Oh boy, Buddy’s a musical treat...

“Buddy,” Lowry Salford

THIS feel-good musical celebrates the few short years of Buddy Holly’s life as he shot to fame before his tragic death in an air crash.

The stage show has been seen by around 20 million people worldwide, but it is still attracting audiences keen to hear the rock and roll hits of the boy singer and follow the events which led to his death at the tender age of 22.

The show is great fun for anyone who is a fan of Buddy Holly’s music, as the stage show launches into hit after foot-tapping hit, including “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Heartbeat,” “Oh Boy,” and “Rave On.”

And it is surprising just how many hit songs Buddy churned out in a short career.

Oliver Seymour Marsh shares the lead role with Glen Joseph during the show’s tour which this year marks the 50th anniversary of the legend’s death.

Oliver played yesterday’s opening night at The Lowry, and made a convincing fresh-faced Buddy, and at the age of 21, is the same age as Buddy was at the height of his success.

It is impossible not to get carried along with the spirit of the show, and not to be drawn into believing that Oliver is indeed the young Buddy, enjoying his new-found fame with the enthusiasm of someone who believes totally in what he is doing.

“I want to sing my music the way I want — that’s what kids want to hear,” he proclaimed, when his radio station boss mentor Hipockets insisted singing country was the only way for the young Buddy to reach fame.

With the characteristic head nod, leg jiggle and thick-rimmed glasses, coupled with his voice which sounds very much like the original Buddy, Oliver steals the show.

Colin McGregor as The Big Bopper and Pedro Reichert as Ritchie Valens, both of whom perished in the aircraft under the hands of an inexperienced pilot on a sub-zero snowy night, are a joy to watch, with their parts giving a hint of the uncomplicated fun to be had entertaining on stage in the late 1950s.

Buddy Holly’s is a simple story, simply told, which adds to the poignancy of the sad ending on that fateful day in 1959.

“Buddy” runs until January 31, three days short of the anniversary of the singer’s death.