IN CONVERSATION WITH... JEFF SHANKLEY

Photo courtesy of Maldon Photography

Jeff Shankley is now something of a musical theatre legend, having created the parts of Munkustrap in the original 1981 cast of Cats,  Greaseball in Starlight Express and Lord Melchisedic in Dave Clark’s Time The Musical to name but three.  Here Jeff kindly gave up a little of his time to share with us some memories of working for Andrew Lloyd Webber in two of his legendary shows.

You were a member of the original 1981 cast of Cats, how did that come about for you?

I was playing Frank N. Furter in Cameron Mackintosh's production of The Rocky Horror Show in Berlin when I got the call to audition for Cats in London when I returned. I remember sitting waiting to sing and hearing all these ballads one after another.  So I thought "Hell, I’ll sing 'Sweet Transvestite'” so I did. Trevor said he felt he'd seen the whole show and asked me why we'd never met. And then he said if Cats didn’t work out he'd take me into the Royal Shakespeare Company.  I floated out of the audition because this was a lifelong ambition, but Cats did work out and the future was rather mapped out for the near future. I did play at the RSC years later so I was delighted. 

 Jeff as Frank N Furter 1980

Two weeks into rehearsal I busted my cartilage and was carted off to hospital where Judi Dench was recovering from a ripped Achilles tendon. She was playing Grizabella and I was playing Munkustrap. I thought that was it, but got a huge bowl of fruit, flowers and a message from Trevor Nunn and Andrew Lloyd Webber saying ‘You’re the one we want. Be there for the opening night!’, which I was. Sadly Judi was not, and very courageously withdrew.  What a performance that would have been; she was mesmeric. Fortunately for us Elaine Page stepped in with only four days to go and took the top of the theatre off with her rendition of ‘Memory’. She was stunning and such a talent. 

I recovered well but on the opening night I was still not able to bend my leg properly so the long leg so associated with the Munkustrap's stance was created. More from necessity than design! Even when I healed they kept it in and it sort of became iconic! Cats was a dangerous set to work on. Each performance was trial and error. As I slid off the car boot one night to take Grizabella up to the 'Heaviside layer', I ripped my costume on a jagged piece of metal. The entire company closed around me so the audience didn’t see this large expanse of white buttock! The next year I impaled myself on an iron gate, chasing Macavity, and put thirty-eight stitches in one leg and six in the other. Cameron carried me off shouting ‘I’ve always wanted to do this!’

 

 I was beginning to think John Napier had it in for me, especially when the iron bridge in Starlight Express (now named The Jeff Shankley Memorial Bridge by the wonderful Ray Shell) nearly blinded me and knocked my front teeth out because it was brought in too soon.

All in all Cats was a wonderful experience to be part of. I believe I was the only person to play Munkustrap in Act 1, Gus and Growltiger in Act 2, and then return as Munkustrap for the Macavity fight. I did it for six months and was exhausted, but they were shaping the franchise before it went global.

Before we went into the studio to record the album, Andrew took me aside and said: ‘”I have so much music to put on a double album and I may not have room for ‘The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles’. It is thirteen pages long, the longest number in the show, so I’m asking if I can take it out?  But I know this is your first West End recording and if you stamp your foot and have a tantrum I’ll keep it in.”  Of course I didn’t. I was recording my own musical for BBC radio called Rockoco, sung by the legendary Colm Wilkinson, and if I’d needed to take something out I’d have hoped they would have understood. During the next few weeks, Andrew called me back often to re-record a lot of other music he wasn’t happy with. I think it was his way of saying thank you for not making a fuss. Never make a fuss.

Did you learn to skate specifically for the show and were you involved in the original Starlight workshops?

In the part of London I grew up in there was little entertainment for us as kids, but in the next town was a very large skating rink. So I spent most weekends there with friends skating and playing roller hockey. I'm sure there were many who could have played the role of Greaseball, but they were looking for someone who could act, sing, dance AND roller-skate. So lucky for me it removed a lot of the opposition.

