His voice may not be what it used to be, but Neil Diamond can still sell out concerts and provoke girlish screams from the audience.
His charisma was, and still is, legendary.
Joey Purpura has lived and breathed Neil Diamond since 2004, traveling across the country and parts of the Caribbean with his tribute show Diamond in the Rough.
“When I found out I could do a pretty good Neil Diamond, my friends encouraged me to go on stage.”
The singer wasn’t on Purpura’s radar growing up and so he really started from the ground up.
In 2002, the Toronto-based impersonator began researching the singer’s life, studying his every move, song and story behind his music.
Then he found a Las Vegas-based designer able to replicate Diamond’s glittery costumes of the mid-70s.
“I wanted to research his life because I not only sing his songs, I tell a story and highlight his life just to make it more interesting,” said Purpura. “He recorded and released a lot of albums and so he has a huge back log of music,” Purpura said about the singer’s international appeal.
“And he continues to tour. His music is very diverse and his songs, as one biographer said, cut through your heart and soul, making you feel his pain, anguish and joy.”
Diamond was never a heartthrob, but an artist revered for his song writing.
See for yourself, Sept. 20 at 8pm, at the Listowel Legion, 565 Elizabeth St. East. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Tickets can be picked up at the Legion club room. For more information call 519-291-2650.
