Diamond impersonator brings act to Stevenson High School

Tom Sadge was in a garage band with his high school buddies when they first played Neil Diamond's “Solitary Man.”

The year was 1968 and Neil Diamond's “I'm a Believer” — recorded by the Monkees — had ruled the pop charts the previous year. Diamond was fast becoming a force in the music industry.

Sadge's rock 'n' roll hair and East-coast vocals caused show-goers to draw obvious comparisons between the two, but back then even Sadge couldn't have predicted he'd earn a living impersonating the Brooklyn-born singer.

Sadge brings his sequined shirts and gravelly voice to Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire Saturday, Jan. 29, just days after the star's 70th birthday. Sadge promises to cover the performer's 40-plus-year career with renditions of “Solitary Man” (“I still love it”), Cherry, Cherry,” “America,” “Sweet Caroline” (“every one loves that one”) and “I'm a Believer” (for the Shrek fans in the audience), at the Spotlight on Stevenson show.

Now 54, Sadge has performed professionally as Neil Diamond for more than a decade. Contacts turn his blue eyes brown and makeup allows him to mimic Diamond's bushy brows. Glittering shirts, vests and scarves, black pants and big belt buckles further the transformation.

The makeover is so convincing that he's toured Canada and the United States with a leading tribute lineup, Legends in Concert, and crooned for audiences on cruise ships, in casinos and at clubs here and in Europe, where women swoon and throw flowers and unmentionables on stage. In photos on his website, tomsadge.com, you have to look twice to tell him apart from the real Neil.

Sadge brushes aside comments that Neil Diamond has grown irrelevant in today's music scene.

Diamond's songs continue to appear in popular movies and TV shows, Sadge says.

“A lot of people still know his songs and have redone his songs,” says Sadge, who counts “America” as his favorite.

Deanna Dreyer with the Stevenson Foundation is counting on Diamond's continued appeal and recent news that he'll be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame to pack the house.

“Everybody knows that music, from my 26-year-old to my mother,” Dreyer said.

Foundation Director Greg Diethrich said the auditorium seats 1,200 and tickets are still available. The school's a cappella group, Jazz Etc., will perform a brief opening act.

The concert is not designed to raise money for the foundation, he said, but rather to give back to the community.

Tom Sadge as Neil Diamond

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29

Where: Stevenson High School Performing Arts Center, 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire. Presented by the Stevenson High School Foundation.

Tickets: $15, reserved seating

Info: (847) 415-4121 or d125.org/foundation.