4 – 8 April
Launched originally in 1989, Buddy is every bit the ‘jukebox musical’. But for a jaunty walk-through of Holly’s early recording days with his band The Crickets, and a short romance with the receptionist at his publisher’s office culminating in a speedy marriage, we don’t learn an awful lot about Holly’s backstory in Alan Janes’ production. But the hits keep the show alive from beginning to end.
Who was Holly really? Just another young guy with a guitar from Texas wanting, like many that would follow him, to form a band with some mates and see where it would lead. But in his stripped back lyrics, clear melodies, memorable hiccupping style vocals and an ability to drive a band with a jangling Fender Strat guitar, Holly had the golden touch. A show about his short life, just 22 years old when he died, was always more likely to want to put another dime into the machine. But there were moments when the stifling social parameters of late 1950’s America were allowed to peek through. Buddy Holly and The Crickets were the first white act to play at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York. Janes caught those tensions well, while problems over management, royalty payments and the split with The Crickets featured fleetingly, if at all.
The show’s ‘make or break’ landed tonight on the shoulders of AJ Jenks, who looked every bit the geeky Texan songster, with his trademark horn-rimmed glasses and immaculate tailored suits. Jenks’s vocal dynamics and guitar playing sounded close enough to Holly’s original to allow for pretty much complete suspension of disbelief. Meanwhile, The Crickets were brought to life by some wonderful playing by Josh Haberfield as drummer Jerry Alison, Christopher Weeks as guitarist Niki Sullivan and some extrovert playing by Joe Butcher as bassist Joe B Mauldin. The show undoubtedly rocked, and it was Jenks, with his move-perfect delivery, that held the whole thing together.
There was very strong support from Christopher Chandler as The Big Bopper performing a memorable Chantilly Lace, and from Miguel Angel performing a scintillating version of La Bamba as a teenage Richie Valance. Both the Bopper and Valance were also sadly killed in the air crash with Holly in 1959.
Samuelle Durojaiye and Laura-Dene Perryman were fabulous as Apollo Theatre singers while Thomas Mitchells as narrator and as DJ Hipockets Duncan, brought a sense of continuity to events.
Buddy presents us with Holly as a smiling, golden boy who seems to sail through life until his abrupt untimely end. An uncomplicated figure who phones his mum when he’s away, the show also gives you a sense that there was also something steely under his skin – his resolute desire to only play things his way for example, with no signs of buckling when rejection comes at Decca. It also illustrates Holly’s innate musical sensibility, an inventiveness within the simple structure of his songs – the use of a celeste in Everyday for instance, gave the piece an irresistible charm, while incidental drumming in a warm up was recognised by Holly as an effective backing to Peggy Sue.
Referencing the jukebox for a moment, it’s worth listing just a few to whet your appetite if early rock’n’roll is your thing: Oh Boy, That’ll Be the Day, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Raining in My Heart, Rave On… and many more of course, it’s a great playlist. The audience was on its feet by the end. The sheer zest of these players was enough to invoke the spirit and times of this unusual star and his music, amply demonstrating why he will remain a commanding influence over songwriters and musicians for evermore.
★★★★☆ Simon Bishop, 5th April 2030
Photo credit: Rebecca Need-Menear, Hamish Gill
