Bat Out of Hell: The Musical (September 2022) Hull New Theatre

By Roger Crow

I remember every little thing like it happened only yesterday… even if it was five years ago.

For decades I had been listening to Meat Loaf, like millions of others, and when the chance came to see Bat Out of Hell: The Musical during its world premiere in Manchester, I jumped at the chance. (You may even have read the review in which I probably used many of the same superlatives and puns as this one).

Meat Loaf’s vocals and Jim Steinman’s lyrics were a marriage made in heaven, while those Bat albums had long been a stage show waiting to happen. When it finally did in 2017, the result was magical. Epic, funny, sexy, dramatic, and everything you want if you’re travelling 150 miles there and back for the privilege. 

It was there that I marvelled at all the cast, especially Rob Fowler (who pulled off one of the most thrilling stunts I’ve seen in the theatre) and the sublime Sharon Sexton. As crime lord Falco and his moll, Sloane, they were beyond terrific, while the rest of the characters, including star cross’d lovers Strat (the eternally young hero) and Falco/Sloane’s willowy daughter Raven were equally as magnetic.

I didn’t need much persuading to see it again when it played in the West End, and as it opened at Hull New Theatre, I was fascinated to see how a scaled-down version worked compared to bigger venues. 

Okay, Falco’s jaw-dropping stunt has gone, as has a gag at the end of Paradise by the Dashboard Light (one of the greatest things you’ll see in the theatre). However, on the plus side, so has an extraneous song which slowed the original shows down. So it’s now a leaner, tighter production, but it still doesn’t feature a Steinman song which would have slotted into the show as perfectly as a hand in a leather glove.

Tonight is What it Means to Be Young, from the movie Streets of Fire, was never planned for any version of BOOH, and yet  I’d pay good money to see at least one version with the 1984 track slotted in. 

Back to the actual show, and Glenn Adamson is a force of nature as Strat, the ripped hero with wild eyes, perfect teeth and vocals to die for. Quite rightly he looks like he’s been plucked from the iconic Richard Corben cover, while Rebecca Lafferty is superb as Raven. Again, outstanding vocals and her stage chemistry with Strat is a joy to behold. 

As magnificent as Joelle Moses is as supporting character Zahara, her vocal stylings mean lyrics last a second too long on several occasions. That mental breath a great song needs before starting the next section is wasted, so it feels like we’re rushing to catch up. (One of Zahara’s lines in the original stage production’s soundtrack annoys me every time, so it’s one of those ongoing issues). However, Joelle’s take on Dead Ringer (with the outstanding James Chisholm as Jagwire), and many other classics, are pulse-pounding delights. 

And five years on, following a stint in Mamma Mia! at the same venue, the magnificent Rob and Sharon are still working their magic as Falco and Sloane. (That duo could star in a musical about the phone book and I’d happily attend). 

Any fears that I had of the show looking small in one of my favourite venues were unfounded. Thanks to some clever projection and screen work, for those of us in the stalls, the scale of the neon-soaked city was hugely impressive. 

Kudos to the musicians, conducted by Iestyn Griffiths, who do justice to the material, and then some. My goosebumps had goosebumps at some points, the orchestration was that good. (The sound is so seismic, think of Nigel Tufnell’s amp turned up to 111 and you get the idea). 

It’s very rare that I see a show more than twice; some shows I can barely make it to the finale of that first viewing, but as with the first two performances of BOOH in previous years, all I can think about is how can I see the show again as many times as possible before that final night (which naturally I have tickets for).

The much missed Meat Loaf, whose spirit lives on in Bat Out of Hell the Musical

Obviously it won’t be for all tastes, but given the rapturous applause and standing ovation, I reckon I’m not the only punter ready to return to Hull New Theatre as soon as possible. 

If you’ve never seen the show and love a feelgood, jaw-dropping, hilarious dramatic spin on Romeo and Juliet and Peter Pan filtered through a cyberpunk lens, then for crying out loud, do yourself a favour and go and see it as soon as possible. Because then you can go again before the end of its run. It’s THAT good. 

