Of course you're right, Banjiman - so much of the buzz from a well-run singaround is the joy of listening to, and discovering, other talented performers. Which is why I will - and do - travel longer distances for the "right" clubs rather than stay closer to home and repeatedly hear stale "same-old same-old" renditions.
But I'm sure you'd agree too that just singing a song to yourself at home and/or to the mirror is never a substitute for singing it out, merely an early-stage preparation. The moment has to be right for taking a song out for the first time too - and that's not always easy to judge, indeed sometimes it never comes!
The biggest drawback for the solo performer is that you don't then get the chance to develop or put together a viable repertoire if you rarely sing more than one song in an evening - which is why the duos/trios/etc so often have an advantage over solo performers and make more progress faster through more playout practice.

But let's return to the point of the thread... none of this is in any way a criticism of Easingwold - or Becks, who did real good!