Having kindly been invited to review the Buddy Holly Story at Richmond Theatre last night I was delighted to take with me a big fan of fifties and sixties music, who has written the following words about the show:-
“I hadn’t realised the incredible influence he had had on the industry in the very short 18 months, when he burst onto the scene.
The show starts with the young Buddy defying his manager, agent and even the Decca recording label, by not playing Country and Western style music that they all wanted, but playing Rock and Roll instead. As soon as we heard Buddy (played by the brilliant Glen Joseph) and his Crickets belt into “That’ll be the day” we knew we were in for a fantastic evening, because this cast is made up of real musicians.
The story continues, and we are treated to a genuine Buddy Holly concert 55 years after his tragic and premature death, which when announced on stage, caused several of the men sitting around us to shed a tear. It was an extraordinary audience – all original Buddy fans I suspect, and we even spotted Bruce Welch of the Shadows and some other well known faces from that era.
By the end, the whole theatre was on its feet dancing and at least 100 jiving ladies and gents in their seventies and eighties were in the aisles. A show that can roll back the years like that is a total must see.
As Buddy said at the end “tell your friends”. Well, I already have. He also added “Richmond rocks”. Well it did last night, all generations. “Oh Boy”.
