|
Sunday Telegraph - Trevor Dann
Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford have had to withstand the "new Lennon and McCartney" tag since the early days of the now defunct Squeeze. It will have proved valuable experience because they are about to be thrust into comparisons with Rice and Lloyd-Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, even Gilbert and Sullivan.
Supporters of Difford's clever observations of everyday life and Tilbrook's disarmingly catchy melodies have long hoped for something more substantial from the pair than a selection of unconnected songs on a band album.
And now John Turner has woven the songs from the most successful - and the most cohesive - Squeeze LP, East Side Story, into a musical production called Labelled with Love, which opened last week at the delightful Albany Empire in Deptford, South London.
The script was written and the company assembled before the two songwriters became involved, but since discovering Turner's plans, they have thrown themselves whole-heartedly into the project, adding a couple of new songs, helping with the arrangements and the stage sound, and promoting the event.
This kind of production is an artistic minefield. Grafting a plot onto existing lyrics can lead to some grotesque story lines of the "Eleanor Rigby meets Bungalow Bill and takes a Ticket to Ride on a Yellow Submarine" type.
And Labelled with Love does have some creaky moments, especially in the first half where the dialogue is at its most contrived. The setting, for example, is a pub called the Nail in the Heart after Squeeze's "Another Nail In My Heart." We are told that it used to be called the Queen of Hearts until lightning destroyed half the sign and left the remainder hanging on one nail.
Similarly the former GI bride looking to recapture the drama of her wartime seduction is asked to drop an unrelenting series of clues - whisky, Texas, country music - to prepare us for the show's title song.
But the enthusiasm of the company, of whom Colen Marsh as Eric the Landlord and Alison Limerick as the disillusioned cabaret singer Monica deserve special mention, just about holds the piece together.
Personally I missed Glenn Tilbrook's own distinctive vocal performances of the songs, but it was interesting to hear them in the context of a stage musical where Chris Difford's gift for narrative lyrics was fully exposed.
Neither of the songwriters wants to take Labelled with Love any further. They have their own purpose-built musical in preparation and plans for a new band. But the Deptford show, which runs for another six weeks, bodes well for the future.
Tim Rice, who knows a thing or two about musicals, was in the audience the night I went, checking out the competition. He will not be the only writer looking over his shoulder at a theatrical career blossoming in this unlikely corner of London's dockland.
|
