REMEMBER those days when the fair came to town? Hanging round the waltzer, listening to rock and roll music while trying to catch the eye of a pretty young lass ... who only had eyes for the greasy attendant?

They are the images rekindled in this powerful and moving story, set around songs from David Essex's first album which gave the show its title.

I could almost smell the heady mix of candy floss, popcorn and well-oiled dodgem cars due, in no small part, to the excellent set design and special effects which included carousel horses and the roar of wall of death motor bikes.

There are a bunch of forgettable bubblegum musicals built around a string of pop hits, but this one is different. Those Essex songs like A Winter's Tale, Hold Me Close and Gonna Make You A Star are integral to a challenging plot.

Essex plays fairground boss Levi who faces a dual challenge: how to maintain a relationship with his son Jack, earnestly played by newcomer Paul-Ryan Carberry, and save his struggling fair. Levi believes in the old ways, using his song It's Gonna Be Alright to make his point, but Jack wants to modernise ... and bring back the wall of death attraction which killed his mother.

Then Essex throws the love angle into his book, pairing Jack with the daughter of local hard man Harvey, played with real East End violence by David Burrows.

This is not a laugh-a-minute show, although there is a nice comedic sequence as the star joins Burrows and Louise English as fortune teller Gypsy Rosa, in a spot of reminiscing to the tune of Rock On.

Typically, Essex is generous with his cast, handing out his most recognisable songs for others to sing, but this is very much his show.