STICK hundreds of Sidmouth Folk Week revellers in a tent with a bunch of Australian Spooky Men on a boiling hot day and what do you get?

STICK hundreds of Sidmouth Folk Week revellers in a tent with a bunch of Australian 'Spooky Men' on a boiling hot day and what do you get?

A human cacophony of music that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up wasn't what I was expecting at The Big Spooky with the Spooky Men's Chorale at the Ham Marquee on Wednesday, but certainly what I got.

Fresh from a memorable concert the previous night, it was time for the Antipodean Spooky Men to show Sidmouth how it is done.

The event, headed up by energetic MC and conductor Kevin Shiels, turned a packed marquee into a musical instrument. Different voice ranges were grouped together before being given different notes along with the odd, very odd, word of the ancient 'Glagolitica' language to sing.

The result was a Georgian symphony of noise- and one that was surprisingly kind on the ears.

Dressed in black, apart from the odd hat, the Spooky Men, like their audience, boast a variety of ages, shapes and sizes but they can definitely sing.

The hour of fun was conducted in great humour with plenty of banter with the audience and was definitely the biggest, most entertaining a capella act I am ever likely to see.