I auditioned for the workshop of Starlight, and I remember a huge space in Leicester square, with Trevor Nunn, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Napier, Arlene Phillips and the casting team all sitting at a huge long table. I skated round in a wide circle and as I gathered speed approaching the table I shouted ‘Forward somersault coming up!’ They lifted out of their seats and as I sailed past I said ’I’ll save that for the opening night’. Trevor told me later it was game set and match, because it was exactly the quality for Greaseball they were looking for; ‘I could do it if I wanted to. But I can’t be bothered’.

There were many in the workshop and the original company who had never really performed before and each time someone fell over they laughed at them. One morning I said to them that if someone falls over, it means that they're pushing their ability. They are skating outside their comfort zone and that should be applauded, so that’s what we did. Every time someone fell over we stopped the rehearsal, applauded them, and the morale and confidence soared! 

Can you remember your first impressions of the Starlight set, and what were the biggest problems skating on it?  Was the costume restrictive?  Did you have any accidents whilst performing the show? 

The day we arrived at the Apollo theatre and saw the set for the first time, I have to say many of the company were in tears. It was quite intimidating, as all of John Napier’s sets are. Trevor sent me off around the tracks to identify any danger areas; what needed extra barriers, more padding etc. Coming into what we called the 'wall of death' took a bit of getting used to. Some people disappeared off the front of the stage and down onto the concrete stairs below. More barriers arrived and the helmets arrived the day after the bridge knocked my teeth out. It was the most amazing creation.

The Perspex was a bit slippery to skate on, but it was solved by spraying the stage with Coca-Cola before each performance. The costumes were a bit restrictive but it’s always trial and error when you're trying something new, and John was always understanding of any problems we had. I never felt that the skate boots I had made a very good finish line for the choreography, so I had a skate put onto a Lonsdale boxing boot, which worked really well. It gave it more flexibility and they were lighter. 

The critics at the time were a little unkind despite audience reaction being ecstatic,  do you think Starlight was a little ahead of its time? 

I think Starlight was ahead of its time. We felt we were pushing the boundaries of theatre back and possibly introducing a new kind of audience. It was obviously successful, in spite of the critic’s response, thanks to an amazing creative and production team and cast.

What are your favourite songs in the show? Did you have a favourite among the other characters / performers?

I think the song that really touched me most was 'I Am The Starlight’. The musical build up and the combination of Lon Satton and Ray Shell’s voices was so inspiring. I looked forward to it every night. Andrew’s music has a way of reaching inside you and ripping your heart out. 

 Cliff Richard and Jeff Shankley in Time The Musical

Lord Melchisedic in Time The Musical

It was difficult to leave but the offer of Lord Melchisedic in Time The Musical  was just too good to turn down, with another stunning John Napier set. He told me once that when you have an unlimited budget you can go crazy, but if someone says you have £2000, it has to be made of plastic and ready next month, then something magical happens; I suppose we all need limits, but I’m not sure I’ve found mine yet.

Of all the musicals you have done,  have you got a favourite?

I think if I had one part I enjoyed above all others, it would have to be George in Spend Spend Spend at the Piccadilly Theatre. It was a terrific part and working with Barbara Dickson and Rachel Lescovac is an experience I will never forget. They are two amazing talents and two beautiful people. 

 Jeff (far left) and Barbara Dickson (centre) in Spend Spend Spend

To have been chosen to work in an Andrew Lloyd Webber show three times and to be directed by Trevor Nunn three times is an honour I will always cherish.

 Jeff, thanks very much for taking the time to talk with me.

