Boddy revives Cliff and The Shadows (From Keighley News)

Boddy revives Cliff and The Shadows

12:05pm Thursday 8th March 2007

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For his first rock 'n' roll musical Sutton Amateurs' musical director David Boddy knew just where to look for musicians.

The Keighley man roped in pals who like him had played in rock 'n' roll bands around the town over the past few decades.

His musicians will play famous Cliff Richard songs, including several they originally played as new releases back in the 1960s.

And in the lead role of Summer Holiday they'll be joined by a singer who performs some of the songs in his professional club act.

The show is based on the 1960s movie in which Cliff and The Shadows played young men touring Europe in a double-decker bus.

They team up with three members of a girl-group and another young singer who, fleeing her manager, stows away as a boy.

All four guys fall for the girls while singing classic songs like Bachelor Boy, Next Time, The Young Ones and Dancing Shoes.

David said Summer Holiday was quite a departure for a theatre group which usually performed traditional musicals like Carousel, Hello Dolly! and Guys and Dolls.

He said: "We had a lot of discussion whether to do Summer Holiday or not - then we went to Manchester to see it and we were sold.

"It came about because our usual musicians were involved with another show this March and we had to look further afield.

"The score of the stage version calls for trumpets and clarinets, but when Cliff did it in the film he had the Shadows playing.

"It was rock 'n' roll. I knew where to look for musicians - I knew all the people anyway."

David recruited guitarists Jeff Birtley, his former colleague in 1960s band the Mark Russell Four, and Ian Sanderson, whose four decades' rocking includes The Nomads and Travelling Bilberries.

Bass player Ian Spencer has played in many local bands, including Look Back, while drummer Derek Arnold was with youth theatre HYT for almost 30 years.

David said: "During the instrumentals the guys will stand up and play like the Shadows. We're trying to teach them the steps!"

David said the small cast - eight principals and half a dozen chorus members - was responding well to the new style of show.

"Rehearsals are going very well. We have a small cast but they're tight and talented - everyone plays a named part.

"Summer Holiday has a lot of music with a few words but there is a story to drive it along. The boys have some quite funny lines."

David said the change in style was paying off with the society's best-ever ticket sales - 200 sold by the cast before they went on public sale this week.

Part of the attraction is leading man Andy Wiseman's popularity on the local club circuit with his band Smart Moves.

And a deal with Skipton Building Society - Sutton Amateurs's first major sponsor for many years - is helping cover costs.

Summer Holiday runs from March 28-31, at Sutton Village Hall. Book tickets at Place's Place (Londis Stores), Main Street, Sutton, Forget-Me-Not, Main Street, Cross Hills, or phone 01535 632289.

Gilly Rogers took on a psychotic nurse in the recent drama Snake in the Grass for Keighley Playhouse.

This month she turns evil herself to play the wicked witch in Bingley Amateurs' production of the traditional pantomime Sleeping Beauty.

In her first panto for the group she takes on the regular principal boy, Laura Judge, who is also a frequent performer on the local stage.

The pair are among adults playing all the principal roles, while 32 children, many from Riddlesden and East Morton, provide the chorus and dance troupe.

Sleeping Beauty, which raises money for Manorlands, Candlelighters and the Talking Telegraph, is at Bingley Arts Centre, from March 15-17, at 7.15pm, and March 17-18, at 2.15pm.

Book at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall or phone 01274 432000.

The sounds of silence are in store for Keighley Amateurs' audiences when the society stages the musical Mack and Mabel this October.

Despite its setting in the world of silent movie comedies, the show is said to be darker than recent Keighley offerings like Mr Cinders and Little Me.

The show follows the tumultuous relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and waitress-turned-actress Mabel Normand.

Sennett relates the glory days of the Keystone Studios, when he made dozens of "two-reelers", to Mabel's death from tuberculosis.

The original American production featured imaginative visual effects and spectacular dancing but closed after just 66 performances.

The musical gained a cult following and subsequent productions, with a radically reworked script, have been more successful, including last year's London production starring David Soul.

Scouting for an audience this Saturday is Steeton Male Voice Choir as its members sing their usual mix of pieces.

The 7.30pm concert, at All Saints Church, Ilkley, will raise money to help Wharfedale Scouts Association extend its Curly Hill Activity Centre.

Tickets cost £7 on the door or phone 01274 569870.

Keighley Vocal Union is this month preparing for its first performances since last year's triumphant centenary year.

The singers, who performed seven high-profile concerts in 2006, travel to Padiham Unitarian Chapel on March 17, and a venue in Ilkley on March 31.

Then it's off to the prestigious Bridgewater Hall, in Manchester, to present the scenic cantata Carmina Burana with Salford Choral Society.

The work, written in the 1930s, is based on a collection of medieval poems covering themes such as the fickleness of fortune, the joy of spring and the perils of gluttony and lust.

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