So engrossed was I while watching Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story at the Hull New Theatre on Thursday evening, that for a fleeting moment I really felt I was watching the man himself.
Ridiculous, of course, as the real Buddy died in a plane crash on February 3rd, 1959.
But so impressive was AJ Jenks as the spectacle-wearing rock ’n’ roller, it was difficult not to be transported back to a time when, not only was the music groundbreaking and fantastic, but, hallelujah, every word was clearly audible, meaning the songs were ripe to sing along to.
And, over 60 years later, that’s exactly what we in the audience did from the very first note Buddy and his backing group, The Crickets, struck up.
Buddy (Jenks) on his guitar and The Crickets – bassist Joe B Mauldin (Melker Nilsson), drummer Jerry Allison (Stephen Alexander-Kerr) and Niki Sullivan (Joe Sterling) on rhythm guitar – pooled their musical talents to bring us the amazing story of Buddy Holly’s life and, sadly, death at the young age of 22.
From his humble beginnings in Lubbock, Texas, we watch in awe as Buddy transforms from a disillusioned rockabilly entertainer to a rock ’n’ roll legend worshipped by fans worldwide, who, along with his Crickets, sold over 10 million records in just over a year.
This multi award-winning show first opened in 1989 and returns to Hull as part of its 2025/26 tour. in fact, the real Buddy Holly and The Crickets arrived in our city on Wednesday, 19th March, 1958, playing two shows at the Regal Cinema.
Looking around (respectfully) at the ages of a lot of audience members on Thursday makes me wonder if they might have been lucky enough to bop along to Buddy’s music on that cold March night.
The show gets off to a sing-along start quite quickly with Buddy and his group performing a boring country song on a local radio station; but after a few bars, they mischievously burst into the rock classic, That’ll Be The Day, much to the horror of the radio presenter. And much to our delight.
But the presenter hates the music and sends the group packing.
That’s just one of many setbacks they have to endure before eventually finding someone who believes in their talents. That someone is Norman Petty (Thomas Fabian Parrish), and it’s in his New Mexico recording studio that we watch Buddy almost drive himself and his group mad in his pursuit of music perfection.
We now know their efforts resulted in That’ll Be The Day topping the charts both in America and the UK.
And from then on we enjoyed hit after hit from this super-talented band of musicians and actors who really did play and sing their hearts out to bring us Buddy’s story.
Oh Boy, Rave On, Raining in My Heart, Everyday, Peggy Sue and True Love Ways – the hits came thick and fast, with Jenks’ voice and guitar playing and Nilsson, Sterling and Alexander-Kerr’s musicianship doing justice to every tune.
However, during one particularly amusing scene, we laughed at their ashen-faced discomfort, when they, mistakenly, became the first white band to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, in 1957. Luckily, the black clientele loved them.
An “ah” moment came when we, briefly, witnessed Buddy’s marriage to Maria Elena (Marta Miranda). So at least he found love before his premature demise.
Costumes throughout were typically of the era, smart trousers and jackets for the men, and voluminous skirts for the females.
The brightly lit stage setting changed very little throughout the production – a sofa and a desk were added at times, and a raised section was illuminated by spotlights focused on Buddy, giving him an ethereal appearance. Mind you, this was after the news of his death in that fateful plane crash.
His final show, in Clear Lake, Iowa, was a highlight, aided and abetted by Thomas Fabian Parrish in a dual role as the entertaining MC.
Buddy, by now appearing without The Crickets, shared the stage with The Big Bopper (of Chantilly Lace fame) and young Ritchie Valens (La Bamba), among others, whose joint and solo performances were a blast.
Joshua Barton’s deep voice as The Big Bopper was spot on and Miguel Angel had Valens’ voice and movements to a T.
But, naturally, Buddy was the star attraction and AJ Jenks was truly exceptional in both his singing and guitar playing. The wearing of thick horn-rimmed spectacles Holly was famous for, ensured he looked the part, too.
The whole show was infectious from start to finish, and our standing ovation at the finale showed the cast just how much we appreciated their talents in bringing us the short-but-sweet life story of a rock ’n’
roll legend.
* I must mention the amazing man, whose name I’m not privy to, who signed for any deaf theatregoers throughout the whole of the production; even during the songs. Truly inspiring.
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 12th February 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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