...I RETURNED TO POP MUSIC IN
1976 to fulfil an ambition I hadn’t
fulfilled previously. I’d gone to
America but couldn’t get a work
permit because I wasn’t famous
enough, so I thought a pop career
might make me famous. I found a
song called “Reggae Like It Used
To Be” and thought, That sounds
like a hit. I recorded it and it was a
hit. I then did “Dancing with the
Captain” and “Grandma’s Party” and
the plan worked because they were
hits too....THE DEATH OF MY EX-WIFE IN
A CAR ACCIDENT was the worst
period of my life. Although Susan
[Gee] and myself were no longer30 • DECEMBER 2021
namely a rock opera. Dying on
the cross each night was very moving
the first few times because of the
audience reaction and the beautiful
piece of music that accompanied it,
but I got used to it. It also led to
other great gigs, like Grease opposite
Elaine Paige.
...THE DIRECTOR KEN RUSSELL WAS
A PRETTY INTENSE MAN. I worked
for him in To m m y and Lisztomania.
He had a terrific imagination, good
energy and he knew what he wanted.
But he was probably better at
interpreting other people’s work, like
To m m y, than on Lisztomania, which
he wrote himself and probably pushed
it further than it needed to go.