And for the record, I didn’t mention a single Bat Out of Hull gag. You’re welcome.

Film Review-Strawberry Mansion (2021)

Starring Kentucker Audley, Penny Fuller, Reed Birney

Directed by Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney

By Roger Crow

Given the fact celluloid or digital film are such wondrous tools, it’s depressing that there are so few visionary film makers out there. Okay there are plenty of writers and directors who aim for greatness, but these days it feels like we’re trapped in an endless cycle of generic revamps.

But occasionally, very occasionally, a little gem slips through the cracks.

Strawberry Mansion feels like it was made by New York hipsters who wrote the screenplay in a cereal cafe while quoting Wes Anderson movies, smoking pipes and making mixtapes on old cassettes.

Okay, sweeping statement. I know nothing of Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney, the brains behind this ‘quirky indie’, and yes, that phrase alone is worthy of a spell in cliche jail. But oh what a joy this is.

It’s 2035, and we open in a room where nearly everything is pink. So far, so interesting. Our moustachioed protagonist Preble (Kentucker Audley) and his jolly mate interact. Later, Preble is at a drive through where the hero wants chicken. He even considers a chicken smoothie. Yuck indeed.

Government Agent James Preble is an auditor sent to the eponymous abode to assess thousands of video tapes of dreams. Items within the dreams are taxable, so, with the aid of a helmet which looks like it was knocked up on Blue Peter, Preble starts to assess what’s owed.

The owner of said tapes, Arabella Isadora, is a kindly old woman who insists on giving him a place to sleep and making him food. However, when tragedy strikes and her family step in, the scene is set for the latest of many dream sequences. And it’s here that quirk fatigue sets in. The offbeat is good for about 45 mins, maximum, but after that, eccentricity can outstay its welcome.

For a relatively low budget affair, effects and animatronics are pretty impressive, and I can see a big company like Marvel Studios snapping up creatives Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney for one of their more daring shows like Loki or Moon Knight.

A hugely inventive, rarely dull offering which is bound to attract a cult following.

Well worth a look.

Cast 7

Effects 8

Originality 9

Score 7

Editing 8

Rewatchability 8

An Interview with Leo Sayer

Music legend Leo Sayer chats to Roger Crow about his life, career, new tour and the horrors of reality TV.

Leo, we’ve missed you. Where have you been, and what can we look forward to with the new gigs?

I live in Australia these days, but I’ve been here for a few weeks. I went to Italy first because my partner is Italian and we’ve already done three shows in Ireland – Dublin, Belfast and Cork.

I’m doing the same show that we will be bringing to England, and it just went down fantastically so I can’t wait to get started really.

You’ve crafted so many great tunes. What’s been a favourite track and why?

Well I think Giving It All Away. It was 50 years ago that Roger Daltrey covered that on his solo album, Daltrey, and sung my praises so much while he was promoting that record. And he’s been singing my praises again on this current tour that he’s been doing. 

It’s a song for me that never dated. Some can date, like when you listen to One Man Band: “My cap won’t be large enough to drop a half a crown in”, and we don’t have half a crowns anymore, and I think the fashion of having to get married in Gretna Green for Moonlighting, that sort of disappeared as the years have gone on. But Giving It All Away… I still feel the determination of that young guy… he’s not going to give it all away; he knows better now; he’s determined to learn from those early mistakes or missed opportunities, or just bad luck in the song you know? And I still feel that when I sing this song, it empowers me.

Where is the most unusual place you’ve played?

That’s a good question. I played one show in Reykjavík in Iceland; I had a couple of days off there and it is breathtaking, the landscape, all ice of course and rocks. There’s something about the formation of the landscape that’s quite amazing. 

I played a gig in Alaska and I’ve also played in Saudi Arabia. I went off with a guy who was a rally champion, a Saudi Arabian, and he took us to this hill where we looked down on Mecca. And that was an extraordinary thing. My music has been very lucky for me because it’s taken me all over the world. I go to China. I’ve been there quite regularly because More Than I Can Say is massive over there. Apparently When I Need You is massive in Nepal. I’ve been to Kathmandu and I’ve seen some incredible places. I’ve been very, very lucky because that’s how the music travels you know?

