If you haven’t been to Bongo’s Bingo by now then really, WHAT are you waiting for? From bingo, booze, cash prizes, coco pops, unicorns and, er, more booze, it really is an unforgettable night that now, has had so much success, that Johnny Bongo, Slutty Susie and Horny Heidi tour up and down the country (and beyond) on the regs, to bring bingo joy to Scousers and non-Scousers (booo) alike. Being lovers of Bongo’s Bingo, we were super excited to be invited down to try out the brand new series of BONGO’S THE WORD – a Grease inspired show, family (un)friendly show, that, let’s just say, definitely got messy. Bring on the Coco.
For those that sat in the Camp n Furnace, ordered copious amounts of bowls, stood on the benches and got super muddy feet from the floor, before, then we’ll quickly explain what Bongo’s is really all about. You’re handed a bingo booklet as you walk in and told to choose a bench (getting there early is advised if you want good seats). The booklet features several games, all of which are hosted by none other than Johnny Bongo, with a large amount of drinking, dancing and general chaotic stupidity involved for good measure. So let the games begin.
We had to hand it to the guys behind the scenes at Bongo’s for making this set one of the best we’d scene, complete with duke boxes and a diner style breakfast bar. The show began with a Grease style performance which saw Slutty Susie, Horny Heidi and Johnny himself throwing all kinds of shapes donning iconic T-bird style leather jackets. This was going to be a good night.
With singing and dancing out of the way, it was time to get serious, settling to play Bingo for the first round. Prizes included a leather jacket (mentioned before) a cardboard cutout of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as well as the usuals; top of the range bottle of Glenns, our good friend Henry Hoover, everyone’s favourite pink and fluffy unicorn (cue Lonestar ‘I don’t know how you do what you do’) and of course, the iconic box of Coco Pops. If none of the above take your fancy, up for grabs was also a mobility scooter (complete with onstage demo), the COMPLETE set of Disney Princesses – with Elsa thrown in (cue LET IT GO sang very loudly until everyone in the room was hoarse) and a fantastic 1950’s style Duke Box (cue plenty of hand jives and an epic Christmas singalong complete with on screen lyrics) – can you see a picture forming here? Of course, in between prizes, like every Bongo’s, there was plenty of false calls (DICKHEAD), the number 33 followed by plenty of Irish classics and a whole lot of dancing on benches.
As well as all of the above, the big prize of the night was two tickets to Bongo’s Bingo Ibiza, complete with flights and accommodation that was awarded to one lucky full house winner (cue Venga Boys and a whoooole lotta jealousy). The night also saw several more jaw-dropping performances from Jonny and crew as they wowed the crowds with their epic dance moves. As well as singing, dancing and all round chaos, the usual three cash prizes were also up for grabs, with, this time, every single person getting their multiple choice question right first time, with the biggest winner taking home (or spending at the bar) £1000.
The epic night was rounded up by none other than 1/5 of the legendary Girl Band, Nadine Coyle, as she put on a fantastic show of some of her own songs as well as a few Girls Aloud favourites, filling the room with a wave of Nostalgia (and a ALOT of out of tune crowd singing/shouting).
As usual, our night at Bongo’s Bingo was simply the best, there really is no other night out like it in Liverpool. If you’re a regular and would like more tickets, or, if you want to give Bongo’s a go for the first time, you can purchase tickets for their Christmas specials, including their fantastic new series of brunches which includes delicious food and and hour of FREE Prosecco, head to bongosbingo.co.uk . Eiiiighhhhhttttt.