There are some rites of passage that are pretty much compulsory growing up in or on the peripheries of Merseyside.
Falling down the stairs in Baa Bar, ending up with a cap from the Raz, finishing off the evening with a Nabzy's - to name just a few. Marketed as "Liverpool's no. 1 for a great night out", Woody's sports and karaoke bar has also become something of an institution over the years.
Popular with students, hen parties and pensioners alike, the Wood Street venue is open seven days a week, offering customers the chance to lubricate their vocal chords with a cut-price cocktail and showcase their musical talents via a comprehensive catalogue of songs. I've concluded many a night out at the bar but, until now, have never been brave enough to get on the mic myself.
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Perhaps rather foolishly, I made this admission to my colleagues, and was duly sent along to immerse myself in the full Woody's experience. Now, full disclosure, I've always been a bit of a karaoke snob.
Growing up, I wanted to be a musical theatre performer and, as such, was never a fan of singing in a place where the music drowned you out and drunk people could steal your thunder by joining in. But having set aside my dreams of West End stardom, I conceded I should probably just lighten up, have (several) drinks, and give it a whirl.
I managed to convince my friends to tag along on a Tuesday evening. Admittedly, it probably wasn't the best time to get the optimum Woody's experience, with only a handful of tables filled as the speakers blasted out Sandi Thom's 'I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker'.
Still, any place that sells chubba chups in the toilet is a winner with me, and I treated myself to one of their frozen cocktails - surpisingly really good considering the £4 price tag - while I tried to work up the courage to get on the mic. I waited for someone else to go first and, after a member of bar staff broke the ice with an enthusiastic rendition of 'Champagne Supernova', I tentatively made my way over to the DJ.
I was tempted to plump for a showtune or some sort of ABBA karaoke classic, but instead opted for Taylor Swift classic 'Love Story' in the hopes the steadily-growing audience would join in. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous, stood on the empty dance floor as my lovely friends gave me an encouraging thumbs up.
But my fears were quickly allayed as a people began to sing along and, by the end of the song, I was fully in my stride with most of the bar clapping along and even having a bit of a dance. While I can't say I'll become a karaoke regular, the whole experience was fun and pretty liberating (although that could be in part down to the £4 cocktails).
The best part of my evening came when I got chatting to Paul, who came up to congratulate me on my mediocre karaoke debut. Paul lives on the Australian Gold Coast and was visiting Liverpool as part of whistlestop tour of Europe.
He had decided to make the trip with his son, following the death of his dad last year, and had been dragged along to karaoke by a group of backpackers. He said: "Me and my son are mad LFC supporters, which is why we wanted to come here.
"I'm not very good on the karaoke but I'm going to give it a good go. Liverpool is such a great city and everyone here is so friendly, which is why its nice to be out meeting people."
Paul and his son took to the stage with a rendition of 'Land Down Under'. Watching them clearly having a ball, belting out the lyrics with plenty of gusto, really made me smile.
Although Woody's is more than 10,000 miles from the Gold Coast, in this little karaoke bar off Concert Square, they couldn't have looked more at home.
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