Rock Follies - Chichester Minerva Theatre

Speaking of Rock Follies - does anyone know what Julie Covington is doing nowadays.

I am somewhat perplexed by this as a choice of project.

It is only a show that will be known to people in their late 50s and older. And whilst I know that is an age group that has traditionally been seen as the core audience for Chichester, is there enough love left for a TV programme that finished well over 40 years ago?

Nostalgia is all very well but as someone who is too young to have any memory of the original, what is there to convince me to pay this more attention?

I am open to being convinced - just slightly sceptical

This wasn't shown where I lived at the time and I only heard of the show when they had their biggest hit "Ok?", which wasn't a bad number. Always been interested in watching it but never caught a re-run (if there was any) or seen the dvd for sale. Andy Mackay from Roxy Music wrote all their songs I believe, so that can't be a bad thing. And Julie Covington could certainly sing.

One thing which has intrigued me in case there's anyone with knowledge of the politics of the time - was Jim Callaghan's insult/put-down to Maggie Thatcher when she was leader of the Opposition "There, there little lady" referencing the name of the Rock Follies band, The Little Ladies (odd name)? The timing would seem to make it possible or likely but it may just have been a coincidence.

I think this was said at PMQs, and Callaghan didn't become PM until a few weeks after Rock Follies was first broadcast. So unless he said it in some other context, it's probably a coincidence. The name was meant to be ironic, but does sound cringey these days. 

I think it could be quite an interesting show depending on how it's done. Even if people can't remember the show, there's an interest in the 70s - music, politics, culture, etc. Here's a song from the 1977 series about the contrast between the flag-waving Britain of the Silver Jubilee and the reality of dole queues, poverty, inflation etc.

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That surely has some resonance in our post-Brexit, post-Elizabeth II, fuel crisis Britain?

Is Rock Follies a jukebox show? It was a original musical (albeit a television one) with original songs written for it. There's a problem in that it was 12 fifty minute episodes with 2/3 songs per episode so it will a lot of editing to create a stage musical.

it was one of my favourite TV shows of the 1970s so i am very excited but I hope they can make intelligent choices so it's not just a nostalgia fest but has something to say for today.

The bare bones story - a group of women from differing backgrounds come together to try and form a rock band - is good. They are helped/hindered along the way by a male manager and a variety of people who have differing interests from the women. As they try and find their way, they experiment (or are forced to try) a variety of musical styles (Glen Miller is Missing as a 1940s heritage band for example).

If it's an updated then there are parts that will not work - the Julie Covington character is in a commune for example.

I'll be there.

Maybe it will appeal to an audience who want to see a show about a female rock band? I see no reason why it would be necessary to know the back story of the tv show in order to book a ticket. Would you have to see Priscilla the movie to appreciate Priscilla the musical? I don’t think so.

I think a lot of the songs are great, and true to the times. It often describes women who were brought up as girls to 'speak nicely' and get ready to be a housewife.  "You want to do me, but I don't want to be done, okay?  Move off, back away, I may look soft, but I'm not soft, and I'm not laying down today, okay?" 

There's a good song called Loose Change about staying rich by not carrying loose change, and keeping the purse strings tight. But the woman in the song doesn't want to carry that on:

"Hold on tight to your knickers, her mother always said,
Her mother was a married lady, with a virgin's head"

"Mummy was right - and how
But mummy was tight - a cow
And she doesn't want to wind up like her mother
So she reaches in her pockets, deep down inside her pockets 
and buys everybody drinks with her loose change"

In a later chorus it's "buys everybody love".  No sense any of her actions are wise, or may not lead to danger, but it's a slash and burn on gender expectations and hang the consequences. 

You won't find that in Mamma Mia, where the characters may be singing songs from roughly the same time, but it's set now-ish with all the gains made by women since, taken for granted.  So much so, you'd think feminism never happened.....

I do wonder if it will be an updated story or the original story updated to today or a period homage to the original version. The character names are from the original. As a fan I'd want the latter but I think that would be the wrong direction. Although I struggle to see how they could update it but then I'm not a writer.

There was some nice observations in the original :
The three women were from very different backgrounds so there was friction amongst them. They also had different levels of talent which also ramped up the tension.
The male manager (and supposed songwriter) could be both a help and a hindrance - pushing them towards success or into enterprises that are failures. But he's the driver of progress rather than the women themselves.
There's a strong feminism slant. I found it interesting that the commune - supposed equal opportunity - is still very sexist.

The songs drive the plot forward either as commentary on events or as part of their act.

Full episodes are on YouTube.