If you could offer yourself a piece of advice at the age of 18 what would it be?

I think trust less people, because I trusted a lot of people early and in the middle of my career that really sort of sent me the wrong way. I still am trusting of good advice, but I’m much more wary than I was then I think.

If I’d been more wary I probably would not have hung on as long as I did with (manager) Adam Faith and would’ve put myself in a better situation financially because I had so much money ripped off of me during my career.

How come?

Because music always came first, songs came first, and I can’t really complain too much because my ambition is still the same and my inspiration is still the same, so here I am still working and still thinking there’s more to come.

Do you have to be 50% businessman and 50% artist to survive in the music business?

I think you’ve got to be 100% artist actually, but there are moments when you need to put a business head on. If you make good music and you’re inspired to make good music and you entertain people, and you make people happy, I don’t think you need to be a good businessman, but the problem is there’s a lot of sharks out there who will take advantage, especially in the short term. 

Obviously we’re all there for the long term. It’s our lives, it’s what we do, but there are people who will very cleverly rip you off in small moments of your life and really mess you up for the long haul. 

I’d love to see a musical inspired by your work. Is that in the pipeline?

I’d love to do that. I reckon there’s a biopic in there, absolutely, but that’s just me being ambitious I guess. Someone might pick it up.

It’s been 50 years now and people seem to be recognising what I’ve done. I’ve never had an Ivor Novello for any song. I’ve had a BRIT award in the old days before they were called the BRITs and I think I’ve done enough to warrant some awards like that, but they don’t seem to notice me very much. Hey, it’s not a bad thing. I like going under the radar; I like surprising people. It’s what I get a great kick out of you know? I’ve been underestimated.

It’s nice to see that a track like Thunder in My Heart keeps appealing to new generations.

It’s kind of had two rebirths. It’s doing pretty well in the dance chart at the minute thanks to Armand Van Helden and it got me another number one via Meck in 2005. You know you can lay down some good songs and they can be reinvented; they can have new lives, and this is quite exciting really. 

Appearing on Celebrity Big Brother looked like a nightmare. How was it?

Bloody awful! Worst experience of my career. I’m amazed people are still talking about it, but it was horrible. I found out I was claustrophobic. I went in there with horrible flu and they don’t give you any medication. And I was constantly in the diary room asking “Can I get some Vicks?” (The answer was) “No, no, no,” and then of course they never show that. All they show is the bit of me complaining because I don’t have enough underpants. 

It’s very silly television. It’s close to the way they treat refugees by sending them to Rwanda. I think it’s a human torture idea and there’s some pretty sick people who put this together, but it seems to be a commonality of modern life that a good percent of the population seem to get a kick out of jibing the rest of the population. You could say the same about Meghan and Harry really couldn’t you? I’m sure they’re a lovely couple trying to do the best thing for themselves; trying to live a private life, and yet here we are all just slating them. 

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m concentrating very much at the minute on my book which is going to come out soon. 

It would be nice to see your work in more films like Deep Water.

Maybe The Leo Sayer Story as a movie, you never know? And maybe there’s a musical coming. I don’t know. 

That begs the obvious question, who would play you in a movie?

I kind of like Robert Downey Jr. I’m a great Chaplin fan, and the way he played Chaplin made me think, ‘If he can play that, maybe he could play me’. 

And can we expect some new material?

Yes, I’m ready for a new album. At the moment I’ve got a load of songs that I want to work on over the winter. I’m a slow worker. I tend to bury myself in the studio and do it all myself these days as I’ve done with Northern Songs and the album before that, Selfie. But I kinda like working that way and enjoy the fact I can do just about the whole record myself now. I think a lot of us are slow.

Kate Bush is another one like me. It’s a case of putting yourself in a vacuum and separating yourself from the normal processes. But I really enjoy burying myself in the process of that vacuum and seeing what comes out. Relying on my guts and my instinct. That’s a very important thing to do.

Ends