FOR Mike Holoway, Berkshire will always have a special place in his heart.
As the vocalist and drummer with the hit 70s band, Flintlock, TV and radio interviews were an everyday event. On one whirlwind tour, Mike found himself on the now-defunct Radio 210 which broadcast across the Thames Valley.
While waiting to be interviewed on a show hosted by Mike Read and Steve Wright – in the days before they moved to Radio 1 – Mike went to the Green Room where, for once, he admits he was speechless.
“There sitting on the sofa was Marc Bolan, one of my musical heroes and one of the greatest musicians in the business,” he said.
“It turned out we were both being interviewed on Mike and Steve’s show. I was just a teenager and was quite awed at not only meeting Marc Bolan but being on the same programme as him.
“While we waited to go on, we talked about music and did a bit of jamming. Before you knew it, we’d written a jingle for Radio210. We sang it on air and Mike and Steve loved it. Anytime I’m in Berkshire that memory comes back and makes me smile.
“It was a very special moment.”
That memory will be rekindled when Mike, 62, returns to the region in Dreamcoat Stars, which features a host of big names.
The colourful show is packed with vibrant and energetic songs from the nation’s most loved shows including Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, SIX, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables, Moulin Rouge and many more.
Amazingly, Mike was only 19 when he first played the role of Joseph in the Technicolour Dreamcoat and, even more amazingly, he reprised it until 2006, totalling more than 4,000 performances spanning a 24-year period.
“I never tire of singing Joseph,” added Mike
“It is such an uplifting show for all the family. It is the perfect show for parents to get their children interested in the theatre. I always look forward to performing songs from it in Dreamcoat Stars which also features many wonderful numbers from incredible musicals. “My favourite is the Frankie Valli song, My Eyes Adored You, which has such beautiful lyrics. It always goes down well with audiences.
“The tour goes all over the country so I need to be careful about catching bugs. Fortunately, I have worked with wonderful voice coaches so I know how to rest my voice.”
Mike’s first appearance as Joseph was not his first-ever big stage event. He was only 10 when he began his music career with a group called The Young Revivals and was spotted by talent scouts.
The band changed its name to Flintlock and soon appeared on TV shows such as Magpie, Blue Peter and Top of the Pops. During a performance on ITV’s Pauline’s Quirkes featuring the Birds of a Feather actress when she was a teenager, a 13-year old Mike sang live while balancing on a large stage crane.
“I had to sign all sorts of waivers in case I fell off,” he laughed.
“I was more terrified of the hundreds of screaming girls who were just yards away. I loved it but at the same time I was scared in case they all rushed at me. On top of all that pressure, I sang live so I was also focused on making sure I did it right.
“When I finished singing, the screaming got even louder but I had an amazing bodyguard who just lifted me up and said, ‘We’re getting out of here.’ It was quite surreal.”
As well as singing from a young age, Mike’s acting career had an equally youthful start, starring in the cult science fiction show, The Tomorrow People at the tender age of 12.
The programme ran from 1973 to 1979 with a memorable theme music composed by Australian Dudley Simpson, who also composed music for Doctor Who and Blake’s 7.
The Tomorrow People followed the adventures of a group of ordinary kids who turned out to be extraordinary, discovering their latent powers of telepathy, teleportation, intelligence and strength as they reached their teens, in a painful process known as ‘breaking out’.
“It was a pioneering show which broke the mould regarding science fiction,” explained Mike.
“Back then, we didn’t have any special effects techniques like digital and the sort of stuff that exists today, which meant the writing and the acting had to be sharp, bold and intelligent.
“My favourite story from the series was Hitler’s Last Stand. I was around 15 at that time and I’d learnt a lot about acting from great people like Denis Waterman, George Cole and, believe it or not, Benny Hill who was a very intelligent and very knowledgeable man.
“The Hitler storyline was rather dark and serious but it was still suitable for the young audience we had because it was educational. What’s important on a subject like that is you are factual and don’t sensationalise or patronise.
“The Tomorrow People has never got old becoming a cult show winning a whole new young audience.”
The audience for Dreamcoat Stars can expect a less broody performance but one no less exciting, professional and just sheer fun.
Dreamcoat Stars is at the Camberley Theatre on Sunday, May 28. Tickets are £26, with a £1 discount for Theatre Club members. For more details, or to book, call the Box Office on: 01276 707600, or log on to: www.camberleytheatre.co.uk
JAMES HASTINGS
