UK Theatre Network

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story 

Two words: Buddy brilliant! The hugely successful story of Buddy Holly, Buddy, returns for a UK tour, and the King’s and I (did I get away with that one?) had the pleasure of experiencing a special commemorative performance. On February 3^rd 1959, Charles Hardin Holley, or as we know him, Buddy Holly, along with two other successful performers, JP Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens, were tragically killed when their chartered plane crashed while returning from what was to be their final performance. The inexperienced pilot, Roger Peterson, was also killed, and the day is immortalised in the words of Don McLean’s “American Pie”: the day that music died. The special performance was staged 50 years to that fateful day, to pay tribute to, and celebrate the life of, the short lived talent that was, Buddy Holly.

This was my first experience of the Buddy Holly story, and what a treat it was. For much of the performance, it was easy to forget that the man in front of us was an actor playing the part of Buddy Holly. Glen Joseph, who was our bespectacled impresario for the night, played the part to absolute perfection, and more than any other performer I have seen recently, seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself, as did the excellent supporting cast. The only place I could draw criticism from would be the performance of Steve Simmonds, as Norman Petty, the record producer who secured many of Holly’s greatest hits, including “That’ll Be The Day”, “Peggy Sue” (which was originally conceived as “Cindy-Lou”, but changed to appease Jerry Allison, The Crickets’ drummer, Jerry Allison), “Oh Boy!” and “Not Fade Away”. From an acting point of view, there were no problems with his performance, but his attempt at the southern drawl was extremely weak, and in fact his struggle to produce something which even slightly resembled a Texan was occasionally abandoned to reveal quite a well-refined English accent. Some may consider this a fairly minor flaw, but when the location is such a major part of the story, it is of great importance that accents and cultural indicators are perfect.

Indeed, the performance is stuffed full of pop culture and prophetic references designed for the audience’s amusement, including references to a “young lad, Orbison or something”, and an ironic jibe about Ray Charles. The redneck culture of the American South is also heavily referenced, and it is this attitude which Holly’s music aimed to attack, with great success. The story shows Holly being forced to play country, when he really wants to play rock ’n’ roll. However, Holly is shown to be determined and headstrong, and in fact the only section where we see any doubt or worry in Holly’s eyes is immediately before playing at the Harlem Apollo, whose black majority audience assume Holly and the Crickets to be African-American. And as his short but illustrious career shows, these were characteristics which were present in the real Buddy, and if they hadn’t, who knows what our music industry would be like today?

All the music of the night was performed live by our stellar cast, an addition which gave great authenticity and personality to the performance. I cannot praise [Glen] Joseph enough, as he had Holly’s demeanour, his high pitched, nasally voice and his showmanship down to an art, and he played the guitar with equal aplomb. However, praise must also go to Christopher Redmond (Joe Mauldin, the Crickets’ bassist), Dan Graham (Jerry Allison), Colin McGregor (The Big Bopper), Pedro Reichert (Ritchie Valens) and all the other musicians and vocalists in the show, who gave it their all, leaving the audience with a nostalgic and exciting image of the man himself, Buddy Holly.

Listings:

King’s Theatre, Glasgow
Monday 2 – Saturday 7 February
Mon – Sat eves 7.30pm
Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm
Tickets: £9 - £27
0870 060 6648
www.kings-glasgow.co.uk