Gene Steede's Nightlife -- at the Princess Hotel in Hamilton As summer gets underway, Bermuda's hotels are unveiling this season's after-dark entertainment fare.

Gene Steede, long acknowledged as Bermuda's "Mr. Entertainment'' can be seen six nights a week in the Gazebo Lounge of the Pembroke Princess.

His show is rather vaguely titled Nightlife, but don't let that deceive you; This is a top-rate, professionally produced evening of entertainment that is well worth a visit.

Perhaps in an effort to remove some of the strain of carrying a show almost alone (as he has done in the last couple of seasons), Gene Steede has brought together some of the Island's best musical talent to join him in a non-stop medley of music which should appeal to most tastes, with funny-man and talented impersonator Rico March making a welcome return to the Island to keep the comedy end of things going strong.

Yes, there are plenty of calypso favourites, such as Yellow Bird and Bermuda Is Another World -- and a good thing, too, as cruise-line passengers seem to make up the bulk of the audience on week nights, love and expect this kind of "island'' music.

But there is plenty of music in this show that is a real pleasure to listen to, with perhaps the biggest surprise being the superior quality of the musicians who so eloquently deliver it.

Billed as "the hottest vocal group in town'', Stardust is composed of a remarkable trio of glamorous songbirds who will surely confound, once and for all, the often-expressed view that Bermudians lack the necessary talent to carry off a show of this magnitude. They manage it, in fact, with ease and considerable charm.

Lead singer Dawnelle Robinson formed an impressive duo with Gene Steede in last year's show. This year, she has joined forces with Rochelle Simons and Sheila Smith. Among them -- and individually -- they produce a very remarkable sound indeed. Singing everything from golden Motown oldies, to country and western, jazz and gospel, these girls represent some of the best talent seen in a long time on the nightclub circuit. They happen to be home-grown but certainly hold their own against most of the imported talent that is so often apparently preferred by hotel management.

The same comment applies to Gene Steede's musical back-up who, rather confusingly, are known both as the Bermuda Triangle Trio and also as the D.D.T's, this last being the initials of keyboards maestro Daryl Simons, bassist Dennis Francis and drummer Tony Cox.

Daryl Simons may be described as a one-man band who uses two or three different keyboards to produce an astonishing range of sound. Like so many of our local musicians, it was the church that set him off on a musical career.

He is also a talented organist and directs the gospel group, Rejoice, in which solo vocalist Sheila Smith also sings. She, incidentally, is also an organist.

Dennis Francis played with Shine Hayward, as did drummer Tony Cox, who has spent most of his life in the Island's hotels and nightclubs. Mr. Steede describes his band as "the heartbeat of the show''.

Gene Steede packs a powerful punch with his dazzling display on the bongo drums, but he is perhaps at his best as he sings those slow ballads such as "You'll Never Walk Alone'' and at the end, when he and Dawnelle Robinson come together in a powerful, yet tender duet version of "Beauty and the Beast''.

Rochelle Simons, who produces an incredibly big sound from such a small frame, founded a group called Fresh back in the '70s, which eventually landed her a contract with Warner Brothers Records. Of her three releases for that label, her version of Magic Man reached number one on the UK charts and was in the top ten in the US. Small wonder, then, that she almost took the roof off with her rendition of Whitney Houston's hit, "I Will Always Love You''.

Gene Steede and his talented group of performers certainly justify this vote of confidence passed on local entertainment from the Princess Hotels. -- Patricia Calnan.

SIZZLING NIGHTLIFE -- Gene Steede drums up a night of music in his new show at the Princess Hotel, Hamilton. Also appearing with the popular entertainer are, from left: Rochelle Simons, Sheila Smith and Dawnelle Robinson who are producing dynamic sounds as the vocalist group, Stardust.