If I'm honest, hate's a strong word. There's not one band I truly, TRULY hate. There are quite a few I seriously dislike though, and Jimmy Eat World are one of them. So sadly, it's them who get the video here. Without further ado, 'The Middle'
Last night at around 10pm the proverbial curtain came down on the greatest musical I've ever had the pleasure to partake in. 7 weeks of intensive rehearsals turned into a 2 hour production of sheer brilliance. Say what you like about the minor cock-ups that happened during the run - people colliding with the set, improvising song lyrics and dropping limo driver hats - but the audience never cared. They came for a good time and they got one. They got a show of drama, comedy and full of Madness songs. They got Star Wars, cannabis dealers and a trip to Las Vegas. They got a show worthy of the West End - and the tour may yet still be to come!
To start, I want to say thank you to the cast, crew and band for making this production the best musical I've ever been in. It was simply stunning. Yes it was stressful at times: I've never done a show where you spend one week learning a dance and that's it, onto the next one, but we all pulled together like the family we became and turned out a performance of star quality. There are some personal thankyous I do want to make though:
To Paul Bailey - for giving me lifts to and from the Redgrave Theatre on Show week. You're a star mate, I'm sorry I couldn't buy you a pint at the aftershow party, but I will definitely get you petrol money!
To Zoe Cotton - for keeping me sane throughout the process. I could always turn to you if necessary and you were a joy to work with and a fantastic dance partner. I just hope I did the same back.
To Becca Page - in line with Zoe, for being an awesome dance partner in 'Baggy Trousers'. We knackered ourselves out every night with that number, but it was WORTH it. And yes, you ARE forgiven for kicking me in the face.
To the Producer, Choreographer and Director - Ian, Jacqui and Alex - thank you for giving me the chance to appear in the show. It was a thrill and a pleasiure to work with such great people. Long may it continue.
To the lads - Ricardo Demarchi, Fraser Kidd, David Nicklas, James Hucknall, Josh Samuels, Jake Wheeler, Will Ferris, Liam Gordon, James Bonser, Marcus Carroll, Adam Janaway, Alex Nodes and Murray DuBotting - for keeping the dressing room bright and lively even when things weren't going quite to plan on stage, and for being some of the nicest and greatest guys ever.
And finally, to the girls (here we go) - Jennifer Boxall, Ellis Brown, Rachel Child, Alice Dowden, Jessica Edwards, Georgie Fenwick, Hayley Lloyd, Kellly Lowson, Misha Malcolm, Natalia Mintz, Josie Nicollson, Sophie Pollard, Amber Smith, Rebi Walsh, Alice Dalrymple, Amy-Louise Webber, Lora Seward - akin to the guys, for being utterly awesome and a joy to work with.
So, with Our House over, a look forward to next year's musical is a must, even if we will ALL be getting that sinking feeling on a few occasions...I really hope I can work with as many of you as possible next year on Titanic. But for now, thank you very much for making this experience a truly wonderful one. I love you all xxx
I have chosen 'A Looking in View' by Alice in Chains. As a band, I really dig AiC. Their last album was amazing and they're a great band to unwind to. Their slow-tempo, doom-esque grunge is perfect for relaxing to. Having said that, they are a fantastic live act too and I was really happy to see them at Sonisphere Festival last year.
They made my friend fall asleep at Sonisphere however, and whilst they don't usually (because i really like them), this one song has a unique way at making me drowsy.
Has to be 'Our House' by Madness. I'm currently starring in the Madness musical, also called 'Our House' and this is the opening number. Probably the best musical I've been in, ever. And yes, even though it's a mid-paced song, I can dance to it easily.
This wasn't easy to learn, but given that I have a knack for learning stuff really quickly (very helpful as a hopeful actor when learning lines), it didn't take too long.
I learnt this as part of a half-term bet with a friend at school. He actually beat me to it, but I was pretty lazy that holiday so I just didn't bother most of the time. That and I started learning it about 2 days before the end so I hadn't forgotten it by the time I got back.
When this song is played live, the frontman instructs the audience watching to crouch down on the floor, then 'Jump the Fuck Up' on his instructions. The first tiem I saw them, by the time I reached this song I was so exhausted and 'out of it' that I knew if I got down on the floor I wouldn't get back up. So I am very much looking forward to completing this second time around when I see them at the UK's Sonisphere Festival this summer.
This event has gone down in history in the UK, and nicely rounds off my choice of 'Least favourite song'. As I said then, a Facebook campaign brought down X Factor's hold on the UK Single Christmas Number One Spot and placed 'Killing in the Name' by Rage Against the Machine at the top of the charts.
Well, during the campaign, the band gave the group an extra incentive by promising a free concert in London should they get to Number One. They held true to their word and on 6th June 2010, at Finsbury Park, 40,000 people turned up having won free tickets and saw Rage Against the Machine with special guests Gogol Bordello, Roots Manuva and Gallows play for free.
The video is the intro and opening song of that special day, a true celebration. And Rage were on absolute FIRE. One of the best gigs I've ever been to.
Whenever I hear this song, I am taken back to 2006, and a friend's 14th birthday party. We were out in her garden, a barbecue on the go, and this song came over the radio. It was one of the big hits of the time and to this day I can still see the garden, the trampoline, every detail of that day. So without further ado, 'Dani California' by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
