolved into more of a cabaret-style night.
Getting things underway was Ballyrags' own Baron Fortitude with two of his best-loved routines: The Correct Way to Make a Cup of Tea and the Chimney Sweep song. I've seen him perform the latter a couple of times now, and it still makes me laugh every time.
Next on stage were Luke and Azaria with their MAD Show. It quickly became obvious that "MAD" isn't just a description of the opening, where a pack of cards gets dramatically flung across the stage instead of politely handed over – it actually stands for Magic And Danger. Luke, whom many of us know as the ever-likeable MC at Ballyrags' comedy nights at the Royal Esplanade Hotel in Ryde, showed there's much more to him than introducing comedians. His magic is genuinely impressive, and the trick involving a can of Coke had the whole audience wondering how on earth he'd managed it.
Then came the headline act, comedian and singer Frank Sanazi. I'll be honest, I arrived expecting to be thoroughly offended. After all, his tagline is "Ol' Blue Eyes Meets Mein Kampf". As it turned out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
Frank's act is incredibly clever because the joke is never aimed where you think it is. Instead of glorifying dictators, he completely ridicules them, mixing wonderfully daft rewritten songs with sharp observations about fascists, extremists and the absurdity of authoritarianism.
He had the audience in stitches with twisted versions of classic Sinatra songs, rewritten as if they were favourites of history's most notorious dictators. Highlights included Third Reich (to the tune of That's Life), Bad, Bad Chairman Mao, Sweet Seigfried Line – introduced as the "1923 original" of Sweet Caroline (yes, I know that's actually a Neil Diamond song!) – and Seig Heil With Me, his take on Come Fly With Me. Between the songs came a steady stream of jokes about dictators, bunkers and modern-day extremists, with everyone very firmly in on the joke.
Needless to say, political correctness was left well outside the venue. A particularly outrageous moment was his reworking of A Foggy Day in London Town, turning it into a song about the bombing of London and Coventry. It was the sort of material that really shouldn't have worked – but somehow it absolutely did.
From Baron Fortitude's opening laughs to Frank Sanazi's unforgettable finale, it was a terrific evening from start to finish. Here's hoping Frank makes a return visit before too long – and maybe next time he can bring The Iraq Pack with him!
And the audience said:
“Great voice! Brilliant pastiches of Sinatra’s classics” - JW, Wroxall
“Loved it! A fabulous evening” - AllyPally, IoW
“Would like to see more of the gorgeous Azaria, please!” - Finlay, Ryde
“Congrats to Mummy and Daddy Fortitude” - SG, Portsmouth