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In February 2006 it
was announced that the We Will Rock You Musical would end on
October 7th.
As I had visited the World Premiere of this Musical (and many
shows after that) I felt it was my "duty" to also dim
the lights and close the curtain when the show would end. So I
immediately booked tickets for the 6th and 7th October 2006. And
so did a lot of other Queen fans from several countries. Later
on it became clear that the show would continue after all and it
was extended until October 2007. I went to see the musical
together with my friends Mark and Paul.
On October 6th we had arranged a meeting with Tony Bourke,
drummer of the Musical. Over the years Mark and I became friends
with Tony (the last time we visited we had a "few"
beers after the show.)
Meeting Tony was great again, he is such a warm person and he
keeps his promises. We were lucky enough to have seats at the
front row and after the evening performance he and the other
musicians came up front of the stage and he gave us the
drumsticks he had used that evening. Receiving them "during"
the show with the audience present sure has a greater impact
than receiving them in private, afterwards. Thanks pal for this
treat.
During the show Mazz Murray (Killer Queen) recognised us and
when Tony gave us his sticks, there was a "thumbs up"
from her to us.
We were pretty sure Brian would attend the show on October 7th
so we asked Tony if he could give us some inside information. He
wasn't allowed to tell, but then there's always body language...
He did tell us that evening would be special (...) and that we
should also attend the afternoon show (...).
That afternoon Mark and I had visited the Freddie Mercury photo
exhibition at the Proud Gallery.
Most of the pictures can be seen at the Dominion as well, but
out of the, I guess 50 pictures exposed, the Proud Gallery has
about 5 pictures or so that I had not seen before. And they are
stunning. They are for sale too, but 200 Pounds (ex VAT) for one
picture (250 Pounds when framed) is just too much.
The next day Paul (our friend) had joined us and we decided to
get standing tickets for the afternoon show (thanks Tony).
Before the show we waited outside and Brian arrived. He told us
he had only 15 minutes before the Theatre would open to do a
sound check so he promised us to come back later. Seeing him
arrive is a treat on his own actually. The show was great. We
had not seen the musical for a year so it was funny to see some
changes. During Bohemian Rhapsody Brian came on stage and did
his bit.
I managed to take a few pictures from the far distance of the
standing places behind the Circle, but the security people were
very strict. I did not want to lose the pictures I had taken so
I decided to take no more risks. Pics are in the gallery on this
website.
Afterwards we immediately went to the stage door and Brian kept
his word. He did some pictures and signing. Mark held his copy
of the vinyl album Another World ready to get signed by Brian (Neill
Murray had already signed the cover) but he stood too far away
from Brian to succeed. I was lucky enough to stand near Brian's
car and when Brian went to that side I reached out for Mark's
album and asked Brian to sign it. He looked me into the eyes and
said "Okay". You can imagine Mark was over the moon.
A short time later we walked around the back side of the
Dominion and suddenly we saw Spike Edney. After all our meetings
he does recognise us as well and without a doubt he signed
Mark's album of Another World as well.
The evening show was great and you know what's great too?
Everytime we meet people we got to know over the years. Fans of
Queen and the musical. Finally I met Nick Bull, who has
made a Tony Bourke fansite. Mark noticed him at the backstage
door, having a chat with Tony and taking his picture. I went and
shook hands with Nick. He approached me during the break of the
musical and we had a very nice chat. We also met Brigitte, the
webmistress of the Unofficial Roger Taylor website. We became
friends a few years ago and we keep on running into each other
on various Queen occasions! Afterwards we joined her and her
vast group of friends in the bar of St. Giles hotel. That was
great fun.
Right before the show started (we sat stalls again) Roger Taylor
walked in and got his seat in the audience. He got a big
applause from the audience. He also attended the second half of
the show.
The audience was very alive and it was obvious a lot of Queen
fans were present. "As usual" Brian appeared during
Bohemian Rhapsody and the audience exploded. Brian did what I
had hoped he would do... he talked to the audience and
especially thanked the steady group of musical visitors. He
declared "the musical goes on until the Dominion falls
down!"
Roger did not appear on stage. I think he actually should have,
because his fans were there. If you don't want to speak, that's
okay, coming on stage will do, Roger. Your fans want to express
their feelings towards you and Brian, and Queen, for the legacy
of your music and for the joy the show is bringing to them.
Outside we spoke with some other castmembers, such as Mazz
Murray. She's such a lovely lady.
A great part of the main characters are replaced by new actors
over the years, but it's amazing to see that the characters they
play can still be recognised from it's original, including their
movements and even their voices! Of course they give their own
input to the role but the overall performance is still there. In
my view this proves the talent of the new solists.
Mazz Murray gives a completely new dimension to Killer Queen.
Totally different from Sharon D Clarke, but perfect and
funny-over-the-top in her own right. Smashing! Her "bikini
wax" is my personal highlight of her funny side in this
show.
After the show we went to the backstage door, but Brian and
Roger left through different exits. (Roger just went through the
front-door of the Dominion!)
We decided to go to a bar nearby where a lot of our friends and
Queenfans had gathered for a drink.
Our community of close friends did grow that evening.
Now the show is continuing I'm afraid I have to quote the
character of Britney: I'll be back!
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