Roll up the carpet and push back the chairs. Untied Artists in collaboration with The Gramophone Party bring you a rip-roaring evening of music, theatre and dance in 'Al Bowlly's Croon Manifesto'.
A celebration of Britain's greatest singer of the dance band era, this show offers an insight into a pre-pop pioneer, delves into the seamier side of between the wars hedonism, and then gives the audience a chance to put on their dancing shoes and get their rocks off ballroom-style.
The title of the piece is inspired by Bowlly's book "Modern Style Singing" in which he issues a rallying call to embrace the new media of his day, the microphone. The tender, expressive and intimate vocal style he championed marked a turning point in musical history and brought about an entire change of focus from bandleader to singer.
Arguably the first ever ‘pop star’, his life is ripe for revisiting. He had a rock and roll lifestyle before rock was invented, a fiery temper, a penchant for globe-trotting, a rollercoaster career, tried to make it Stateside, and psychosomatically lost his voice. Like so many pop icons he lived fast and died young.
An inspiration to generations of singers and artists, Al Bowlly’s songs have featured in the cult films Amelie, The Shining and Dennis Potter’s seminal Pennies From Heaven.
Featuring hits like ‘The Very Thought Of You’, ‘My Woman’, we promise an evening to remember. Wear the gladdest of your gladrags, and once you’ve listened to the finer points of 'Al Bowlly's Croon Manifesto', put it to the test on the dancefloor.
The show is suitable for venues with cabaret style seating and a dancefloor but can be tailored to more conventional theatre spaces. Running time approx. 1hour with optional post show party and dancing. We offer outreach work with social dance groups and local musicians, with an opportunity for them to feature in the performance.
Click here for a link to The Gramophone Party’s myspace
Performed at Pilot Night, Birmingham, 2009
First Bite, Birmingham, 2009
BiteSize, Warwick Arts Centre, 2010
Lichfield Festival 2010
Sandwell Festival 2010
Quay Arts, Isle Of Wight, 2010
Chipping Norton Theatre, 2010
mac, Birmingham 2010
Tobacco Factory, Bristol 2010
South St, Reading 2010
Cornerstone, Didcot, 2010
Junction, Cambridge 2010
Nuffield, Southampton 2010
Nightingale Theatre, Brighton 2010
The CarriageWorks Theatre, Leeds, 2011
For pics of various tea dances and outreach click here
For some shots of our FirstBIte show in November 2009 click here
Shaving equipment supplied by Fancy Metal Goods with thanks to Ollie and Paul
Images : Alicja Rogalska, Steven Davies, Jaskirt Dhaliwal, Steve Johnstone, Jake Oldershaw
