SHOW PEOPLE: PETER STRAKER

  

After an almost unbelievable four decades of theatre going under my belt, certain performers have crossed my path from time to time and have become ingrained in my memory.  One of these most definitely is Peter Straker. At the time of writing, now 78 years old, this amazing performer has a CV of stage, television, radio and recordings second to none.  Not a household name alas, he nevertheless remains a legendary figure within the industry for his versatility and longevity.

My first encounter with this talent was back in 1983 at the Forum Theatre Wythenshawe (Manchester) when I was taken on a 6th Form drama trip to see The Rocky Horror Show.  Richard O'Brien's cult classic was not quite the monster it has become back then, and I had no idea what the show was about.  From the moment Peter entered the auditorium draped in a long black cape and sang 'Sweet Transvestite' with glitter cascading from his hair, I was captivated by his almost panther like quality. Peter made Frank 'N' Furter a dark and dangerous figure, not the campy send up that later performers would offer,  but a vicious, morally bankrupt alien rogue.  His searing performance ingrained itself in my psyche.  Bouncing from the maniuplative sexual predator to having us in tears with his farewell song 'I'm Going Home'.  Peter is a performer who knows how to tell a story.

Peter arrived from Jamaica as a young boy with his maternal grandmother and two brothers.  Part of the Windrush generation, enticed to Britain in 1955 to help re-build the country after the devastation of World War II.  Straker's mother had been in England for some time, having come here to study music and eventually becoming a singer.  Music was in Peter's DNA from his earliest memories but in fact Peter grew up wanting to be a dramatic actor and director, rather than a musical theatre star.  However it was on a night out with friends that he was persuaded to get up and sing in a pub,  and Peter hasn't stopped singing since!

 

 

Having met his manager David Deyon, he started to tour the night club circuit all over the country with his singing act.  A chance to audition for the new tribal rock musical Hair presented itself, the show having become a sensation in New York with its casual use of profanity and nudity.  After seven auditions,  Peter was finally told that one of the lead roles - Hud - would be his.  The London company had to wait until the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, whom hitherto had censored such material for the stage,  before the production could go ahead.  In September 1969, Peter joined the original London cast - among them Paul Nicholas, Oliver Tobias, Elaine Paige and Tim Curry - at the Shaftesbury Theatre for the opening of Hair,  the hippy musical becoming an even bigger hit than the New York production.  It would run at the Shaftesbury until 1973.

"It was one of the first things I'd ever done. I wanted to be an actor. I happened to work with one of the great directors at that time called Tom O'Horgan. We rehearsed for nearly three months. I got to learn so much as a young person about the theatre, about what I wanted to do and what I didn't want to do. I am still good friends with a lot of people who were in this production, like Paul Nicholas, Elaine Paige, Oliver Tobias and Sonja Kristina (Curved Air). And I was lucky enough to perform it later on, in 1970, in Bergen, Norway. They didn't have enough black people in Norway at that time (laughs)."

 

Even before Hair had opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre,  he had signed to the Polydor record label and issued his first single 'Breakfast In Bed'. There was also a version of the Jacques Brel number 'Carousel' which would signal a lifelong love of the composer's work for Straker. There followed a spate of singles, none of which bothered the UK charts save for 1972's 'The Spirit Is Willing' which had a brief brush with the Top 40.  Peter was paired with the successful song writing partnership of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley and together they wrote and issued Peter's debut solo album,  'Privates Parts' for the RCA label.  The album was semi-autobiographical with Peter suggesting moments from his own upbringing and life to Howard and Blaikley to inspire their song writing.  Although well received, it was not a sales success, however the track 'Evensong' was later immortalised in an instrumental version as the theme for the BBC's hugely successful Miss Marple series in the 1980s.  More singles followed including a version of 'Toucha-Toucha-Touch Me' from The Rocky Horror Show,  all quality recordings showcasing Peter's incredible vocal range.

Of course further theatre work beckoned which included the play A Taste Of Honey at the Young Vic,  Hair in Norway, an ecological musical Mother Earth at the Roundhouse (from which Peter's single 'Sail On Sweet Universe' was taken) and Pilgrim - a musical take on The Pilgrim's Progress with music by Carl Davis.

 

In 1971 Peter (billed simply as 'Straker') accepted the role of Jo Delaney in the movie Girl Stroke Boy,  a feature which has now achieved cult status with Peter playing the new 'friend' of a boy who takes 'them' to meet his parents. Directed by Bob Kellett from a script by Ned Sherrin and Caryl Brahms, the gender fluid theme of the piece is now considered a groundbreaking piece of cinema.

