That'll be the show

bigg Bopper, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story

Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

****

FOR a young man whose rock ‘n’ roll career lasted less than two years, Buddy Holly certainly made a huge impact on the music world.

He was tragically killed in a plane crash travelling between concerts, aged just 22, along with fellow stars The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Buddy once said: “It’s not that I want to be rich. I just want the world to remember the name Buddy Holly”.

This show, The Buddy Holly Story, proves beyond doubt that his wish came true – underlined by the cheering and standing ovation for the excellent cast even before the final curtain.

Born in Newcastle –upon-Tyne, Glen Joseph gives his all in the role of Buddy, and his performance in the last concert at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, with Jason Blackwater (the Big Bopper) and Will Pearce (Valens) before the crash, is superb.

The story opens at a fairly slow pace as Buddy tours the radio stations building his career, but the big numbers like That’ll Be the Day, Oh Boy, Raining in My Heart, Every Day and Peggy Sue raise the tempo to boiling point.

Since the story of the young super star in the black horn-rimmed glasses began to be told on stage, various Buddys have sung 17 songs 259,671 times, 185,000 guitar strings have been replaced,  and trucks used to transport the sets and equipment from venue to venue have travelled about five-and-three-quarter times around the world.

It will surely live on for many years to come. To 24.05.14

Paul Marston

19-05-14 

 

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