Is This The Way To Amarillo singer Tony Christie is to make his West End debut this summer, when he joins the all-hopping, all-bopping cast of hit musical Dreamboats And Petticoats on 5 July.
Christie will play Older Bobby and Phil (Bobby’s father) in the jukebox musical that features a host of hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including Bobby’s Girl, Runaround Sue, C’Mon Everybody and Let’s Twist Again.
“I saw the show’s original opening night in London almost a year ago and just loved the story,” commented Christie, “And of course the music is incredible – The Platters, Phil Spector, Roy Orbison, Marty Wilde – all artists I grew up listening to. As soon as I saw it I’ve been searching for a gap in my diary to join the show.”
Christie launched his music career in the 1970s, scoring a number 2 hit with I Did What I Did For Maria and reaching number 18 in the charts when Amarillo was first released.
When Amarillo was unearthed by comedian Peter Kay and launched as a single to raise money for Comic Relief in 2005, it surged to the top of the charts and threw Christie back into the limelight.
Dreamboats And Petticoats first brought its brand of feel-good, retro pop to the West End stage in 2009, landing at the Savoy theatre following a successful UK tour. The musical, based on a series of hit CDs, transferred to its current home, the Playhouse theatre in January 2010, where it has been twisting, jiving and spreading rock ‘n’ roll happiness ever since.
MA