Amid a flurry of theatre and cabaret work,  Peter returned to the recording studio in 1977 for an album 'This One's On Me' produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Freddie Mercury.   It was critically well received and included the single 'Ragtime Piano Joe' which became a hit in Europe and more of Straker's obsession with the work of Jacques Brel, a single 'Jackie'.  There followed two further albums 'Changeling' in 1978 and 'Real Natural Man' in 1980 from which the single 'Late Night Taxi Dancer' became a big favourite with influential DJ Kenny Everett.  This renewed interest in Peter's voice led to a top of the bill concert tour which ended with a show at the New London Theatre.  The ITV network broadcast half an hour of Peter's concert nationwide as part of their 'In Concert' series.

 

For a long time Peter's albums of the late 1970s remained collectable items, but in 2020 the Cherry Red label issued a deluxe box set of all three albums on CD and digital download which brought them to public attention once again. 

"I became very disillusioned with the record industry. Looking back, it is very difficult to know how it works but I was never in fashion. You couldn’t get people to play the stuff. At the beginning I thought it doesn’t matter who plays it or if anyone plays it, but, of course, it does matter because what’s the point in having something out if no one listens to it at all? Whether or not things have changed, I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone will play these now, but I am putting it out again in the hope that there might be a different generation who might say “That’s great” or maybe “That’s dreadful” (Laughs), but at least they will have had a chance to listen to it." 

  

Peter even found time to appear opposite Tom Baker as Doctor Who battling Daleks and their creator Davros as Movellan Commander Sharrel in a classic 1979 story 'Destiny Of The Daleks'.  At around the same time, Peter performed the role of 'The Narrator' in the stage version of The Who's rock opera Tommy at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. 

 

Peter is perhaps best remembered to television viewers as lothario Dev in Central Television's hard hitting look at the Midlands fashion industry, Connie in which he co-starred with Stephanie Beacham, Pam Ferris and George Costigan.  Although only one series was made, it is still considered a fine example of 1980s excess, with its bitchy power women and bed hopping antics. 

Among Peter's best known theatre roles has been as The Phantom in Ken Hill's The Phantom of the Opera which has toured the UK,  had a season at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London and played Japan, where it was recorded for TV broadcast.  Peter recorded a cast album of the show too.

"One of my favorite roles was Lucio in Measure For Measure (1981) at the National Theatre. I like Shakespeare. When it comes to musicals (it) is difficult. Apart from Hair, which is one of the most exciting things I ever done, it's Kenny Hill's original Phantom Of The Opera (1984). I played the original Phantom. This was a completely different version to the one by Andrew Lloyd Webber. That was the first time it was ever done. We toured England, Japan and the Far East. It was great to play that role of the Phantom. I also liked my role in Pete Townshend's Tommy. In 1979, I played 'The Narrator.' Three years ago, I played in another Tommy production (in) the role of 'the Acid Queen.' Pete Townshend wrote a new song for me."

  

Perhaps my personal favourite theatre role of Peter's is in Jeanne The Musical by Shirlie Roden,  a rock opera about the life and death of Joan of Arc, in which Peter played the terrifying prosecutor Bishop Pierre Cauchon at Jeanne's trial.  Peter appeared in Birmingham (1985) and Sadler's Well's (1986) and has more recently reprised the role at the Turbine Theatre (2022).  The original demo recordings with Peter singing Cauchon were eventually released by Stage Door Records in 2015.  A further blog on this show can be read HERE.

A lengthy break from the recording industry (save for an album of covers in 1993 going under the title of 'Holding On') ended when a studio album and live DVD  'Peter Straker's Brel' was released in 2013. Peter has continued to champion the work of Jacques Brel from the very begining of his career with the 1970s singles, it seemed only fitting that a full show was created to allow him to interpret the catalogue of the Belgian composer as only Peter can.  A huge success at the Edinburgh Festival and London,  it remains a favourite project with Straker and one he likes to re-visit from time to time.   I have only touched on Peter's theatre credits,  the list is a long one:  Blues In The Night,  Give The Gaffers Time To Love You at the Royal Court (co-starring once again with Tim Curry),  the title role in The Wiz, Hot Stuff The Musical, Nosferatu The Vampire, Sondheim's Assassins...  I could go on and on.

If you Google the name Peter Straker, chances are the search engines will point you to numerous articles on Peter's friendship with Freddie Mercury.  Whilst Mercury should always be honoured for his contribution to rock,  it seems a shame that Straker is underated as an entertainer himself.  There is no pigeon hole you can put Straker in.  He is a classical actor.  He is a pop star.  He is a musical theatre actor.  He is a cabaret performer.  He is a television actor.  He is an activist.  He is simply Peter Straker.  No genre is capable of holding such a unique and talented performer.  With rumours of another album on the way,  there is no stopping this force of nature as he approaches Octogenrian status.  I count myself lucky to have seen a handful of his roles in his rich career. Long may Straker continue to amaze and thrill us.

