Cavern Club, Liverpool
Tuesday, 7th April 2026
Before I review the actual concert, I must break a taboo with many people who believe all things that have a Beatles badge on it makes it perfect and above criticism. Possibly a heresy but as I am a brusque Yorkshireman, I am going to say it anyway. I despise the Cavern Club. Primarily for its fakery which makes it feel more like a mixture of Americanised theme park and music museum. Recycling a few bricks from the original Cavern Club and using the same name doesn’t make it the legitimate place where the Beatles played, after all I am sure that the band split up long before the venue opened in 1984, but the tourists love it and blindly swallow the lie. It would be like me putting on Billy Bremner’s football shirt, claiming to be him and people believing it. Even if I did have any talent for the game, it would, like the Cavern Club, still be wrong on quite a few levels.
The second reason that my intensity of approbation is so low is the actual concert hall itself. Thanks to the width of the main auditorium, the depth of the stage and the height of the seated area, if you are not 6’ 6” tall and manage to get in early enough to claim a spot at the front, or blag a good seat, there are too many blind spots for stumpy people like me. Call me old fashioned but when I go to a concert, I like to have a reasonable chance of seeing the band; even if they look like ants in the distance.
There, I’ve said it, opinionated but it is with that emotional bias which I have to put to one side when reviewing the actual concert. Thankfully it is Franck Carducci & The Fantastic Squad so their choice of venue, and their love of the Beatles, which ensured that they gave 100% and brought one of the best performances I have seen them deliver. Allowing me to put to one side my issues with the venue, and from what I could see of the concert, they were on fire.
MARY REYNAUD
For support they gave us a two for one set with band stalwart, Mary Reynaud, being the solo support act. Just guitar and vocals but it was, as always, a delicious appetiser for the main course that was yet to come. I am sure that she could sing the Salford phone book and make it sound like a perfect song full of emotion and resonance.
Magic Passerelle
Demain Je Partirai
Make it Together
Sad for Nothing
Under the Figtree
Mary Reynaud – Piano, Vocals
LINKS: Facebook
FRANCK CARDUCCI & THE FANTASTIC SQUAD
Then it was time for Franck & The Fantastic Squad. As it was the release show for their latest album Sheeple they had a new set which, after seeing pretty much the same show performed countless times over the last few years, was long overdue. Obviously, like many a band with a loyal fanbase, there were some songs that, if removed, would have left a lot of disappointed fans. Therefore many of the old favourites were left in, and quite rightly so, but the order was altered and the newer songs, were also sprinkled in to remind people that there was some new product on the merchandise table and, even if it takes them a while, they can still put out studio recorded CDs.
To my surprise they jumped right in with the ever-popular Alice’s Eerie Dream, only without the almost pantomime like introduction. But the fans didn’t seem to mind that and they loved the usual theatrics from the band, especially Mary’s take on Alice, the fallen woman. After that the energy and entertainment did not let up.
Barth, on guitar, is a player of immeasurable talent and if he had been around in the 70’s he would have been a rock god. Léa, as always, was the superlative drummer with the biggest smile in music, while Cédric was the keyboard Wizard, so the entire band ensured that it wasn’t just Franck’s, or Mary’s, show.
As if there was no musical speed limit they rattled through their set and the most interesting and enjoyable song was Sweet Casandra. This has been performed before, so it was mostly familiar, but the new album had a ‘Reprise’ which took the tale of the mythological truth teller even further.
As they always do they owned the crowd and, after what seemed like a far too short time, which included a wonderful cover of Pink Floyd’s Eclipse, the encore was over, with me feeling like Oliver saying “Please, sir, can I have some more?”
Thankfully no ‘Hey Jude’ with those Na-na-na-nas that seem to go on forever and take up valuable time where songs should be played. The ever-popular Theremin and Angel lightshow were there but they also dropped the cringe worthy disco dance segue so that is another reason to love the changed set.
There you have it, a wonderful night after all. Cavern Club 0 – Franck Carducci & The Fantastic Squad 1. A great result for everyone.
[Live photos Darren Walker]
SETLIST
Alice’s Eerie Dream
Torn Apart
Slave to Rock ‘n’ Roll
Closer to Irreversible
The Limits of Freedom
The Angel
Sweet Casandre (parts 1 and reprise)
Asylum
The Betrayal of Blue
A Brief Tale of Time
Artificial Paradise
Eclipse (Pink Floyd cover)
~ Encore:
(Love is) the Answer
On the Road to Nowhere
MUSICIANS
Franck Carducci – Vocals, Bass, Guitar
Mary Reynaud – Vocals, Guitar, Theremin, Percussion
Barth Sky – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Cédric Selzer – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Léa ‘We Love You’ Fernandez – Drums, Percussion
LINKS
Franck Carducci – Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X | Instagram
