3rd of February 1959 – the day, according to Don McLean, ‘the music died’, when a 22-year-old, relatively new star, Buddy Holly, was killed when his plane came down during a snowstorm whilst he was on the Winter Dance Party tour of the American Midwest. His music career was just getting started; he’d only been at it for a couple of years, but the music he created has become as iconic as the style he portrayed.
The Buddy Holly story traces his life from his early roots in Lubbock, Texas, where Country music was king, and charts his burning desire to play his own music in his own way. Born to a largely musical family (his father being the exception), Buddy would accompany his brothers, sister and mother playing the banjo and guitar. As a teenager, he was a ‘frequent flyer’ on the talent show circuit and in 1953, he managed to grab a 15-minute set on a newly launched local radio station where he soon became a regular. After a recording contract with Decca made little impression, two of his bandmates went their own way and Buddy, with fellow Crickets, Jerry Allison and Joe B Mauldin set about gaining stardom with a renewed enthusiasm. And it followed swiftly.
The musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story showcases his music brilliantly. It’s a show where rightly, the director has allowed the music to do the talking and the talent and energy on stage is electric. You’ll be clapping along to ‘That’ll Be The Day’, tapping your toes to ‘Peggy Sue’, swaying to ‘Maybe Baby’, and on your feet for ‘Johnny B Goode’. From start to finish, the show will have you singing along with a smile on your face, as the second act builds to the final performance at Clear Lake, Iowa, with Buddy, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens. The energy rolls off the stage in waves. And a bit like that scene in Titanic when you’re wishing you could get them to turn sooner, slow down, avoid the iceberg, you’re willing the boys not to get on that plane. Who knows the music we’ve missed out on because they did.
As well as the musical talent on stage and the story unfolding, there are some nice comic touches in their too – watch out for Ewan Ling as Jack Daw with The Snowbirds delivering their rendition of ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’. The set itself remains simple as the key character in the show, the music, provides all the setting required. For the performance we attended, Christopher Weeks played the title role, and he was excellent, his guitar skills very much in evidence. To say the supporting cast was strong doesn’t begin to give credit to their multi-talented performances. By the finale, the audience was on its feet, whooping, whistling, and clapping, dancing, and bopping their way through the final few minutes. It’s a testimony to the man himself that more than fifty-five years later, the music most certainly hasn’t died.
Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story is playing at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley from August 22nd to Saturday 26th August with tickets – here – from £20.
Sarah Marsh-Collings and Zeenat Noorani
23rd August 2023
Bromley Buzz 