Jeff Shankley as Greaseball (left) Ray Shell as Rusty (middle) Jeffrey Daniel as Electa (right)

Jeff also featured on the 20th anniversary recording of Jesus Christ Superstar

FOR THE RECORD: STARLIGHT EXPRESS

One of the bonuses of musical theatre is that we are often treated to more than one recording of a particular show,  indeed often several international versions in a variety of languages around the world.  Andrew Lloyd Webber’s global popularity means that his shows have more than their fair share of availability with cast recordings globally. None more so than Starlight Express, the ground breaking musical where the cast perform entirely on roller skates. Richard Stilgoe's infernally clever and witty lyrics are just one of the reasons this show has cast its spell over audiences for some 35 years. In this article I am going to take a look at the recordings that have been issued over the years, their merits and how they differ.  So lets literally get our skates on and start with...

ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING 1984

Running time: 100 minutes   Language:  English

This double album (in the days of vinyl of course) is something of a mash up.  The show was recorded over three performances in April 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre where Starlight Express had opened the month before.  It was then taken and given studio polish, adding overdubs and additional instrumentation. The 26 tracks make up the majority of the show, and cross referencing the track listing with the original programme show that the omitted tracks are ‘Hitching And Switching’ (later replaced with ‘Coda Of Freight’),  Heats Two and Three of the races and the Race Uphill Final.  Additionally the versions of ‘AC/DC’ and ‘Only He (Has The Power To Move Me)’ are the single versions and not the show versions whilst ‘He Whistled At Me’ has had extra studio polish (perhaps being primed for a single?)  The recording is also the first and last to feature ‘Belle The Sleeping Car’ performed marvellously by P.P. Arnold, subsequently omitted from future productions, similarly Michael Staniforth’s ‘C.B.’ would also be a unique feature of this first recording. The album features a glittering array of West End talent with Jeff Shankley giving his rich baritone to the Elvis inspired diesel engine Greaseball and Stephanie Lawrence lending her light vocal touch to Pearl. Ray Shell gives perhaps the best vocal of all the recordings of young steam engine Rusty, whilst Lon Satton as Poppa has the blues running through his bones, and sets a template for the role which performers try to emulate to this day. He is simply divine.  Add in the aforementioned 1960s pop diva P.P. Arnold, Les Miserables sensation Frances Ruffelle, a pre-Red Dwarf Danny-John Jules and Rentaghost’s mesmeric Michael Staniforth and you have yourself the core of a cast that is going to be hard to beat on any subsequent recording. 10/10 

U.S. CONCEPT ALBUM 1987

Running time:  49 minutes   Language:  English

The arrival of Starlight Express on Broadway didn’t bring the expected American cast album, instead Andrew Lloyd Webber favoured a re-working of songs by producer Phil Ramone in order to produce a stand alone pop album. Ramone drafted in a number of successful artists in order to give a make-over to highlights of the score.  Just thirteen songs make up this collection led by Detroit soul singer El Debarge with the main theme from the show “Starlight Express”, a new version which incorporates a verse melody from the original version of “Only He”.  The album features two versions of the song “Engine Of Love”, one by Peter Hewlett and the CD debut of the original 1977 single by Earl Jordan which was Lloyd Webber’s first attempt at a song based on the railroad theme and featuring lyrics by Peter Reeves.  For the most part, through no fault of the artists,  the album lacks the sparkle of its predecessor.  Taken out of their musical setting the album struggles to find any emotional resonance although Josie Aiello and Peter Hewlett perform a reasonable “Only You” duet whilst another duet between Hewlett and Richie Havens of “I Am The Starlight” is the nearest to a show version we get.  Havens also draws out the gospel in “Light At The End Of The Tunnel”.  But by and large this album fails to sell the delights of the show,  Harold Faltermeyer’s “The Race Is On” a prime example of a watered down offering.   5/10

AUSTRALIAN AND JAPANESE TOUR 1987

Running Time:  51 minutes   Language:  English

Back on sturdier ground the massive arena tour that played Australia and Japan in 1987 is very much a record of that particular production.  With some lyrical changes from the original it was recorded initially in Tokyo and then polished in London. It features the only English cast recording of the original pop single “Engine Of Love” as part of the show.  It is a highlights album featuring fifteen tracks (although track 13 combines Starlight Sequence and Race Music for some reason).  Nikki Beisher’s “Make Up My Heart” is a stand out whilst Troy A. Burgess gives a spirited “Pumping Iron”.  Bobby Collins and Richie Pitts, whilst not quite hitting the heights of Satton  and Shell, manage to connect with the emotional aspects of  “I Am The Starlight” (or the Starlight Sequence as it is later referred to). Overall a strong showing of cast and musical arrangements serving as a taster for Antipodean and Japanese audiences. 7/10