 Rob Cope

Keep up with Peter Straker's activities via his NEWSITE and ADVENTURES OF STRAKER

 

FEATURE: THE JEANNE THAT GOT AWAY

Over the years,  I have often been saddened when a production I have seen of something truly wonderful has closed prematurely or hasn't found a life outside of a limited run.  The theatre is littered with shows that have fallen by the wayside. Some were just not very good but others fell because the timing wasn't right or backing could not be found to continue their stage development.  This week  I made a trip to London to witness a phoenix rising (quite literally actually) from the ashes.

As a young student based in Birmingham,  I went to see Shirlie Roden's rock opera Jeanne - about the life of Joan Of Arc - about seven times. Producer Bill Kenwright used the Rep Theatre to stage the first production with a cracking cast of musical theatre and pop voices.  The pedigree of the show was high.  Award winning director Robin Phillips helmed the production. The reaction was very positive to the show,  many of us at the time were convinced we had seen the new Jesus Christ Superstar.  Roden's score was full of rich melody, dark stirring passages and anthemic refrains. The story of Jeanne D'Arc and her  voices from God is a gift to any author and Shirlie makes sure that her journey is conjured up musically for us with a collection of highly hummable tunes, a gift of melody to rival the Lloyd Webber's and Schonberg's. The cast too were an intoxicating mix.  The titular role was played beautifully by Siobhan McCarthy (who went on to be the original Donna in Mamma Mia!),  whilst international pop singer Malcolm Roberts sang his heart out as Jeanne's one true ally, Alencon. The incredible mercurial presence and extraordinary voice of Peter Straker almost stole the show terrifying us all as Jeanne's court room prosecutor Cauchon. Even all these years later the production stands up as one of my favourite evenings of musical theatre.  A warm memory of a show so engaging that it found a special place in my heart since that time.  

With a definite buzz about the production,  Kenwright took the show into London some three months later at the beginning of 1986.  I made tenative plans to see it during its run.  However, fate intervened.  I never got to see the re-staging of the show.  It had been booked into the primarily dance focused Sadler's Wells Theatre in North London.  The first rock opera ever to be performed at the venue.  Bill Kenwright himself re-directed the piece (unfathomably jettisoning a rather witty Act 1 song in the process) and brought in Rebecca Storm to helm the show when Siobhan moved up to create the role of Svetlana in Chess.  It was here the London critics sharpened their knives. Their lofty influence having been watered down when they took major critical swipes at Les Miserables,  Starlight Express and others from the stables of Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackinstosh to no avail.  They then seemingly took out their frustration on more vulnerable targets. Jeanne was one of a number of musicals from this time that took the full vitriol of the newspaper clique. Reading some of it,  even now its hard to imagine they were watching the same show that I had in Birmingham. As a consequence of their catty remarks (and some just clearly didn't like rock music being performed in the confines of a cultural hub like Sadler's Wells) Jeanne closed prematurely.  But for those that witnessed it, and indeed many who were in it,  the feeling was that an injustice had been done. This show didn't deserve the fate it had been handed.  It was better than that.

I always imagined that one day someone would recognise that the score was rather better than its reputation as an 'underperforming' piece of London theatre (conveniently forgetting it had been something of hit in Birmingham). In 2015 Stage Door Records released a CD of the demo recordings commssioned by Bill Kenwright during the show's original development.  This was further proof that the melodies and lyrics of Shirlie Roden were stirring and emotionally resonant in the telling of Jeanne D'Arc's story. 

Jeanne CD available from Stage Door Records

So cut to August 2022 and I am sat in the intimate Battersea Turbine Theatre where workshop performances are being held in order to determine if Jeanne can find a place in the current theatrical marketplace.  The rumble of trains overhead are only a momentary distraction during the performance. Its amazing how the concentration adjusts itself to block such periphery out. Shirlie Roden has re-worked some of the material to improve the dramatic structure of the show,  and the re-writes sit comfortably with the majority of the original material that had thrilled me and so many others all those years ago. With just two keyboard players (musical director and arranger Derek Barnes and the dexterity on the keys of his 2IC, Joe Baldwin) a cast of twelve took to the Turbine stage dressed all in black to give us a concert version of highlights of the score.  Director Ajjaz Awad-Ibrahim making sure that we not only got the music,  but a light touch with movement and character all added to the overall essence of the piece and defining the historical figures before us.  For me it was thrilling to hear a new younger cast go through its paces with the score. Elzbieta Kalicka made a fine, innocent Jeanne driven by her voices to the battlefield and ultimately her doom.  Her sweet, clear voice giving all the more credence to Jeanne's visions.  Will De Renzy Martin proved a handsome lead, with his baritone voice especially effective on 'Silver Lining'.  Olivia Maffatt earned some big laughs as the Dauphin's mother-in-law with her saucy number 'Has Our Flower Been Deflowered?' and Barry O'Reilly's impotent and duplicitous Dauphin proved a casting coup as the tide turns against Jeanne and his tantrum outburst 'Burn Her Bridges' opened the second section with a bang.  And there lurking on the periphery and eventually centre stage is the lone survivor of the 1980s company,  Peter Straker has lost none of his terrifying presence as Pierre Cauchon, his charisma and his voice untarnished.  And not forgetting the choral material as the performers unite to produce a heavenly sound,  a sound of defiance, anger and judgement.  All held together by David Shaw Parker's majestic narration throughout the evening.

