The Killer - A New Musical Drama Based On Jerry Lee Lewis Has Negative Tone
A new play suggests that to know Jerry Lee Lewis wasn't necessarily to love him, writes Michael Dwyer.
HUGH Halliday played drums for Jerry Lee Lewis in 1964. When he calls him ''a most obnoxious man'', dramatic licence has nothing to do with it. But the experience brings valuable weight to his latest gig directing The Killer, a new musical drama by local writer Allen Wilde.
Halliday was in a London blues band 46 years ago when the legendary music promoter Don Arden (the alleged ''Al Capone of Pop''; father of Sharon Osbourne) booked them to back Lewis on a tour of Ireland.
At the time, the explosive Louisiana boogie pianist known as the Killer was clawing a comeback from his years of public disgrace after marrying his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Brown.Halliday's first impression remains a strong memory.
''He was wearing black trousers, white belt, black shirt, white tie, black-and-red checked jacket, with a huge Romeo & Juliet cigar in his mouth,'' he recalls.
''I remember he had these two cauliflower-eared heavies on either side of him. He wouldn't rehearse, nothing. He just said 'Guess y'all know my numbers fellas', and that was it.''
He added a parting shot for the drummer: ''Play straight. No fancy breaks. I'm the star here.''
The handful of dates that followed comprised ''a very nasty time'', Halliday says, memorable for the star's tendency to send his piano stool flying into the guitarist.
A few years later, Halliday had his own pop career as a member of Unit 4+2. He still receives royalties from their hit, Concrete and Clay, but shortly after that he returned to his first love, the theatre, and eventually to Australia to help stage a Rossini opera for the Victorian State Opera in 1980.
Playwright Allen Wilde first sought him out several years ago to direct a rock'n'roll drama set in Sam Phillips's Sun Studios of the 1950s - the breeding ground for Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash as well as Lewis.
The Killer, a two-hander starring Paul Dawber and Tracey Miller with a seven-piece band blazing behind them, evolved from that production to focus solely on the ample conflict within Lewis's life.
''Jerry Lee Lewis is a manic depressive,'' says Dawber.
''Bipolar is what we call it these days. In fact, he would have been put in an institution if the rock'n'roll revolution hadn't given him a career. He's such a wild, crazy character and yes, he is unlikeable, too.''
It's a taxing role, Dawber says, not least because it's his job to find some sympathy for the devil. ''Actually, I wanted to find more sympathy than Hugh's prepared to give me,'' he says. ''We're walking a fine line.''
The Killer is at the Caravan Music Club, 97 Drummond Street, Oakleigh, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. caravanmusic.com.au
HUGH Halliday played drums for Jerry Lee Lewis in 1964. When he calls him ''a most obnoxious man'', dramatic licence has nothing to do with it. But the experience brings valuable weight to his latest gig directing The Killer, a new musical drama by local writer Allen Wilde.
Halliday was in a London blues band 46 years ago when the legendary music promoter Don Arden (the alleged ''Al Capone of Pop''; father of Sharon Osbourne) booked them to back Lewis on a tour of Ireland.
At the time, the explosive Louisiana boogie pianist known as the Killer was clawing a comeback from his years of public disgrace after marrying his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Brown.Halliday's first impression remains a strong memory.
''He was wearing black trousers, white belt, black shirt, white tie, black-and-red checked jacket, with a huge Romeo & Juliet cigar in his mouth,'' he recalls.
''I remember he had these two cauliflower-eared heavies on either side of him. He wouldn't rehearse, nothing. He just said 'Guess y'all know my numbers fellas', and that was it.''
He added a parting shot for the drummer: ''Play straight. No fancy breaks. I'm the star here.''
The handful of dates that followed comprised ''a very nasty time'', Halliday says, memorable for the star's tendency to send his piano stool flying into the guitarist.
A few years later, Halliday had his own pop career as a member of Unit 4+2. He still receives royalties from their hit, Concrete and Clay, but shortly after that he returned to his first love, the theatre, and eventually to Australia to help stage a Rossini opera for the Victorian State Opera in 1980.
Playwright Allen Wilde first sought him out several years ago to direct a rock'n'roll drama set in Sam Phillips's Sun Studios of the 1950s - the breeding ground for Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash as well as Lewis.
The Killer, a two-hander starring Paul Dawber and Tracey Miller with a seven-piece band blazing behind them, evolved from that production to focus solely on the ample conflict within Lewis's life.
''Jerry Lee Lewis is a manic depressive,'' says Dawber.
''Bipolar is what we call it these days. In fact, he would have been put in an institution if the rock'n'roll revolution hadn't given him a career. He's such a wild, crazy character and yes, he is unlikeable, too.''
It's a taxing role, Dawber says, not least because it's his job to find some sympathy for the devil. ''Actually, I wanted to find more sympathy than Hugh's prepared to give me,'' he says. ''We're walking a fine line.''
The Killer is at the Caravan Music Club, 97 Drummond Street, Oakleigh, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. caravanmusic.com.au
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