BOCHUM CAST ALBUM 1988

Running time:  55 minutes   Language: German

The legendary Bochum production in Germany was represented by an album that is a hybrid of cast album and pop album. The original Bochum cast are let loose on the songs and had the Broadway production gone for this approach the U.S. album might have had the panache that this album still has in spades.  Produced and arranged by Jürgen Fritz,  the arrangements don’t veer too far from the source material but just enough to keep your toes a tappin’ throughout. For the first time we hear the mother and son bedtime dialogue at the start of the show then Paul Kribbe’s opening “Rolling Stock” sets the tone nicely.  “Liebesexpress” mixes things up even more by being in German but with a backing of “Nobody can do it like a steam train” English refrain.  We get the equivalent of the “C.B.” track from the English recording here called “Ganz Allein” (All Alone) nicely performed by Hans Johanson. Natalie Howard’s “G.E.K.U.P.P.E.L.T.” is just one of many stand out tracks,  channelling her inner Tammy Wynette to bring a touch of C & W class to proceedings. The one nod towards a fully fledged concept album is “Du Allein” (All Alone / Only He) which sees Irish Eurovision king Johnny Logan pair up with German chanteuse and actress Ute Lemper, replacing the German cast members for this one track. All told it is a strong presentation of fourteen of the shows best known numbers,  8/10

BOCHUM LIVE CAST ALBUM 1989

Running time:  114 minutes    Language:  German

As if to rectify the demand for an album which accurately reflected the show version, just twelve months after the pop album from the original cast, the first replacement cast were given a chance to shine on a live album featuring the entire show. Recorded live then mixed and tweaked (with some possible overdubbing) in Holland,  this is as close to the live experience on audio as it is possible to get.  The second act opens with an entr’acte followed by "Hymn To Victory" thus losing "The Rap" opening that had been present on the only other full show recording, the 1984 original.  By this stage in the shows development, there have been a few tweaks to the original songs (including ‘Make Up My Heart’ written for the Broadway debut) but it follows fairly faithfully the original song order. David Michael Johnson delivers his Electra for the second time on record, the first being in the Australia / Japan recording. The energy of the show literally leaps out of the speakers and is pretty much a text book example of how to do a live show album.  The German people certainly liked it because to date it has sold well in excess of 400,000 copies. 10/10

BOCHUM HIGHLIGHTS ALBUM 1991

Running Time: 56 minutes  Language: German

Within the space of four years, we have a third album from the Bochum production. Offering eighteen newly recorded tracks.  None seem to veer from the show versions and in itself, this is another excellent release showcasing the talent gathered in Bochum.  For the second time Stevie Woods gives his Papa, this time paired with Colin Munro as Rusty. Steve Casey also has a second outing as Greaseball. Original London cast member Kofi Missah returns to the show on record, this time playing the major role of Electra, a great job he makes of it too. Claudia Bradley is Pearl and she and Munro nail their love duet.  9/10

