Buddy Holly: Not Fade Away

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Musical has been wowing audiences around the world for 19 years. So, what better time to send one of our writers down to the Duchess Theatre to see if they've still got what it takes!

The Duchess Theatre itself is a rather quiet affair when compared to other West End playhouses. Clean, dark lines etch out the Art Deco auditorium while small and stylish pyramid lanterns hang from the ceiling. As we are ushered to our seats, the rather sedate sounds of "KBOL Lubbock Radio" is piped through the sound system where a thick Texan drawl announces the station's ID between numbers from country stars like Johnny Cash. The stage is draped in a luscious velvet curtain which falls heavily into rich golden tassels and the word "Buddy", stencilled onto the folds with a handwritten flourish, sets the whole thing off with a soft, intimate and, dare I say it, sleepy feeling.

Suddenly, the curtain roars up and the stage explodes into 50s' Americana. Huge, colourful faces beam down at the audience accompanied by advertising slogans from Coca Cola, Cheverolet and Colgate. Teenagers glide around on skates while the 'Hayriders', lead by a chap in a Stetson, strum through the country ditty Rose of Texas. We are in the Grand Bowl in Lubbock in about 1956 and, after the 'Hayriders' file off the stage we see our first glimpse of Buddy Holly.

Played in last night's performance by Matthew Wycliffe (the role is shared with Dean Elliott), the nervous Crickets shuffle out onto the stage. Matt certainly looks the part: tall, slender and with prominent black-rimmed glasses, the iconic figure strikes up his band and starts a wee country ballad. Midway through the performance however, Buddy announces he's changing track and launches into a raucous rock and roll number.

The powers that be hate the racket and stage managers and other performers try to halt the music by literally trying to pull the lead from Buddy's searing guitar. Needless to say, the kids love it. The whole atmosphere of the Grand Bowl turns on Buddy's whim and the place is heaving with excitement. In the aftermath of the show Buddy's manager turns up to tell the guys that Decca Records in Nashville want to sign them up and the narrative really starts to get going.

Forced to record country songs, Buddy is clearly not happy with the arrangement in Nashville and it's not long until they head to New Mexico to record with Norman Petty.

Some of Buddy's best-loved songs have their first run through here and we are shown the creative process behind a handful of the most iconic songs of the decade. For example, as the drummer Jerry Allison (Nick Sayce) warms up on the kit, Buddy hears the rumbling, rolling rhythm and asks him to play it on the actual record. A few takes later and that tribal opening to Peggy Sue is complete; together with a few other little alterations that Jerry insists on for, well, let's say 'less-savoury' reasons.

It's not until the band start touring again that the show really gets into some outstanding performances. Best of all comes at the close of the first act when the Crickets play their 'turbulent' gig at the Harlem Apollo.

Some stunning vocal performances come into play here and some real banter with the audience from Hayley Berkeley sets the place alight. Joined onstage by other performers from the Apollo, Buddy closes the first half with some huge songs and an even bigger performance. Here too we see the bass player Joe B. Mauldin (Greg Last) first do some outrageous stunts with his big double bass. Rolling it over and playing it like a guitar, lying down flat and having the instrument fall on top of him and, at one moment, he even braces it against himself and Buddy runs and jumps up the body - with both of them still playing! It is absolutely spellbinding. The band exit the stage with a huge roar of applause from the audience. It's an uplifting moment... and it's only the interval.

The second half takes off pretty much from where the first act finishes. We see Buddy at the New York recording studio where he meets Maria Elena Santiago, the woman who will later become his wife. Around this time the music the guys make really starts to be successful and the pressure that fame puts on the group is shown with considerable wit and delicacy.

Though there are some really dramatic moments in the second act, the music is what really seals it. Largely the action is strung together with concert performances that lead to the fateful night in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 2nd, 1959. Sharing the bill with The Big Bopper (Lee Ormsby) and Ritchie Valens (Miguel Angel), the final quarter of the show focuses on Buddy Holly's performance during the "The Winter Dance Party" at The Surf Ballroom - and it is fantastic.

Zipping through a whole host of 50s classics, every effort is made to make the final show as powerful as possible. Souvenir fliers are handed around the audience and the whole thing has a really exciting feel about it. The songs in this part of the musical really raise the bar and it is here where Buddy's greatest strength really becomes apparent.

The arrangements of the old songs are very carefully tailored, giving them a certain modern punch. For example, some of Jerry's drumming is quite heavy on the toms and bass which provide a new urgency to the music. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Not Fade Away which is every bit as raw and powerful as the Stones' version. Then, as the performance intensifies, Buddy pulls out Chuck Berry style duckwalks and guitar acrobatics. At one point he flings the stratocaster over his shoulders and plays a solo behind his head á la Jimi Hendrix. Not just for show or spectacle, moments like this define the production as being written almost 'through time'. That is to say that references to the musicians that Buddy would go on to influence are brought carefully into the frame. Time and time again we see hints of it in the dialogue but especially we find it in his stage performances. Echoing moves and sounds from artists that would follow Buddy show us the power and inspiration that his music controlled.

Sensitively and intelligently written, Buddy captures the tone and importance of Buddy Holly's life and music perfectly. The whole show buzzes with an intensity that can only come about because nigh-on everything is performed live. The electricity of the performers on stage and the subtly tailored arrangements pack Buddy with quite a magnetic punch. It's true that there are really some outstanding performances here, Matt is in fine voice as Buddy and has clearly mastered all the vocal tricks of the famous artist. Not only during the up-beat numbers either, when a great mirrorball falls from the ceiling and floods the stage with tiny, bright rainbows during Raining in My Heart, Matt's voice captures the beautiful frailty that Buddy managed to harness in his slower, more melodic ballads. Miguel Angel is an energetic presence as Ritchie Valenes and Lee Ormsby plays the Big Bopper with charm and control. However, what is really given top-billing in this show is the music.

Sensational and exciting, for anyone that likes rock and roll, this show is not to be missed. It's a truly great show and one that deserves to run and run.

Published by: Nathan Brooker