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That'll be the show
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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