THE NEW STARLIGHT EXPRESS 1993

Running Time:  69 minutes  Language:  English

Perhaps fearing the show was starting to show its age and lose its appeal to younger audiences,  Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe set about revamping the score, adding and subtracting numbers and re-vamping the arrangements.  “Entry Of The National Trains” precedes “Rolling Stock” whilst Rusty has a new song “Crazy”.  The biggest change is that the ballad “Only You / Only He” has gone and in comes a replacement song with lyrics by Lloyd Webber’s collaborator on Tell Me On A Sunday and Sunset Boulevard, Don Black.  The song “Next Time We Fall In Love” is a pretty generic song, its one you either love or you don’t and I personally fall into the latter category.  I think the original is a better fit for the show. Parts of the melody later get an airing as "Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime" - a song added to Tell Me On A Sunday. Then there is the Megamix, having introduced the concept into the 1991 Joseph revival at the Palladium, its a chance to reprise all the best numbers and get audiences on their feet and dancing along. Although technically a highlights album,  this does feature a large portion of the show.  The talent on display is as always with Starlight exemplary.  Having been denied a cast album at the time, the original Broadway Pearl, Reva Rice, is given a chance to shine on this latest recording and her duet with Greg Ellis of the new song is very pleasurable listening.  John Partridge makes a charismatic Electra and Maynard Williams provides one of the best Greaseball’s to be heard on disc. Caron Cardelle having previously recorded a version of “Girls’ Rolling Stock” for the 1990 Japanese tour is here promoted to Dinah, and her “U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.” is a fine rendition.  Lon Satton still holds court as Papa and as on the original recording, his contributions are always wonderful to listen to.  9/10

MEXICO HIGHLIGHTS ALBUM 1997 (unreleased)

Running Time: 61 minutes  Language: Spanish

Something of a curiosity, this is a studio recording featuring songs from the Mexico City run. There was apparently some problem with the rights to the show and the production closed prematurely and thus this cast album in waiting was permanently shelved.  Although it does not have the production values of some of the earlier recordings (maybe because it is an unfinished album), it is however an interesting look at a Spanish translation which underwent some changes. “Rolling Stock” becomes “The Power Of The Rails” in Spanish for example. 7/10

BOCHUM NEW SONGS EP 2003

Running Time:  19 minutes   Language:  German

Perhaps feeling a little left out by not releasing a recording for twelve years, the Bochum production suddenly entered the fray again with a five track EP entitled New Songs showcasing the changes to the production since the last offering.  We get Jamie Golding showcasing “Crazy” and “Starlight Express”, then dueting with Danni Kearsley-Wooller on “Allein Im Licht Sterne” (a version of “Next Time You Fall In Love”).  A Megamix is followed by “Starlight Express Boy Band Version”.  Basically Jamie Golding and all his Rusty covers in the show are united in a Westlife style version of the song, it’s rather nice actually.  7/10

BOCHUM LIVE CAST ALBUM 2015

Running Time:  125 minutes   Language:  German

Recorded in June 2013, but released in 2015 (amid rumours of Lloyd Webber not being happy with some of the recordings) this is again a hybrid.  Taken from an initial live recording, this has been heavily overdubbed and remixed so that truthfully it cannot be considered a true live album.  That is not to say that it isn’t a great listen, because it is.  The arrangements have been worked with a techno vibe in places in an effort to give some of the songs a more contemporary soundscape.  This is most evident in the race sequences but can be heard elsewhere.  Among the changes to show are the inclusion of material re-worked for the 2013 UK Tour.  “A Whole Lotta Locomotion” with lyrics by composer David Yazbek has been translated as “Nie Genug” (Never Enough) and is a much more strident dance floor song,  not the light poppy vibe of “A Lotta Locomotion” which it replaced.  Der Rap is a curious mixture of the original and re-vamped versions, perhaps the most surprising change though is the inclusion of a song by Lloyd Webber’s son Alistair originally with English lyrics by Nick Coler called “I Do”.  Here it is “Fur Immer” (Forever), and is a nice slice of Europop, and a better fit for the show than “Next Time We Fall In Love” for this fan boy’s tastes.  Georgina Hagen and Marcel Brauneis make the most of the new song, delivering a great track (and later encore reprise).  It may not be a truly live album but it is the complete show as it stood that year and as such provides another major slice of Starlight action. Its boppy, its poppy and you'll want to listen to it more than once.  It also has the distinction of being the recording with the longest running time of all those thus far released.  9/10




To celebrate 35 years of travelling the Starlight Express,  an album sampler of worldwide cast albums and rarities is free to download HERE