The  brilliant 2022 workshop cast of Jeanne

The company apparently only had four days rehearsal of some complex music before presenting it before a paying audience. It seems Jeanne D'Arc performed another miracle in getting these players to such a high standard in such a short period of time.

Shirlie Roden has created something special in Jeanne The Musical, and hearing it again in a live setting nearly four decades later only proves to me that my original instincts were not wrong.  From the burning ashes of a show lost in past decades,  perhaps now Jeanne is set to rise up and take her place as one of the great characters of musical theatre.  At least that is what my voices have told me. 

Rob Cope

 

Reunited at the Turbine, the class of '85.  

Composer Shirlie Roden,  original Jeanne Siobhan McCarthy and forever Cauchon,  Peter Straker.

 

Where it all began.  Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

 

REVIEW: GET UP STAND UP! The Bob Marley Musical @ Lyric Theatre, London

I have a confession to make.  I have never been devoted to the genre called reggae.  I say this because I was cautious about going to see a musical based around the reggae god Bob Marley.  I wondered how accessible it was going to be to someone who was not deeply rooted in the music and the Jamaican patois that goes with it.  But I needn't have worried because this is one seriously enjoyable evening.

We are welcomed at start of the performance by a rasta DJ played by Craig Blake (one of the theatre boxes having been made over as a makeshift radio station) who basically eases us into the show with some phrases and cheeky banter with the audience as we head off into a world of dreadlocks and weed.  You get the feeling this is gonna be one cool show,  and the summer heatwave raging outside the theatre certainly helped set the scene for our trip to Jamaica.

 Michael Duke as Bob Marley

 

Gabrielle Brooks (right) as Rita Marley
 

Right from the start, the show packs a punch as the entire cast are introduced to us as both actors and characters during 'Lively Up Yourself',  before we go back to Marley's Jamaican childhood where he was separated from his mother and sent to live with a distant relative.  Finding himself in Trenchtown, and new friends in Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer he discovers his love for music, and begins to explore traditional Jamaican folk with influences such as ska and US rhythm and blues.  

And so the journey begins to creating a global superstar.  On stage at the Lyric Theatre we have our own superstar in Michael Duke,  he becomes Bob Marley before our eyes.  He has the energy and vulnerability that this interpretation requires. Moreover he has the voice.  It is as though Marley has been reincarnated before our eyes. His much put upon wife Rita is equally brilliant in Gabrielle Brooks, her huge soulful voice during 'No Woman No Cry' took the roof of the packed theatre. Together they are stage dynamite,  Bob putting his creative pursuits ahead of Rita and eventually his marriage.  She meanwhile knows the score, and suffers the humilation of his affairs and bastard offspring with fortitude.  Duke and Brooks are worth the ticket price alone.

                                        Shanay Holmes as Cindy Breakspeare (right)

I don't want this to sound like its a duet of a show,  the large ensemble of actors and singers are breathtakingly good. Shanay Holmes as Cindy Breakspeare delivers a fine 'Running Away' whilst Jacade Simpson and Natey Jones push the story along with some in house conflict among the Wailers.  It's when the entire company are on stage that creates the biggest wow factor of the show,  with a band which is literally making the floor vibrate due to its bass and the voices united,  this is where the show ingrains itself into your soul.

Lee Hall has written a script which darts about in the timeline Bob's life, but there is enough of a linear throughline for us all to figure out where we are in the complex mess of relationships and  his failure to address the melanoma found on his foot which spreads and ultimately kills Marley aged just 36.

As for the songs themselves I surprised myself by knowing more than I thought,  a sure sign that Marley has ingrained himself deeply into popular culture.  Classics such as  'Trench Town Rock',  'Is This Love',  'Jamming'. 'Exodus' and many more are given full on, high energy routines.  However Duke's solo acoustic 'Redemption Song' lingers in the memory just as much as the bass bashing rasta rock.  

The postumous Bob Marley: Legend album is one of the biggest selling of all time, with over 30 million sales. This show is a joyous celebration of Marley's timeless music,  I may not be a long time devotee of reggae but I certainly appreciate a master of his craft and more so, a crowd pleasing musical which has the entire audience on its feet and celebrating a special life and contribution to global music. Consider me converted. Dat a mi show bwoi.

Rob Cope

For tickets check out the official website of GET UP STAND UP